Tom Brady: Hopefully Patriots can get “out of the basement” against the blitz

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FOXBORO -- Tom Brady said he hasn't studied it much, but there are a swath of football fans out there who've seen the numbers and wondered what they mean. 

Against five or more rushers this season, according to ESPN's NFL Matchup, Brady is the lowest-rated quarterback in football. 

His 59.6 rating in those situations ranks worse than Josh Rosen (63.7) and Case Keenum (64.9). It's a significant drop-off from where Aaron Rodgers (126.8) and Drew Brees (124.7) sit as the No. 2 and No. 3 quarterbacks in football against five or more rushers. Russell Wilson is No. 1 (129.4). 

"Any time you're last in the league in anything, that's probably not very good," Brady said. "I haven't studied that as much. I think if they blitz, it gives us great opportunities to make plays. If we're not doing that, then we gotta figure out how to do it. 

"I think if you rush three or four or five, there's going to be opportunities, really in any case. It's just what you do with the opportunities. Yeah. Hopefully we can figure that out. Get out of the basement, work our way up."

What happened to Brady and the rest of the Patriots offense in Tennessee shined a light on how the unit dealt with pressure -- whether it was via four-man rushes or pressures (five-man rushes) or blitzes (six-man rushes) drawn up by Mike Vrabel. 

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There were times when Brady's tackles were simply beaten on the outside. There were unchecked rushers coming from the secondary who helped ruined plays. One rusher from the linebacker level plowed through James White to pick up a sack. There were plays when Brady seemed to have time but hurried things -- perhaps because he'd been pressured earlier in the game and wanted to live to see another down. 

Is what happened on Sunday a symptom of how the Patriots have handled blitzes all season?

The perception of how Brady has dealt with unexpected pressure can suddenly shift if the definition of "blitz" changes. 

NFL Matchup (above) defines the blitz as any time a quarterback is pressured by five or more defenders. Pro Football Focus, meanwhile, defines the blitz as any time a defense brings an unexpected rusher. (For example, if a defense drops a defensive end and sends an off-the-ball linebacker instead, even though it's a four-man rush, that's still considered a blitz.)

According to PFF, Brady's rating against their definition of the blitz sits at 96.8 -- a significant uptick from NFL Matchup's number. 

So is Brady having a hard time finding where rushers are coming from? PFF's blitz numbers -- which reflect how quarterbacks handle defensive deception -- would suggest he isn't. 

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The almost 40-point quarterback rating drop-off to the NFL Matchup blitz numbers instead seem to be an indication that the Patriots are being overwhelmed by numbers at the line of scrimmage. 

It's probably a little bit of both, meaning there's not one clear problem area for the Patriots to shore up during their bye week when it comes to handling five rushers or more. 

"I think every position needs to shore things up," Brady said. "The reality is, as the quarterback, I can do what I can do. And I need to shore things up with what I can do. Different positions do the same thing. 

"That's part of what this week is all about. Looking at everything you're doing, everything the rest of the team is doing, how my position fits in with the rest of the offense. That goes with every player. 

"I don't think any player is really satisfied. I think we're all getting better, looking to improve. Again, we have some opportunities to do that. Still a lot of football left. Hopefully we can make the most of this week, use the weekend to get our minds and bodies refreshed, and then be ready to go for a great division road game against the Jets which is always a tough place to play, and see if we can use things we've learned."

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