After Further Review: Tom Brady finished? Criticism of Patriots QB is misguided - CBSSports.com

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Tom Brady is completing under 60 percent of his passes this season. (USATSI)

The Tom Brady-is-no-good narrative went more viral this week than his wife's modeling shots.

It went like this: Age has caught up to Brady. He can't throw the deep ball anymore.

He's scared. He's jumpy. He's not accurate.

He's simply finished.

It's been that way since the 37-year-old Brady was taken out of Monday's blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The knee-jerk reactionaries, a list of many, have brought down the hammer on Brady's ability to play quarterback for the New England Patriots -- or even at a starting level.

It's as if they are waiting to take down the guy who seemingly has it all, including three Super Bowl rings and a model wife who earns an enormous paycheck. The foolish police, a force of many, raced to bang out copy and tweets and anything else to decry that Brady was finished as a quality starting quarterback. Search 'Tom Brady finished' and see what comes up.

A lot.

I am here to defend Brady and to say he's far from done. Some in New England will scoff at the idea I would defend him since I always take the Peyton Manning side in the Brady-Manning debates. But what is happening to Brady now is misguided, unfair and uninformed.

Has Brady played like the 2007 Tom Brady who threw 50 touchdown passes? No, not even close. But there are a lot of factors at play, such as a bad offensive line -- sometimes disgustingly bad -- as well as no speed outside at the receiver position.

Defending the New England offense is simple since it's an offense confined to a 15-yard area from the line of scrimmage. It's almost as if there's a force field that won't allow receivers down the field. Brady has seven completions of 20 yards or more for an average of 1.75 per game. In the past four seasons, he's averaged 3.6 plays of 20 yards or more. That's a significant drop.

The receivers simply are too slow to win down the field. On some plays, they are so slow getting out of their breaks that Brady can't even consider them as targets because they aren't ready to make their cuts. If you look at the pass charts and the play-by-play from each week, it's something like this:

Brady short right, Brady short left and Brady short middle.

They throw a ton of quick passes outside to the receivers. I know there's criticism of the Patriots' decision to let Wes Welker go and replace him with Danny Amendola, but Welker wouldn't be the answer. He can't run either.

The Patriots lack a take-the-top-off outside threat. The last one they had was Randy Moss. That's a long time ago.

In the years since Moss, the Patriots were able to scheme things open. What they lacked in pure speed outside, they made up for with formations and schemes and the ability to use double-tight sets to create matchup problems. When they had a healthy Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez at tight end, they were a tough team defend, even without the speed outside.

Now Hernandez is in jail facing murder charges and Gronkowski is coming off an ACL injury, and clearly lacks the burst he once had. He's getting there, but not yet.

So Brady is left trying to throw to Julian Edelman, a converted quarterback, who is his younger version of Welker, Brandon LaFell, a castoff from the receiver-needy Carolina Panthers, Amendola and a slew of receivers and tight ends with a lot of pass-catching questions. Aaron Dobson was expected to be the speed outside, but he has been inactive the past two weeks because he allegedly got into a screaming match with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

I went back and studied every drop-back Brady has taken this season in his four games. What I saw was a quarterback who clearly needs help from everyone around him. His line, in fact, is putrid.

It would be easy to blame that on the Patriots decision to trade guard Logan Mankins to Tampa Bay before the season, but Mankins wasn't that good last year anyway. Yes, he's better than what they have now, but not for the money.

The guards and center spots have been troubling, but what compounds that is that the tackle spots haven't been that good either. With Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer, the Patriots thought the tackle position would be a good one. It's been anything but and Solder, their starting left tackle, has really struggled.

With a bad line, Brady's protection has been a problem and at times his eye level has come down as he peaks at the rush. That's never a good thing for a quarterback. The Patriots keep juggling players on their line, even in-game moves, which doesn't allow for continuity. When longtime line coach Dante Scarnecchia retired after the 2013 season, I thought there would be some troubles. But not like this.

Scarnecchia always took good, solid players and turned them into top lines, capable of keeping Brady upright. This group has given up nine sacks in four games, and that's with a lot of maximum-protection looks. Brady was sacked 40 times last year, the most since his rookie season in 2011 when he was dumped 41 times, but this line is far worse than last year's group right now.

Here's a play from the Miami game in Week 1 that shows how bad they can be, even with help.

