Among the concerns that have cropped up for the Patriots offense as they’ve dealt with injuries to Tom Brady’s receiving targets in recent weeks has been the potential for Brady to join them in the trainer’s room.
Brady has taken 32 hits in the last three games, a big uptick from what the quarterback was facing when the team had a full complement of skill position players available to them. On Wednesday, Brady shrugged off the toll that those hits are taking on his body by saying that he feels “fresh as lettuce.”
He also discussed the need for the ball to come out earlier than it has in the last few games.
“Ideally you’d always like to get the ball on time in the pass game,” Brady said, via WEEI.com. “Whether it’s some things we’ve done schematically or the opposing team has done schematically has forced us or caused us to hold the ball a little bit longer. I wish we would just be able to stay in rhythm. Every offense would love that. Judging by the results, I need to get the ball out quicker.”
It fits that Brady is taking longer to deliver the ball when he doesn’t have favored targets like Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski in familiar spots during games. We’ll see if another week of practice time helps on that front or if J.J. Watt and the Texans add to the pounding that Brady’s been taking in the second half of the season.
