Tom Brady's Return to Football

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After serving his very controversial four game suspension,  Tom Brady will make his 2016 debut this Sunday. Minus the 16-0 loss at home this past week, the Patriots using their 2nd and 3rd string quarterbacks are 3-1, surviving the first 4 games without Brady. The Patriots will travel to Cleveland for a 1pm start against the Browns. If you are a Patriot’s fan you have to be happy knowing Brady gets to get back in the swing of things against a struggling 0-4 Browns team. What does this mean for the rest of the NFL and the AFC East? It's a little scary. Brady has had an extra 4 weeks to stay healthy and workout. It could get very scary once the second half of the season starts.

In 225 career games played, