Little Talked About Tom Brady Knee Injury
Brady’s injury to his knee from a Kam Chancellor hit and has never fully recovered.
Brady has missed several practices due to his knee injury.
Tom Brady missed the Wednesday practice this week due to a lingering injury he received back in a Week 10 hit by Seattle Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor…
…he’s never been the same since.
It’s not to say he won’t play — he will. It’s not that he won’t be effective — he will.
BUT, the reality is his knee has been hurting for well over a month after the hit, and he is still taking time off to make it through the week.
That means his health is a concern…and if the Miami Dolphins can rough him up enough, that concern can turn into a problem.
This why Miami must slow the run and get to Brady. It a ‘no-duh’ statement that you don’t need to be a great pay per head bookie service to figure out, true. But, for this game it’s even more crucial than ever, due Brady’s gimpy peg.
Brady suffers terribly from contact, even more so than most, his passer rating dives to nearly half with enough pressure. But, due to the passing scheme and Brady’s quick release, he usually avoids much contact except from premier pressure defenses.
Brady’s injury has had him dealing with it for almost 2 months.
But, now it’s not simply a psychological thing, now it’s physical as well.
Miami must make him move from his spot, harass, hit and sack him. And in this situation, sacking is the least crucial, because that knee will swell ever more with each and every extra aggravation. This slow roll to a swollen knee could pay dividends in late game scenarios.
This why the Dolphins must find a way to stop the run; in this situation, more passes offers more opportunity to re-aggravate that knee — as well as the usual good vibrations that pass rushers feel when they can keep him off schedule.
After giving up almost 300 yards on the ground against the Bills, this is a tall order for the Dolphins run defense.
Patriots have moved more to the run game over the last season in comparison to last year (30.2 2016 v.s. 23.0 2015), and this run game is surely helping Brady’s on many levels, as it does all QB’s, but now it’s helping him by protecting that knee by limiting his movement and hits.
Patriots don’t have the blocking line that the Bills have. They are good, but rely more on Brady’s focus and good play calling instead of raw power.
Brady won’t leave the game from an aggravated injury, but it will affect his game.
This could effectively be as dangerous, but with one caveat: Brady is an immobile QB and that suits the Dolphins defense more so than a mobile QB. It also changes the blocking schemes and put more pressure on the O-line — especially if the run game is running clunky.
Miami will have a better showing on defense this week — that’s not saying much after the Bills game, I know. Yes, it’s the Patriots, but having home-field, plus a Qb with limited mobility, will give their pass rush better looks to do what they want to do. And given Suh and Jordan are formidable inside (where the most crucial pressure comes from), this will be a difficult task of the Pats interior O-Line — so those writing off Miami, think again.
Here’s the key: if they are simply making Brady move off his spot early and slowing the run game, I see a Miami win. If not, then the tea-leaves won’t read so pretty a picture. Go Fins!!!
Happy New Year ALL!!!!!!
…would not be surprised to see Brady play one series and be replaced by Garoppolo …resting him for the playoffs and showcasing the kid as trade bait come March
Nah, they last year left a bad taste in their mouth…he’ll go as long as he is healthy and it’s not a blowout.
I must agree w Lemmus here. If there is any team that you don’t want your ailing franchise QB playing against, it would be Miami. How many QBs has Miami knocked out of games this year? By far more than any other team in the league. You can believe that Billacheat knows this and also understands the motive for Miami to tee off on Brady. After all, these 2 teams may well meet again in 2 weeks, and Miami would love to send Mr. Brady to the sideline for the playoffs. 1 shot from Suh or Wake and damage may be done. You can say that about any player any time, but Mr. Brady is 39 and Wake/Suh are the ultimate players teeing off. Or a Kiko sack sending out another Pats QB. Must be a thought on both sides.
I would have agreed too…except for last year. Miami beating them added a big push to them not making the Super Bowl….I think Belli has a huge ego and wants this win as much as he needs it. I could very well be wrong …and Lemmus gets it right every blue moon 🙂
…and twice on Sundays 🙂
Not happy with this:” Rookie WR Malcolm Mitchell, who didn’t practice all week w/ a knee injury, has been downgraded to out. Michael Floyd steps into top-3 WR mix” That missing safety and weaken secondary could be under severe strain”
Because the smart money was laid on the Fins early. The Pats usually struggle down here, could be a crazy game. Plus the fact the Pats could possibly take on the caution side here already being a 2 seed. After-all, Miami could face this same Pats team 2 weeks from Sat/Sun should they be fortunate enough to leave Pitt w a win. I know a Brady less Pats team is a different machine.
