Tom Brady was not a happy camper in the aftermath of the Patriots’ victory over the scrappy Eagles the other day. Even as it improved the bottom line, the manner in which it unfolded left much to be desired. “It’s just frustration with the offense; we’re trying to grind them out. I’m happy we won on the road, but at the same time, I just wish we’d score more points,” he said in a radio interview. And he’s right; as badly as they fared trying to score against the Ravens in a blowout loss at the M&T Bank Stadium last week, they proved even more hard-pressed to put up numbers at Lincoln Financial Field.
Certainly, the Patriots hung their hats on defense versus the undermanned Eagles. They took advantage of opposing quarterback Carson Wentz’s lack of targets, sacking him five times and limiting him to a middling 20-of-40 effort. At the same time, they couldn’t take full advantage of opportunities when they had the ball; in fact, they had it for less time, and could do no better than post a touchdown all told. That the pass didn’t even come from Brady speaks volumes of their offense as a work in progress. “As crazy as it sounds, we’re still kind of relatively new, getting familiar with each other.”
For the record, wide receiver Julian Edelman produced the 15-yard scoring toss, in the process becoming the only teammate in Brady’s 20 years (and counting) in the National Football League to have more touchdown passes than him over a completed game. That said, Bill Belichick appeared none the worse for wear. Typically not predisposed for small talk, the head coach found cause to deadpan: “Keeps his quarterback rating up there pretty high. I’m sure he’ll ice his shoulder this week, massage it. Great play by Julian.”
In any case, Brady knows the importance of getting better — much better, actually — with him at the helm. The Patriots may be on top of the league at 10-1, but, as he argued, “we have to figure out how we can fix our problems as best we can.” Else, they’ll invariably run into obstacles in their aim to retain the title, many of which they will have erected en route.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
