Tom Brady and the New England Patriots tempered expectations for Josh Gordon prior to Sunday.
But after watching the new Patriots wide receiver operate against the Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium, Brady seems ready to raise those expectations.
The Patriots quarterback had notably high praise for Gordon on Monday morning, highlighting the 27-year-old’s apparent comfort in the offense during his New England debut.
“He’s been really working hard and trying to get things right,” Brady said during an interview on WEEI’s “Kirk & Callahan.” “I don’t feel like I had to worry about where he was lining up or what he was running. He was super confident. I could tell in his eyes he knew what he was doing.”
“He’s just been great since he’s came in. So, hopefully we can keep it going and build on it.”
Gordon caught two passes on two targets for 39 yards Sunday in his first game action since Week 1, when he was a member of the Cleveland Browns. While those numbers are rather pedestrian, Brady seems to think the former All-Pro can play a significant role in this offense going forward.
“Still a lot of things to learn and improve on, and when we really get to know each other, hopefully all the hard work really pays off and we become really a great offense,” Brady said. ” … Josh really did a great job (Sunday), along with a lot of other guys.”
Brady also spoke at length about the importance of having chemistry with his pass-catchers, citing his relationships with Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski as models for Gordon to work toward.
“We get along well. He sits right next to me, so it’s just a nice rapport to have that,” Brady said. “… Now that he’s our teammate, we’ve got to get to know each other, because you can build that trust and chemistry in different ways. You see it with guys I played with for a long time. It builds and builds and builds. And what happens is, you just — you’re able to make a lot of good plays, and you basically eliminate all 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. You try to make plays, throw the ball where they’re able to make the plays and not the defense. It’s really a building process, and everything that you’re doing, you’re either building trust, you’re gaining trust or you’re losing trust. And it’s just guys that really are professional and they know what to do and they show up and they’re prepared — you build trust pretty quickly.”
Gordon failed to earn that trust in Cleveland as he dealt with myriad off-field issues. But Brady has high hopes that things will be different for his new wideout in Foxboro.
