Tom Brady's future with the New England Patriots has never been put into question until this week. The quarterback has certainly not looked his usual self over the past four games and after a disastrous loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, some are wondering when it is time to shift to Plan B. The Patriots got a taste of that plan when Jimmy Garoppolo stepped in for the veteran and tossed a touchdown. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is telling fans not to panic over Brady just yet.
Brady finished Monday night going 14 for 23 for 159 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He was also sacked twice. Garoppolo stepped into the same offense and went 6 of 7 for 70 yards and score. No one is saying that Brady should be benched for good after a struggling four games as the Patriots sit 2-2 on the season. However, there is panic growing that this trend might continue for the remainder of the year. McDaniels feels differently.
"I have a lot of confidence in our guys," McDaniels said, via CSNNE.com. "We didn't play well [Monday] night. We didn't coach well offensively. We obviously have to do a lot better, starting with me. There is no shortcut to that, but we've got a lot of players that have played a lot of good football here before. We know it's a long season. We've got a lot of work ahead of us. We know that it's going to be critical for us to get better and improve each week."
There have been very few consistencies and bright spots for the Patriots offense. Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski have led the receiving corps, but struggled on Monday. Brandon LaFell had a slow start to 2014 with his new team, but managed to put up 119 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs. The run game is non-existent just one season after being a dominating three-headed monster. Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen are at risk of not returning next season if they continue to have games of just 28 and 26 rushing yards respectively.
According to former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison, Brady simply lacks offensive weapons to get the job done. The Patriots have attempted to load up on receivers for the quarterback, but players like Danny Amendola and Aaron Dobson have been busts up until now. They traded for Tim Wright in the offseason and have yet to truly give him a chance in the regular season. Something must change for New England and if it is not going to be the quarterback, it will be something else.
