Brady hopes to learn from bad decision
FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) – Tom Brady flashed his customary smile as he talked about the bad decision that led to one of the worst passes of his NFL career. His cheerful mood was back Wednesday, but he’s very serious about avoiding such a costly mistake as that interception as he was hit Monday night that led to Miami’s winning touchdown in a 29-28 upset of the Patriots.
“Playing quarterback for as long as I have, I’ve made plenty of bad decisions,” Brady said. “We’ll add that to the list and then move on and then, hopefully, there are better decisions to be made.”
He’s won two Super Bowl MVP awards. He’s known for his poise and intelligence. And he usually makes plays that win games, not lose them.
“Is every play perfect? No,” coach Bill Belichick said Wednesday. “But I’m glad he’s our quarterback. There isn’t anybody else I’d rather have.”
Brady wasted no time trying to bounce back from his terrible decision. He was at Gillette Stadium early Tuesday morning studying his performance. On Wednesday, he returned to practice for Sunday’s road game against the New York Jets, a much tougher opponent than Miami.
He hopes to remember the lesson of the interception by Brendon Ayanbadejo with 1:45 left that set up A.J. Feeley’s winning 21-yard scoring pass to Derrius Thompson.
“I think you bring it with you in the sense that you don’t want to make the same mistake again,” Brady said.
He finished Monday’s game 18-for-29 for 171 yards and three touchdowns. But he matched his career high of four interceptions. He also struggled in his first game of the season against Miami, going 7-for-19 for 76 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. But the Patriots won that 24-10.
Despite those games, he’s seventh in the AFC in passer rating and has 24 touchdown passes.
For most of his career, Brady has been an excellent decision-maker, a major reason the Patriots are 46-14 when he starts.
“We’ve seen him bounce back time and time again,” wide receiver David Patten said. “He’s the guy that we trust and believe in. I don’t see us losing that this week.”
In the Patriots’ previous six games, all wins, Brady threw for eight touchdowns and had only two interceptions. That’s one reason Monday’s collapse was so surprising.
“You can’t practice some of the things that happen. You have to really make sure that when those situations do come up, you have to make the right decision,” he said. “That’s one of the great things about playing quarterback.
“You hold the ball on every play and the team trusts you with that ball,” he added, even if other players make mistakes as a play develops. “When those come up, you have to say, ‘OK as quick as a decision as you can make, you have to make it what’s best for the team.’ “
His teammates stood solidly behind him Wednesday.
“We all make mistakes,” safety Rodney Harrison said. “He’s one of our top leaders and he’s made so many tremendous plays so you can’t fault a guy out there being competitive.”
Brady still tried to complete the pass even though defensive end Jason Taylor was wrapping him up for a sack, which Brady said he should have taken. That would have enabled the Patriots to punt and given the Dolphins more ground to cover to win the game.
Instead, his pass fluttered wildly and the Dolphins took over at the New England 21-yard line. They scored four plays later.
“Everybody realizes it was a poor decision, myself included, right at the top of the list,” Brady said. “You evaluate yourself very critically and very harshly for any type of poor decision.
“In the heat of the moment, you make poor decisions and I’m trying to train myself that, in the most critical of situations, that you try not to make as poor a decision as I made. That play in particular, that’s the type of play that loses games, and that’s what happened.”