We've seen it all before: A quarterback goes down with a devastating knee injury and afterward, he is never the same. It's a chilling thought for Patriots fans to face when considering the future of Tom Brady.
But the Jets defense doesn't really see a difference between the 2009 version of Brady and the one who walked off the field following New England's loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLIII, regardless of how he looked against Buffalo in Week 1.
Jets right tackle Damien Woody, who played with Brady for five years from 1999 to 2003, told The New York Post, "He doesn't let anything faze him."
Seconded head coach Rex Ryan, "He looked like the same Tom Brady to me. I know he had some dropped balls. If they didn't drop those, what did he throw, 45 completions? You have to put pressure on him. I don't think there was a whole lot of pressure on him [by the Bills]. He got sacked once and he got hit a few times. I never thought he flinched one bit."
Hopefully, Woody and Ryan are right. Brady, who has a 7-0 lifetime record at the Jets, would love to give New England sole possession of the AFC East with a win over the Jets on Sunday.
Still, he knows this squad may be a little different from the less gifted ones he's faced in years past.
"This is one of the best Jets teams we've ever faced," he told the Post. "You can't lose your concentration in any one phase. If you do, it's a strip-sack fumble for a touchdown, an interception, or a blitz that you don't see. That can hurt you."
