Tom Brady has been here before.
Brady has been everywhere before. But
http://www.billsshopofficial.com/shop-by-players-shaq-lawson-jersey-c-1_48.html the current, depleted state of the Patriots offense is familiar territory for him.
Rob Gronkowski is in "day-to-day" groin mystery limbo. Julian Edelman is out for the year. Danny Amendola is in the concussion protocol. Chris Hogan was seen struggling with a right leg injury Sunday. Malcolm Mitchell is out, and newcomer Phillip Dorsett appears destined for the injury report. Even the replacements need replacing.
This is the time in Brady's career when he's supposed to be getting extra help. John Elway had Terrell Davis. Peyton Manning let the Broncos defense drag him across the finish line. Heck, even Wolverine got a stabby sidekick to carry him through his final adventure. But Brady must revert to lone gunslinger mode.
Brady was here in 2015, when Gronk, Amendola and Edelman could never get into the same huddle at the same time. Guys like Keshawn Martin, Brandon LaFell and Brandon Bolden had to fill in. There were a pair of two-game losing streaks and some scary moments, but the Patriots finished 12-4.
Brady was here in 2013, when a Gronk-and-Friends injury rash left him throwing to the likes of Kenbrell Thompkins, Aaron Dobson and
http://www.authenticpackerssale.com/shop-by-players-95-datone-jones-jersey-c-1_44.html Michael Hoomanawanui. There were some shaky moments, like a 13-6 loss to the Bengals. But there were also shootout victories, and the Patriots finished 12-4.
Brady was here in 2006, before the Patriots pivoted from a balance-and-defense team to an aerial circus. New England cobbled together a receiving corps out of Reche Caldwell, 35-year-old Troy Brown and trade acquisition Doug Gabriel (the Phillip Dorsett of the mid-2000s). There was a two-game losing streak, and even a shutout loss. But the Patriots finished 12-4.
Between the loss to the Chiefs and the ever-expanding injury report, we're searching for portents that the end is near for the Patriots. But all we find is familiar territory and a bunch of seasons most teams would hang a banner for.
A pessimist could note how the Patriots lost in the AFC Championship Game on the road to Peyton Manning's teams in all three of the seasons listed above. Regular-season losses when Brady was throwing to nobodies robbed them of home-field advantage and potentially some Super Bowl rings for their off hands.
The Patriots are the only team in NFL history to
Laremy Tunsil Youth Jersey enjoy the luxury of spending a decade worrying about home-road playoff ramifications in mid-September. Manning is now retired, and the AFC has not yet sorted out its Patriots resistance efforts without him. Brady can do what he has always done during receiver crises
—beat opponents with one half of the depth chart tied behind his back—and worry about the playoffs once he leads the Patriots there.
