Welker was the equivalent of Brady's default setting, a mode that he could always revert to when he had no other options, a mode that he went to when he felt there was a lack of options, a mode that he went to regardless of his options.
 |
| Brady's intensity is evident in games or practices... |
And it worked, too - but there were times, particularly on the biggest stages against some of the league's better defenses, that it didn't. And when it didn't the entire offense became one dimensional, and Brady would end up taking a beating for his tunnel vision.
There is no doubting that Tom Brady has had a Hall of Fame career, and that Wes Welker is a big part of that, but it's over - and never mind the reasons. When Brady signed his cap-friendly contract extension early in the offseason, many assumed that he was doing so to free up enough cap space to be able to sign friend and main target Welker...
...but that never materialized and there is some serious doubt as to whether that was ever the intent at all. Regardless, the two-time league MVP is still in his prime at age 36, and anyone who thinks that he can't make stars of names like Danny Amendola, Kenbrell Thompkins and Zach Sudfeld just hasn't been paying attention all these years.
Brady has no peer in the business - his accuracy and arm strength good enough for the casual viewer and something that would be expected from any starting quarterback, but what sets Brady apart from the rest of the league is his game management.
No one is better at on-the-fly improvisation, recognizing coverages and getting the ball to best option to gain the objective of the play. Brady isn't looking to score on every play - only to keep the chains moving and to keep the up tempo momentum going, wearing out the defenders and sapping their will one play at a time until he can fully dictate what is happening on the field - and then he steps on their throats.
With all the money he will ever need, an astronomically hot squeeze, cars, houses and magazine covers and despite the league and Super Bowl MVP trophies, the man is obviously driven by success - and while success is a hard habit to argue with, it does lend itself to tormenting the soul of a man when success is ultimately out of reach.
And for the past eight years, the tormentor has gotten the best of Brady. On some of the biggest stages there are in sports, Brady has not been immune to lapses in his excellence, and neither have his compatriots, Welker in particular has dropped the ball - pun intended - and the Lombardi Trophy right along with it.
So now, all but one of his targets from last season are gone - Aaron Hernandez is in jail, Welker is in Denver catching passes from Peyton Manning (which probably feels like jail after catching passes from Brady) and nobody wants Brandon Lloyd - the only pass catcher left being Rob Gronkowski, who hasn't caught a meaningful pass in nine months.
But these things don't matter. This is Tom Brady's offense, and he is fully capable of turning his offense into whatever he needs it to be, which means that he can also make household names out of whomever can hold onto his passes...
...because as we saw with Welker, Brady has penchant for making stars out of players that no one's ever heard of before.
No comments:
Post a Comment