The New England Patriots know there’s plenty of work to be done after a disappointing Week 1 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Those alterations started with a razor in Tom Brady’s hand.
The Patriots quarterback revealed Monday morning on WEEI radio that he has shaved his beard after a tough showing against his division rivals. Now, the Patriots have much more pressing adjustments to make ahead of their Week 2 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.
“It’s on us players to do a better job,” Brady said Monday morning. “When we have open passes to hit, we have to hit them. … We’re trying to do everything we can to make the plays we need to make. The execution on the field, we need to do a better job.”
Brady was pressured all afternoon, as the Dolphins’ impressive pass rush took advantage of a Patriots’ offensive line that’s in a transition period. New England — which traded All-Pro guard Logan Mankins during the presesason — spent much of the game rotating its offensive line combinations. However, Brady shouldered much of the blame for the offense being grounded, especially in the second half.
“It’s one of those things that if you feel the pressure and don’t want to take sacks, you’ve gotta get rid of it,” he explained on WEEI. “… That’s where discipline and situational awareness really comes in for the quarterback and I have to do a better job (with that). Those are the things I’ve gotta get better at; I’ve gotta get better at a lot of things. I can certainly play a lot better than I did (Sunday).”
Simply put, though, Brady knows the Patriots will have to be much better moving forward.
“We didn’t really capitalize on our opportunities and we made a lot of mistakes and that leads to losses in the NFL.” he said.
