In response to BabeParilli's comment:
In response to carawaydj's comment:
We have a great QB. There is nobody I would rather have. That said, let's not pretend like he's played as well in the playoffs of late. But as stated by someone above, this is a team sport. I attribute many of his subpar games to the game plan; both ours and our opponents. His performances have merely been a symptom of greater problems. For example, no outside deep threat? Just crowd the box. Can't run too well? Don't respect it. Those weaknesses are going to be amplified in the playoffs. Oh, and the Pats still haven't figured out how to play well when teams can generate any pressure without blitzing. Maybe it's fair to ask if Brady could do a better job in those situations. Is he elite when under pressure with no blitz? We know he can tear up teams pressuring him using the blitz.
Generally Brady's playoff performances have been "good" if not spectacular for the most part in recent years. The problem has been the lack of anybody else doing much to help and he just hasn't played well enough to carry the whole team on his back.
One turnover from the D in the last 2 SBs when they had 8 in the 3 before doesn't help him much. Anemic running by our backs in both the SB losses didn't help much either.
He's probably not going to win the Lombardi on his own. I don't think anybody ever has.
Brady is a great QB, and won't win won on his own, but do you truly believe he's been mostly "good" for these playoff games?
in his last 12, , '05 Divisional, '06 Divisional, '07 AFC Championship, '09 Wild Card, '11 AFC Championship were bad performances
'06 AFC championship, '07 Super Bowl, '10 Divisional, 11 Super Bowl I would say were so-so games. He didn't play bad, but I wouldn't characterize his performances as good either.
'06 Wild Card, '07 Divisional, '11 Divisional were good.
Now, he wasn't the only one that player games in his bad games nor was he the only player that played well in his good games. '10 divisional, Crumpler certainly dropped an easy TD pass.
I can go on and on, but there are plenty of examples. When the oline plays well, people say Brady was great. When the Oline struggles, Brady did no wrong, his oline failed him. OR even his defense failed him.
Everyone also wants to say the defense has let Brady down too much. That defense bailed him out in those games against the chargers, and that championship game against the Ravens. I even thought they did a good job in Super Bowl 42 considered they held the opposition only to 17 points, potentially only 10 if Tyree doesn't make that catch.
It works both ways. Brady apologists make it seem like Brady has been perfect in the playoffs, and that every loss is the fault of some of his other teammates. Brady is the best player on this team and a top 5 player in the entire league, but that does not make him mistake-prone.
The biggest concern for me is that Brady has only had three clear cut good games in his last 12 playoff matchups. Those 3 games were against teams that the Patriots were just leaps and bounds better than. I'd argue that Brady hasn't had an excellent game against a worthy foe since the 2004 game against the Steelers.
Hopefully he goes on a tear this postseason. But I'm not going to absolve Brady from any blame just because he's the best player this franchise has ever had. He's allowed to have bad games too
