Socci On Toucher & Rich: Brady's Dissatisfaction With Offense Valid
BOSTON (CBS) - Patriots radio play-by-play man Bob Socci came on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich Monday morning following a 30-7 Patriots win over Minnesota.
It's hard to sit here and pick apart a game in which New England won handily by 23 points, but when the quarterback himself is critical of the way his offense played you have to stop and take notice.
"I'm happy we won. I wish we could go out there and play like we are capable of," Brady said, slightly down following the win. "Just the way it is."
Brady was 15-of-22 for 149 yards and a touchdown in the victory, and benefited greatly from superb field position after numerous defensive turnovers from Minnesota breakdowns, including four interceptions from Vikings quarterback Matt Cassel.
Coaches always preach to their players a simple, one-word mantra, and that's "finish." Finish the play. Finish the quarter. Finish the half. Finish the game. The Patriots offense failed to finish in multiple situations, which is why Bob Socci believes Brady's dissatisfaction is valid.
"A lot of the frustration for Tom, or at least the way I look at it would be they didn't score a touchdown in the second half. He talked about short fields and how they didn't take advantage of it. They got an interception that set them up at the 45-yard line of Minnesota and had to settle for a field goal. They got a punt return to the 31-yard line of Minnesota, went backwards on that series and had to punt it back to the Vikings. They didn't convert a lot on third down, especially in the second half. Plus they went 2-for-4 when it comes to touchdowns in the red zone. As good as it was for a 30-7 win, there's a lot of things not to like about the performance offensively, especially when you're a perfectionist like Tom Brady."
Rich pointed out that aside from Julian Edelman, and Rob Gronkowski on the mend, there's really no other pass catcher on the team that has earned the quarterback's trust.
Socci believes the lack of targets on Sunday for Danny Amendola, Brandon LaFell, Aaron Dobson and Tim Wright had more to do with the formations and game plan.
"I do think a factor yesterday was the Patriots used a lot of heavy formations and were light on receivers. The Patriots didn't spread the field yesterday, certainly not in comparison to what they had done in Miami or what we're accustomed to seeing. They used (rookie tackle) Cameron Fleming for 28 snaps as an extra tackle/tight end. That was an indication that they were really going to try and be physical and run the ball. You didn't see them come out, especially early, with a lot of three receiver sets."
Listen below for the full interview, including how the Patriots were able to limit Cordarrelle Patterson, as well as the stellar play of Chandler Jones and much more:
Bob Socci Interview
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