The New England Patriots have once again locked down a division championship and playoff spot thanks to their 41-13 win over the Miami Dolphins. New England has certainly come a long way since the start of the season when many people were advocating for big changes to the team after early struggles. Instead, the offense has hit its stride thanks to the arm of Tom Brady and oddly enough, his feet.
Brady is not exactly known for his rushing abilities. If he were applying for a role on Broadway, he would check the box that says "moves well" instead of "dancer". However, the quarterback showed some quick footwork and speed against the Dolphins. In the third quarter, Brady recorded a 17-yard scramble, his longest rush since 2007. Brady opted not to slide and took the hit instead, firing his teammates up.
"It's always fun seeing the Clydesdale run," wideout Julian Edelman said via Boston.com. "He's been working hard on his little mobility stuff. He takes that to heart and it's always to watch him get fired up after a run... He's always had unbelievable pocket awareness so he seems pretty good to me. I mean he's been around here a while, a long time so it's alway great seeing the big dog get out there and move the chains. I call him Brady Vick."
According to head coach Bill Belichick, Brady has been working on his mobility this season. While he is certainly no Colin Kaepernick or Russell Wilson, he is showing an ability to scramble and make plays with his legs and not just his arm strength.
"It's something we talked about this week," Belichick said. "He made a big play on that last year against them, on a fourth [down], a scramble play in that situation. [It was] an alert play on his part and a key first down for us -- one you usually don't expect to get that way."
The Patriots have excelling at the right time. Edelman, Brandon LaFell and Rob Gronkowski continue to lead the receiving unit, while the re-emergence of Jonas Gray has offered the ground game a nice balance with LeGarrette Blount. Gray had 11 carries for 62 yards, his most since the breakout performance against the Indianapolis Colts where he rushed for 201 yards and four touchdowns.
"It's not really difficult," Gray said. "You always have to be prepared. You never know what your role is going to be. Last week I had a role on special teams, had to play a lot of special teams. Whenever your number is called, whatever you can do to help the team, you do it to the best of your ability."