Point drop due to history and the caution. Imo
Don’t like this: “Rookie WR Malcolm Mitchell, who didn’t practice all week w/ a knee injury, has been downgraded to out. Michael Floyd steps into top-3 WR mix” That missing safety and weaken secondary could be under severe strain”
Anyone know why the point spread went from NE by 10 to NE by 6? Is it because of the news of Brady’s knee?
…just reality setting in …they’re not that good, we’re not that bad …and Brady’s knee problem isn’t news”, it happened in the Seattle-NE game weeks back and has lingered …and NE is still winning …and all the betting pros have that baked in already
…if our offense can run on them, the knee won’t be on the field that much anyway …and if we can’t, its going to be a shootout and we’re pretty much out of ammo on defense
…pray they can find two starting guards in FA because we need every draft pick to be defense this time around …we don’t have the cap to find and sign big money LBs and DBs in FA …but two guards, yes
it is news, but not news that seems to get mention….any other major QB that is 39 and limited in 2 days of practice would get some mention…it’s good to be the king.
Not sure on that….I’ll ask Jimmy that’s his knowledge base.
jimmy said it was at 9.5…he hadn’t seen 6…but, I don’t know much about end. So, just repeating.
Don’t be surprised if Trevor Reilly makes a play or 2 Sunday vs his former team. Gase giving Billacheat a dose of his own medicine.
HOOT!!! HOOT!!!
Playoff Bound
hope he does brother!!!!
This phantom knee injury is completely irrelevant. Brady has been playing lights out all year, and mobility has never been part of his game, at least not the type of mobility where you need great knees. Brady shuffles more than runs, he slips and slides within the pocket to buy more time, but his game is his laser accuracy and quick release.
Nobody is talking about his Oline. He has good OL play and they can also run on almost anybody. Pick your poison.
Fins usually play 2 deep man under, mix in zones and blitzes. If NE can establish the run its gonna be a very long day. Fins cant man up against Brady’s passing game, so I expect Fins to stick to a safer zone scheme and try being unpredictable in the blitzes….but Im not expecting much from our D.
On the other side of the ball is where the fins have to win this game. If the fins can pound the J-train, control the tempo, run the clock shorten the game and wear down Pats D, then we have a chance at the end, if not, if we cant run the ball, and we all know Beli is going to load the box and blitz the hell our of MMoore, we could see a lopsided result.
Well, it’s not a phantom injury. If you watched him play the week after the Hawks game he could barely walk and phantom injuries dont keep you from multiple practices. So, Brady is the key. He suffers alot from pressure and his knee will swell and weaken with alot of movement and hits…this will effect his game. You can run the ball all you want, but if you dont limit him he will score more than you. Suh and Wake are THE studs. If they dont perform at a high level then Brady will destroy this D. That’s why I see pressure as the key for a two fold reason. Yes, we must score….but, it must be in combination with affecting Brady. No pressure will equal a loss in my eyes, even if we run up and down the field. Now, pressure AND a run game is a very nice recipe.
As a pre mea culpa: I’m drinking Teqela and rum as I clean up my tools, BUT, this statement rubbed me wrong, “This phantom knee injury is completely irrelevant” If you had to go one-on -one against a player, you’d understand how tendencies and film study can lead you to victory in one or two plays on the NFL level. This might seem like nothing on the face of it. But, at the higher levels, it’s the difference between winning and losing. I never played at this level. My level was lower. But, a series was what I looked at. Consider Kiko’s pick . That was hours of game tape brewed down to one play– that won a game. Brady’s wearing down with a swollen knee dropping the ball short by a few feet in the fourth could change the game…. and I’ll beat that the defense is looking square at that knee and saying the same thing. The micro of the player is the macro of the fan.
Now that it’s being reported “Rookie WR Malcolm Mitchell, who didn’t practice all week w/ a knee injury, has been downgraded to out. Michael Floyd steps into top-3 WR mix” That missing safety and weaken secondary could be under severe strain — “so I expect Fins to stick to a safer zone scheme and try being unpredictable in the blitzes” tis would be the right call.