“The defense helped him out a lot in the past,” Sheppard said. “They made key drives when they needed to and I think they still do that this year, but I think the lack of big plays on the defense has been the biggest difference in that team right now.”
So don’t write off Brady yet. The Patriots certainly aren’t, not with only rookie free agent Brian Hoyer backing him up and no sense of urgency to groom a successor.
Brady may never match his NFL record of 50 touchdown passes in 2007 when he was the league’s MVP and the Patriots went 18-0 before losing the Super Bowl to the New York Giants.
But give Brady a third wide receiver, better plays to run and another year removed from knee surgery to eliminate any caution that may remain and then see what happens.
“When you look through time and all your great quarterbacks, your Hall of Fame quarterbacks, there is a pretty good supporting cast along with them,” said Carolina Panthers coach John Fox, who will face the Patriots today. “He’s as good as there is in the business and has been for some time.”
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