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Patriots: Despite Injuries, Tom Brady Will Dominate vs. Eagles

By Dan Schmelzer

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The injuries for the New England Patriots are numerous, but this week it does not matter. Tom Brady is going to light-up the Eagles.

The New England Patriots have been decimated with injuries this season, with the losses on the offensive side of the ball being much more numerous and devastating than the losses on defense.

Tom Brady has a history of doing a lot with little talent surrounding him, but this is getting ridiculous. He has dealt with major offensive line issues because of injuries all season long, while losing a major targets in the passing game week-after-week. First it was running back Dion Lewis, then number one target Julian Edelman, his replacement Danny Amendola and finally last week, the great Rob Gronkowski.

Late in the game last week against the Denver Broncos, Brady’s two most reliable targets were Brandon LaFell and Scott Chandler. Yeah, this is starting to get ugly.

That being said, Brady could be throwing to Division III college receivers this week, and he would still probably do some serious damage. The Philadelphia Eagles have one of the worst secondaries in the NFL, and I do not care who he is throwing to, Brady will be able to exploit them.

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The Eagles have given up 45 points in back-to-back blowout loses the last two weeks. First, two weeks ago to rookie quarterback Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and last week to Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions. Winston tied a rookie record with five touchdown passes in the Bucs’ win over the Eagles, and Stafford matched his total with 337 passing yards and five touchdowns last week.

Despite dominating the scoreboard throughout the games and trying to run down the clock, both the Buccaneers and Lions were able to consistently move the ball down the field through the air against the Eagles. With all due respect to Winston and Stafford, they are not in the same atmosphere of Brady. I don’t care who he’s throwing to, Brady is going to light up the scoreboard on Sunday.

The Eagles have lost cornerback Nolan Carroll for the season, and taking his place is rookie Eric Rowe, who looks completely over-matched on the field. Rowe may end up being a decent player down the line, but he is clearly not ready for an expanded role in the NFL. Rowe is being forced into action by the Eagles’ lack of options. I expect Brady to exploit Rowe throughout the game.

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If he doesn’t want to pick on Rowe, perhaps Brady will decide to light Byron Maxwell up. The Eagles paid Maxwell a significant free agent contract this past off season to come in and be their shut-down corner. However, Maxwell has struggled in coverage all season long, and appears to be a shell of what he was with the Seattle Seahawks. Without Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas protecting him, Maxwell has been exposed this season.

With Edelman out until at least the playoffs, and Gronkowski likely to miss a couple of weeks at minimum, Brady is without his top two targets. That being said, Amendola returned to Patriots’ practice on Wednesday, and it seems relatively likely that he will suit for this game against the Eagles.

With Amendola running the short routes in the slot, LaFell matched-up on Maxwell or Rowe on the outside, and Chandler being the massive tight end in the middle of the field, the Patriots should have plenty to attack this weak secondary. They are far from full strength, but Amendola, LaFell, Chandler and even guys like Keshawn Martin and James White should be plenty for Brady on Sunday.

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Going forward, the Patriots may be in trouble without Gronkowski and Edelman, but for this week, they should be fine. No matter the situation, always have confidence in Tom Brady against awful secondaries. He will find the holes and continually exploit them.

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