Patriots Blog: Brady Fights Through Injuries
FOXBORO (CBS) - Tom Brady is fighting through some injuries but his leadership has never been questioned.
For the early part of Thursday's game, number 12 took a beating. He did not complain. He buckled down and led the team to victory.
"He's tough as nails, probably the toughest quarterback in the game, point blank," fellow captain Vince Wilfork said. "I'm not saying that because he's my teammate. I'm saying it because it's true."
Tom's teammates had his back in the locker room after the game. They all said he's playing hurt and he's stepping up and leading us. His toughness is resonating throughout the team.
"Some guys look at Tom and might think he's 'Mr. Untouchable' and he's this, he's that, but he's a tough son of a gun. He takes his licks and he gets up," Wilfork said.
"When I see a quarterback like Tom, and the success that he has, fighting through injuries at times and getting up hit after hit, he can ride with me any time."
REX FIRES FIRST SHOT
Forget about waiting to trash talk the week of the game, Jets head coach Rex Ryan wasted no time in letting everybody know he feels his squad is the best in the NFL.
"Our football team believes we can beat anybody, and we're going to prove it," the coach said. "We've won eight in a row on the road, and we plan on making it nine."
He added with more than a hint of sarcasm: "Clearly, they're the best team in football. That's what all the experts say, except me."
This is good timing by Rex Ryan.
The Jets may have a confidence problem because they have had trouble scoring points. Rex is letting them know he is on their side right from the get-go. If you are keeping track at home, the Jets have fired the first shot and it was from their coach.
4 DAYS OFF
The Patriots just finished a 12-day stretch where they played 3 games and won them all.
Rarely are coaches happy and this coach always has a coaching point after every game, but after the Lions win, Bill Belichick gave the players 4 days off and called it well deserved.
"It was a good atmosphere there in the locker room," he explained.
"I really appreciate what these guys have done so far this year. To be where we're at has taken a lot of hard work. It hasn't always been perfect. It hasn't even been good. But it is what it is. We've got a good opportunity here ahead of us, so we're going to relax here, kick back for a couple days, try to take this opportunity to rest and spend a little time with our families, and be ready to roll here next week with the Jets."
Belichick was happy after the game, but as he often does pointed out that not all is rosy.
Here's your coaching point:
"There's a lot of things we need to work on, obviously, but we'll just enjoy it here for a couple days and then start grinding it out for the Jets," he said.
WHAT WE LEARNED
Here are some of the items we should take from this win:
The Pats showed their mental toughness. They were down 14 to 3 in this game and Patriots nation was reeling but the team did not blink. They pulled together and made plays. The Pats got ahead and went downhill from there. In the past, this would have been the type of game that would have caused the team to fold, but this team is maturing. They are letting up a lot of yards on defense but they are winning. Hopefully the D will tighten up before the playoffs.
Brady took a beating in the first quarter and a half of the game, as the Lions' defensive line was controlling the contest. Ndamukong Suh was more impressive than advertised. He beat Tom up single handedly for the early part of the game. But things settled down and Brady got better as the game progressed. He finished 21 of 27 for 341 yards and four touchdowns. Brady's toughness was evident. He posted a perfect quarterback rating. That's the second time he has done that in his career.
Receivers Deion Branch and Wes Welker were star performers, both with two touchdown catches. Branch finished with three catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns – one of which was a career-long 79-yard catch-and-run bomb. The 79-yard touchdown was the Patriots' longest of the season. Meanwhile, Welker totaled eight catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns. At different points of their careers, they were both Tom Brady's No. 1 receiver. Put them on the field together and they are now Brady's 1 and 1A.
