Tom Brady discussed Josh Gordon, Julian Edelman’s return, and something he hasn’t seen in a decade
"I could tell in his eyes, he knew what he was doing."
Tom Brady’s last act of an otherwise satisfying win over the Dolphins was one he wants back.
In his weekly appearance on WEEI’s “Kirk & Callahan,” Brady said he regrets the fourth quarter interception with the Patriots up 38-0, but feels okay after getting hit.
“I wish I wouldn’t have thrown it,” Brady said, “but I feel good and my body feels good. I’ll be ready to go Thursday. It’s part of playing quarterback is standing in there and taking hits.”
The Patriots, as Brady noted, have a short week. The Colts travel to Gillette Stadium on Thursday night. Despite the relative lack of popularity around the league regarding the Thursday games, Brady was optimistic about it.
“I don’t mind Thursday night,” Brady admitted. “I like going out there and playing, and I know we don’t get a lot of practice, but I guess as a veteran player, you don’t need a lot of practice typically.”
The upcoming game against Indianapolis will also be notable for the return of Julian Edelman from his four-game suspension.
“I know he was itching to go and he wants to get down there and show everyone that he’s ready to go,” said Brady about the 32-year-old receiver. “He’s in that James White mode where he’s just so dependable and consistent and tough. He hasn’t been out there in a while. The ACL last year was a tough injury, to miss all season and to miss these first four weeks, I know he’s itching to get back out there.”
When asked if Edelman would have more to prove following his suspension, Brady agreed.
“I think there’s a list of incentives for him. And he’s very much an underdog and has seen himself like that for a long time. And he plays with a massive chip on his shoulder.”
For Brady, the return of Edelman’s mentality, almost as much as his on-field ability, will help the Patriots.
“Jules is tough. He’s been everything that you’re looking for as a Patriot,” Brady explained. “Hopefully he brings that attitude and his competitiveness, being really unselfish and doing all the dirty work which Jules loves to do. I think all the guys appreciate that in a player who’s not the biggest guy, but has a big heart, makes the biggest plays at the biggest times, and any time you can add someone like that, it can only help you.”
On the subject of Josh Gordon, who caught two passes on two targets for 32 yards, Brady praised the receiver for the job that he’s done so far.
“He’s been really working hard, trying to get things right, and I don’t feel I’ve had to worry about where he was lining up or what route he was running,” said Brady. “He was super confident. I could tell in his eyes, he knew what he was doing. He’s been great since he came in, so hopefully we can keep it going and build on it.”
Brady also acknowledged that Gordon getting a locker next to him hasn’t hurt their developing chemistry.
“We get along well, and he sits right next to me, so it’s just a nice rapport to have that. I try to get along with everybody. I think that’s really important for any teammate.”
One particularly interesting Brady answer came as part of the discussion over Gordon and chemistry. He compared the experience he has with Edelman and Rob Gronkowski in the scope of “good” and “bad” things happening in the team’s offense:
Now that he’s our teammate, we got to get to know each other because you can build that trust and chemistry in different ways and you see it with guys that I played with for a long time, it builds and builds and builds. What happens is you’re able to make a lot of good plays and you basically eliminate all of the bad plays. Bad things don’t happen when I throw it to Julian. Bad things don’t happen when I throw it to Gronk, just because I know their body language and I know the types of plays that they’re capable of making.
On the topic of Dolphins defensive back Bobby McCain (who made an interception during the first quarter), Brady admitted that he was fooled by a something he hasn’t seen in a decade:
You know, I thought it was a great play. And I haven’t seen that happen probably in ten years where they carried the seam on the inside and they basically trapped the in-cut. We had a guy going vertical, I think it was [Chris Hogan], and McCain was running with him, and he had his back turned to me. I thought he was just going to go with [Hogan]. He turned around because he saw the in-cut, and it ended up being a good pick. Not a lot of teams have done that over the years. Our defense used to do that quite a bit, and when I threw it, I give him credit. They made a good play. Hopefully we learn from that and not let it happen again.
