While technical recovery might be okay by 9-12 months I don’t think the player truly feels confident and comfortable on the rebuilt knee until their second season. We saw the dip in Welker’s numbers in 2010, Brady was a little shaky during parts of 2009. Even Revis last year wasn’t fully comfortable yet. Adrian Peterson is probably the only exception that I can think of, where the player came back from ACL surgery within months and was just as good as he was before. I do think Gronk is just the kind of guy who could be back to normal sooner than later.
Patriots.com Exclusive: Patriots get to work
Patriots.com Exclusive: Patriots get to work
Look! Patriots working out in shorts and t-shirts with a lot of bungee cords. Looks grueling. Happy to be sitting on my ass right now.
If I was the Texans, I would see if they were interested in Andre Johnson and say we would take a draft pick and throw Ryan Mallett in. So even if Ryan Mallett does not work out, you have the draft pick. [They’re] rebuilding, really shooting for Year 3. Andre Johnson is 32 years old, doesn’t have anyone proven throwing him the ball, so take that shot – you get the draft pick, and if Ryan Mallett works out, you extend him and have your quarterback of the future.
Join the Patriots Tailgate Group!!
Join the Patriots Tailgate Group!!
Looking to see the Pats play on the road this year? Join the Patriots Tailgate Group on Facebook, a great resource to bring Pats fans in other cities together for the games. I’ll be in San Diego this December, hope to see plenty of my Pats fan brethren there!
The Pats have adopted a “Brady plays every snap” approach over the years, and I understand the rationale for rewarding him for a week of prep, but now that we are headed into the later years of his career, isn’t it smart football to get the backup QB in there late in blowouts to (i) save Brady some wear and tear, (ii) prevent TB12 from getting injured and (iii) get the kids some reps?
It’s a tough one because there were only a couple games that didn’t come down to the end last year. So maybe in the Steelers and Ravens blowouts Mallett should’ve gotten in there, but those teams have a long history vs. Brady so you can understand why Brady might’ve remained in the game.
I don’t think you need to save wear and tear on Brady unless it’s a 2009 Saints blowout situation. Otherwise you can’t send that message that he’s more important and needs to be preserved to your team. Same goes with injury. BB will never be one to coach (or draft for that matter) based on fear of injury.
Cassel had limited game reps before being thrust into the fire in 2008. Look, if Brady goes down, things are going to change. The offense will be tweaked for Mallett/Garoppolo and we just have to accept there will be a learning curve. No amount of garbage reps running the offense as it’s meant for Brady would prepare any backup for a starting role.
The smart way to approach Brady’s age is exactly what they’re doing. Keep the talent stocked behind him, especially with a player like Garoppolo who could, in theory, manage a game similarly to how Brady did it in 2001.
Other than the Broncos, what AFC teams do you see posing a legitimate threat to a Patriots Super Bowl run? The Colts? The Ravens?
I do think the Ravens will bounce back this year, (though this Ray Rice press conference certainly seems like that issue will drag on a while longer for them). And it’s hard not to like the Colts after the weapons they’ve added. If they can protect Andrew Luck they’ll be tough to beat, especially at home.
I actually re-watched the playoff game between them and the Pats yesterday and it was a little closer than we might like to remember. I just think they’re a totally different team outside, especially in January. Will be very interesting to see how the Pats do against them in Indy.
Ultimately though I think it comes down to the quarterbacks. I’m sure some team will feast on an easy schedule and get into the playoffs, but I don’t think there’s much debate that Brady/Peyton/Luck/Flacco and Rivers are the only QBs to fear in the AFC (and I barely have Luck/Flacco/Rivers on there – depends on the game and the location).
The Bengals/Chiefs are in that second tier and who knows, could maybe upset one NE/DEN, but until a team outside of NE/DEN finds some consistency to sew up one of the top two seeds it’s hard to project a legitimate threat to Brady/Manning.
The day is likely coming, probably sooner for Peyton than Brady, when the door will be open for another team to take over one of those top two spots in the AFC, but for 2014 I still think it’s NE/DEN then the field.