After the Patriots’ preseason opener last week, Tom Brady said, “I wish somebody would just come and blast me. You get a little of that anxiousness out of the way. I’ll have to wait until next week.”
Done and done.
Here in Foxboro Thursday night, Brady got leveled on a seven-yard sack by Bengals defensive end Robert Geathers. [Editor’s note: Trent Green might remember that name. Then again, he might not.] After turnstiling Patriots right tackle Nick Kaczur, Geathers hit Brady from the front side and took him down hard.
Brady was forced to put pressure on his surgically-reconstructed left knee, and it took a twist as he hit the ground. He got up without event, and he didn’t even check the knee or the brace he’s now wearing to protect it.
Brady was under much more duress this week than in the opener. On New England’s first drive, Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers came through unblocked and, after Brady hurried a throw to avoid the sack, Rivers flung him to the ground.
Also noteworthy was the fact that, on two other plays with modest pressure, Brady (four for eight for 57 yards in three series) didn’t aggressively step through his deliveries and balls sailed incomplete. That will bear watching as the preseason continues.