Play: Second and 10 at the New England 37 with 9:14 in the third quarter

Offense: (Regular 2WR, 1 TE, 2 RB)

Defense: Base, single-high safety, man-under, eight-man front

NFL Rewind

This is a maximum-protection look for the Patriots, with just two receivers in the route. Miami countered with the eight-man front, but the sack should never happen. Brady should have had the time to hit Edelman, who won his battle against Brent Grimes, for a first down. Brady never had a chance.

NFL Rewind

Tight end Michael Hoomanawanui was too slow out of his stance and Cameron Wake blew by him. Running back Stevan Ridley tried to get over and help, but he was too far inside and could only brush him. Wake got the sack, caused a fumble and the Dolphins recovered.

Here's a look at a play from Kansas City that would have likely been a big play to Gronkowski if not for a sack by Tamba Hali, which caused a fumble that Kansas City also recovered.

Play: Second-and-7 at the New England 14 with 8:45 in the third quarter

Offense: Posse (3 WR, 1 TE, 1 RB

Defense: Nickel, man-under, two-deep safeties

NFL Rewind

On the play, Brady had a chance for a big shot down the field to Gronkowski (red circle). He was clearly beating safety Husain Abdullah. But Brady had no chance to get him the football.

Baca Juga

NFL Rewind

Hali went around Solder, who looked like a rookie seventh-round pick in his first game, and never had a chance.

NFL Rewind

Hali and was able to knock the ball out of Brady's hand as he was cocking it to throw, and the Chiefs recovered.

To show you that Brady can move around in the pocket and make throws when he has a chance -- and there is an open receiver -- here we have a look at a play from his Week 2 game against the Raiders.

Play: Third-and-15 from the New England 29 with 9:48 left and the Patriots leading 13-9

Offense: Regular (2 WR, 1 TE, 2 RB)

Defense: Dime, four-man rush

Brady had a relatively clean pocket, but when he felt push inside he slid away from it and was able to find Gronkowski wide open in the middle of the Oakland zone. He fired a bullet to him for a key first down. If you look closely, you can see Brady influenced the defense with his eyes to the right before he came back to Gronkowski in the middle. With time, he can still do that type of thing. It's a matter of protecting him.

I am not going to sit here and say Brady is without fault. He has missed some deep shots down the field, but some of that looks to be timing issues (Edleman was bumped off what should have been a big play against the Chiefs). Brady's desire to get the ball out a little too quickly because of the pressure has also hurt the offense. He's been inaccurate at times because of the rush, and perceived rush, but he's also had a handful of drops. He has airmailed a few balls to open receivers.

When I evaluate a quarterback, I always look to see how many times they pass on open receivers -- misreads -- to try and hit a receiver who is covered, or a lesser option. In re-watching Brady's drops to throw, I counted 14 in four games. That's not that many.

He can still find the right guy. I just think his mechanics are off some because of the pressure and his receivers aren't winning down the field like they should. No speed means big problems for an offense, and it's showing up here.

How can it be fixed? Here's an idea: Let Brady play more with his eyes facing the defense. The Patriots use a lot of play-action passing, which has him turning his back to the defense. That's OK, if you can protect. If not, it's a big problem. On one play-action pass play, Oakland defensive tackle Pat Sims was on Brady before he even had a chance to turn back around.

The Patriots need to be the team that dictates tempo. Their receivers can't win down the field, so scheme it up with quick throws and timing stuff. Play fast. Get the ball out.

For all the talk about Brady's problems, the running game hasn't been much better. They are 23rd in the league in yards per rush. So change it. Let him play faster. There is no way that any offense with Brady should be ranked 31st in passing.

There are a lot of reasons for it but, unlike the narrative, this is not mostly Brady's fault. He has some blame, but he's far from being the major reason the passing game has struggled.

The end is coming like it does for all greats. But to say it's here now is woefully misguided.

More film study observations

J.J. Watt play of the week: Every week in this space I feature a play highlighting Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt. Why? He's the best defensive player in the NFL, and arguably the best player overall, although my pick is Aaron Rodgers.

The play from last week's victory over the Buffalo Bills that everyone would expect me to pick would be his 80-yard interception return for a touchdown. That was truly a special play. But that play has been shown over and over and over again this week. So I picked a play from the fourth quarter that shows how important Watt is to the defense even when he's not making a play. With Houston leading Buffalo 23-17, and trying to hold off a comeback, Bills quarterback EJ Manuel dropped to pass on a first-and-10 play from the Buffalo 29 with 1:42 left.

