FOXBORO, Mass. — Tom Brady, after just two games, is the odds-on favorite to win NFL MVP this season. Yet the New England Patriots quarterback claims he’s still rusty.
Brady said it after Week 1, when he went 28 of 40 for 406 yards with three touchdowns, and again after Week 2, when he went 29 of 35 for 376 yards with three more touchdowns. He has yet to turn over the ball.
“I’m still trying to just get back into the kind of football shape that I need to be in,” Brady said Wednesday. “Being here for two weeks has been great and the practices and so forth have been really good for me. I just need to have another good week.
“There’s no way to really replicate the kind of intensity and duration of what a practice is, and then certainly what a game is, when you’re not doing those things. It’s been good to be able to do those things for the last couple of weeks, but there’s a long way to go and this will be another important week for that.”
Brady’s passer rating is a career-high 135.5 — 22.8 points away from being perfect and 13 points over the single-season record — and he feels there’s a long way to go. Other NFL quarterbacks must be shaking their fists at him.
Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan was relayed Brady’s comments and doesn’t personally see the rust.
“Could have fooled me,” Hogan said. “Obviously everyone is their own critic. Everyone wants to be better at their craft. Tom is just like everyone else. He wants to be perfect.”
Brady’s been close this season, and he probably won’t be completely happy until he has that perfect game. He’s 5 of 6 for 153 yards throwing to Hogan this season, including 2 of 2 on deep passes.
Thumbnail photo via William Hauser/USA TODAY Sports Images
