Just because the New England Patriots earned a first-round playoff bye doesn’t mean Tom Brady wasn’t hard at work while his team waited for their AFC Divisional Round opponent to be revealed.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported the 41-year-old quarterback worked out with throwing coach Tom House during the bye week, the type of dedicated preparation that led to wide receiver Phillip Dorsett comparing Brady to Michael Jordan.
With the Patriots set to meet the Los Angeles Chargers in the divisional round, Brady on Monday discussed his work with House during his weekly radio interview with WEEI’s “Mut & Callahan.”
“Yeah, I’ve worked with Tom for a while,” Brady said. “I really, you know, enjoy my time with him and I had some extra time and felt like it would be a good thing to do.
“You know, Tom is always receptive and it’s just great reviewing things, talking about techniques, fundamentals and I think those things are so important for football players, certainly quarterbacks. … Football is always about technique and fundamentals and the more sound you are — in the bigger games you need to be as sound as possible. So, it’s just great having the extra time and taking some time and really dedicating it to that without thinking about plays and scheme, because that’s what happens this week. … We start talking about, you know, not certainly fundamentals and mechanics but plays and reads and so forth, so it’s just good to spend a little extra time doing that.”
The Chargers, who earned a 23-17 win over the Baltimore Ravens in the wild-card round, will present a multitude of issues for a Patriots team that has been up-and-down all season. LA boasts an offense littered with explosive skill position players, from running back Melvin Gordon to wide receivers Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, a veteran quarterback in Philip Rivers, a hellacious pass rush and a ball-hawking secondary that’s sure to make life difficult for Brady and the Pats.
LA also is loaded with swagger. Rivers made it clear the Bolts aren’t intimidated by Bill Belichick’s team and believe they can notch another road playoff victory and advance to their first AFC Championship Game since the 2007 season, when they lost to New England 21-12.
Brady, who struggled at times this season, will need to be on his A-Game if New England is to move one step closer to a third straight Super Bowl appearance. With Rob Gronkowski looking like a shell of himself and Julian Edelman appearing to be a step slow, Brady’s precision and timing will be of the utmost importance Sunday at Gillette Stadium, where the Chargers’ fierce pass rush will be hoping to have a party in New England’s backfield.