Watt was lined up over right guard Erik Pears. At the snap, he took a hard inside rush and center Eric Wood helped to double. Then left guard Cyril Richardson came over to help. It was a triple-team, and even Watt couldn't get much push against that. But the other players were singled. That attention enabled safety D.J. Swearinger to beat the block of back Fred Jackson and Whitney Mercilus won his one-on-one battle with right tackle Seantrel Henderson. That forced Manuel to scramble for three yards, a little gain when the Bills needed chunk plays.

Here's a look at that play:

Ravens' guards are elite: The Baltimore Ravens have quickly gone from having one of the worst offensive lines in the league to one of the best. Credit goes to the front office for fixing what was a problem area a year ago. The Baltimore guards are the best duo in the league. Right guard Marshal Yanda is perennially one of the best in the NFL. For now, he's the second best on his own team. Kelechi Osemele is the best guard on the roster. The third-year player, who moved to guard last year after playing tackle as a rookie only to suffer a back injury, has been impressive. Team sources raved about him in the summer, especially during the team's work with the 49ers, and he's lived up to the expectations.

The signing of center Jeremy Zuttah as a free agent has also paid off. He fits what the Ravens want to do in Gary Kubiak's scheme. Right tackle Ricky Wagner, who I wrote about in this space last week, continues to impress. He is coming off anther good game against Charles Johnson last week. And then there's the left tackle spot. Eugene Monroe, who they re-signed as a free agent this summer, missed last week's game. So James Hurst, a non-drafted rookie from North Carolina, got the start. Hurst really impressed in pass protection. Credit goes to the front office for revamping a line that really had issues in 2013.

Meet Pernell McPhee: We know the Ravens have a lot of talent on their defense. But a guy who really flashed late last week was backup outside linebacker Pernell McPhee. He is listed as an outside linebacker, but he can play so many roles on that defense. Late in the game, he showed off that ability. McPhee was credited with just one assist on the day, but late in the game he was disruptive in a variety of roles. On one play, he lined up as a down player over Panthers center Ryan Kalil. He beat him at the snap with his hands, and then ran through running back Darrin Reaves to push the back into Cam Newton.

On the next play, he stood up in the other 'A' gap and got pressure inside to help the Ravens drop Newton for a sack. Later, he stood up in an outside linebacker spot and ran over tight end Ed Dickson to hit Newton. He then whipped tight end Greg Olsen on a run play and dropped Reaves for no gain. McPhee is the kind of player teams need in reserve, a try-hard tough guy who never backs down.

Nick Foles had zero TDs, two INTs vs. the 49ers last week. (USATSI)

Foles has footwork problems: After studying the Eagles-49ers tape, I see why Nick Foles is having problems throwing the deep ball. His footwork is horrible. On a deep pass to Jeremy Maclin against the 49ers, Foles had his left foot facing the sideline as he tried to throw to the middle. That doesn't work. He also had his lead foot facing the middle on an earlier throw as he tried to throw to the sideline. He's also falling back on his throws.

The mechanics have deteriorated since last season. Some of that has to do with the offensive line injuries, but they weren't as bad as some thought they would be in terms of pressure against San Francisco. Foles threw 12 passes traveling at least 20 yards in the air against the 49ers last week. He didn't hit one. Foles has to fix these flaws, or it's going to be a long season throwing the football for him and the Eagles.

Eagles miss DeSean: One more Eagles note: They miss DeSean Jackson in a big way. Jackson was their home-run threat. He also helped open things up underneath because of the threat of his deep speed. Without that, the deep-passing game has struggled. Riley Cooper has been flat-out bad. He has dropped passes. He fumbled last week. He has trouble separating when he's matched up with corners.

49ers need to use Lynch more: The 49ers have to give rookie outside linebacker Aaron Lynch more snaps. He played a third of them last week against the Eagles, but that should be even more. He is a tough guy in the run game and he has some pass-rush ability. With their pass rush struggling, look for Lynch to get more time. The fifth-round pick out of South Florida has a chance to be a really good player.

Flowers blooming in San Diego: Corner Brandon Flowers, who was let go by the Chiefs and signed by the Chargers, is coming off two outstanding games. Flowers really impressed against Jacksonville last week. The Chargers have to be thrilled the Chiefs let him walk. In fairness to the Chiefs, he didn't play for them last season like he has the past two weeks.