You didn’t really think the Patriots would let a little sideline dust-up become a big deal, did you? By now we have all seen the video of Tom Brady and offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien screaming at one another on the sidelines during Sunday’s win over the Redskins. Having a verbal war in public was out of the ordinary for Brady. Showing frustration after a disappointing drive was not.
We don’t know the exact details of the argument, but what we do know is that Brady made a bad throw. He cost New England an opportunity to go up two scores and virtually secure a win. Fortunately, their defense was able to come up with a play in the red zone to preserve the win. During his scheduled radio appearance on WEEI Monday, Brady took the blame for the altercation.
“That’s just part of the game,” Brady explained. “He and I have a great relationship. Actually, I love that he feels that he can coach me. I think that’s something as a veteran player you maybe don’t get a lot from coaches. Because you’re a veteran, you don’t think, ‘Aw man, I can’t be yelled at.’ But yeah, you can. And you should. We’re all held accountable. I’m glad our defense really made the play to win the game at the end, because I’d have been feeling pretty crappy if we’d somehow not pulled that game out with that interception there at the end.”
We could have told you Brady would say something like that. The most intriguing aspect of the entire situation to me is whether or not Brady is feeling more pressure this season than he ever has. The Patriots defense is horrible. They can’t stop anyone — not even the Redskins or Colts. Brady knows that he has to score every time he touches the ball. You can imagine how that type of burden would be frustrating for a quarterback. With the way the Pats have played defense this season, they may need to pray for a first-round bye and then back-to-back blizzards to have a shot at reaching the Super Bowl.
