FOXBORO, Mass. — Tom Brady is switching up his wardrobe for Saturday night’s wild-card round playoff game at Gillette Stadium.
The New England Patriots quarterback debuted new, white Under Armour cleats during last week’s 27-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins but came away disappointed with the way they felt. When Brady takes the field against the Tennesse Titans this weekend, he plans to wear the same red-and-blue cleats he’s sported for the past several seasons.
“I felt good,” Brady, who could be seen jogging on the sideline during the Dolphins game, said Friday. “I don’t think the white shoes are going to make it this week, though. I’m putting those things back to bed. They’re not making the cut for this game, so I’m back to my dark-colored shoes.”
Brady had perhaps his worst performance of the season against Miami, completing just 16 of 29 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns with one interception (a pick-six). Eighty-eight of his passing yards came on long completions to wide receiver Phillip Dorsett (50 yards) and linebacker/fullback Elandon Roberts (38 yards).
In a radio interview earlier this week, Brady lamented the plays he failed to make in the costly defeat, which prevented New England from securing a first-round playoff bye. The 42-year-old spoke Friday about honing his mechanics ahead of Saturday’s win-or-go-home contest.
“Those are always important,” Brady said. “I wish they were perfect every week, and I do think that some things — sometimes you get a little off, and you’ve got to just go back to the fundamentals and study some mechanics and stuff like that. I try to focus on that every week — some weeks a little more than others — but it’s a game of skill, and it’s a game of technique. If you’re a golfer, not every shot goes 150 yards — for me, at least; not even for the pro golfers. Every jump shot doesn’t go in. It just doesn’t happen like that.
“Sometimes, passing the football is a little bit like that, too. There’s some days where you feel like, man, everywhere you’re aiming, it’s just going. And then sometimes, the timing’s a little bit off, decisiveness is a little bit of. It could be mental, could be physical. But all those things play a factor. You just try to get back to the spot where you really feel like you’re most confident.”
