BSJ Exclusive: Tom Brady on offensive struggles, repetitions with Amendola and confidence in Hogan

It's safe to say that it's been a while since we've seen the Patriots passing game struggle this late in the season as we approach Thanksgiving.

It bottomed out in the loss to the Titans, but there were signs it was coming in the wins over the Packers and Bills. This largely uncharted territory for the Patriots has everyone on the outside looking for answers.

Is it strictly personnel due to injuries? Has Tom Brady lost it? Is it an over-reliance on Josh Gordon?

In an exclusive conversation with BostonSportsJournal.com that largely centered on some legitimate questions about his footwork and mechanics this season (more on that this week), Brady talked about repetitions with Danny Amendola, his trust level with Chris Hogan and whether or not he's reacting too much to pressure in the pocket. But Brady left little doubt where the issues with the Patriots reside — an inconsistency in personnel that has led the offense to be less precise than normal, which in turn has led the quarterback to have less conviction in where to deliver the ball.

But make no mistake, Brady has full confidence the Patriots will get where they need to be eventually.

"I don’t think I’m discouraged at all," Brady said last week. "I wish we were 10-0 but we’re not, we’re 7-3, we have our biggest games ahead of us. Hopefully, we can learn from what’s happened the last 10 weeks. Offensive football is about 11 guys being on the same page and I’m confident in what we’re doing … and executing well with emotion and energy and effort and building on those (factors) week after week. There’s a lot of things that we talk about as a team and we’re going to have to keep making progress in all that we’re doing.”

It's clear to this point that "11 guys" have not been on the same page, which has led to some spotty offensive execution. But sometimes it has been there.

Probably the biggest play of the game against Buffalo was a third-and-6 conversion for 26 yards from Brady to Julian Edelman. The Patriots were leading 12-6 at the time, and the play jumpstarted a drive that would end with a touchdown that basically finished off the game.


In terms of everything — Brady's footwork, his heat-seeking throw and route by Edelman — Brady agreed this was the ideal for the Patriots. Not coincidentally, it also happened to feature the two longest-serving teammates in the offense.

"Yeah, that was a great throw," Brady jumped in to say as I was describing it to him. "I think that’s getting everything timed up. A lot of it, I think, as a quarterback is decisiveness. It’s really pulling the trigger and being decisive in what you’re doing and that allows you to be really free to really unleash it."

For various reasons to this point in the season — whether it has been Rob Gronkowski's health or incorporating Gordon and Cordarrelle Patterson into the offense — everything has not been timed up, and Brady has not had the confidence to be as decisive as he has been in the past. That discussion led Brady to bring up a departed free-agent receiver unprompted.

"I think, if you look at … every year things change, and every year you have different players," Brady said. "When you have, for example, former players like Danny Amendola … I played with Danny for a long time, you know? And when you develop years and years of repetition, it’s like anyone when you work together, there’s a great benefit to that.

"But some years you can have that and some years you don’t. You just have to work hard at it and you work your way through the entire season. You don’t just stop in Week 5 or Week 10 or Week 14 or Week 16. I mean, we’ve gone into the playoffs and we’re still working on things. And then the season ends and you keep working on it, and if guys are back the next year, you keep working on it, and if new guys … you’ve got to incorporate new guys and that’s part of the challenge of a football season. There’s always an incredible amount of challenges that you’re going to face. Sometimes when you bring the same team back, you know, a lot of other teams change. Sometimes you don’t bring a lot of (players) back, not a lot of other teams change. It’s just a lot of variables you’re trying to account for."

With so many variables in the Patriots' offense this season, it's been even more curious why Brady has not relied on a veteran target like Chris Hogan more. In fact, it's gone the other direction as Hogan has gone without a catch in consecutive games for the first time with the Patriots. Hogan's frustration has been evident on the field for weeks, but he's said all the right things, even though his face has told a different tale.

Has Hogan done something to cause Brady to lose trust in him?

"I have a lot of confidence in him," Brady said. "He’s done a great job for us. He’ll get plenty of looks, he always does. I don’t have any reservations about throwing him the ball, he’s done a great job for us. I know he’s frustrated, I think everyone’s frustrated, especially when we lose and they don’t feel like they’re making the contributions. But he’s a pro and I love being out there with him."

One area of Brady's game that has received a lot of scrutiny in the aftermath of the loss to the Titans has been Brady's willingness to stand in the pocket against pressure — usually, a telltale sign that an aging quarterback may be reaching the end. But Brady didn't have many regrets about what happened against the Titans.

"I think in protecting the ball, there’s an aspect of knowing when the journey’s over," Brady said. "I don’t think you’re going to necessarily … it’s just decision-making. Look, there’s a lot of decisions that I make that are wrong, that’s just part of being a quarterback. Hopefully you make more right than wrong. And that’s what I’m trying to do. Some weeks it’s better than others, but you’d like to give your team a chance to win and that’s what I think a quarterback’s job is: put your team in an opportunity to be successful."

It's been far from perfect to this point — for the Patriots — but Brady still thinks there's time for the offense to get on the same page and execute at a level needed to be successful in the postseason. It's just going to take a lot more work.

"I have a ton of confidence in what we do," Brady said. "We’ve all just got to keep working at it and not be discouraged in what we’re doing, just keep working hard at it and believing that things are going to … the more we work at it, the better we’re going to get at it."