The Tom Brady that Foxboro fans saw this past Thursday night was something out of a B-rated horror flick. The New England Patriots’ quarterback ended up in last place among NFL passers with a 44.4 completion percentage, as stated by Pro Football. His total QBR was not much of a comfort to Patriot die-hard fans. In terms of total QBR, as stated by ESPN, Brady registered at 34.2. That is 19th in the league for opening day quarterbacks. Naysayers of The Goat probably loved munching on popcorn, as they watched Brady struggle to hit wide receivers all evening against the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense and ultimately lose 42-27.
Will the guy who led the Patriots to five Super Bowls wins bounce back from his bad numbers against the New Orleans Saints?
Facing Drew Brees
Brady will face a shoot-out against quarterback Drew Brees, who has broken more passing records than Brady. Brees has passed for 5000 yards or more 5 times in his career, the most for any NFL quarterback. The Saints' quarterback has also thrown more touchdowns than the GOAT with 466. Brady, who went touchdown-less last week has 456 scores, as stated by NFL.com. While Brady has over 61,000 yards passing, Brees has over 66,000 yards, as stated by NFL.com. However, the past does not matter on Sunday when the Saints and Patriots square off. Both quarterbacks will be looking to redeem themselves, as the Saints fell to the Minnesota Vikings this past Monday.
Brees was 12th on ESPN's total QBR list and fifth in completion percentages with 72.97. Brandin Cooks is also facing his old team, which should increase the competition between the two quarterbacks.
Getting over the Edelman hump
The GOAT needs to get over the Julian Edelman hump. The wide receiver is out for the year with a torn ACL.
While Brady has more wins when Edelman is on the field, he must look to his other options. Brandin Cooks has to haul in more catches, and Rob Gronkowski and Chris Hogan must pick up the slack. Brady is not the only quarterback to lose his top receiver. His AFC East rival Tyrod Taylor lost his number one guy Sammy Watkins in the pre-season after he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams.
Taylor also watched receivers Robert Woods, Justin Hunter, and Marquise Goodwin leave during free agency during the offseason. In the Bills' win against the New York Jets this past weekend, Taylor leaned on tight end Charles Clay. He also spread the ball to different wide receivers. Taylor was number 10 on ESPN’s list with a total QBR 68.5 rating.
Tom Brady needs to avoid misfiring when it comes to wide open guys and move out of the pocket a bit. The Saints' defense is average, but may look to put the GOAT in his place after losing Brees’ top target Brandin Cooks to New England. Look for a competitive shootout on both sides. The Patriots' defense gave up over 500 yards last week, and Brees will try to pick apart Belichick’s weak secondary.
May the best quarterback win.
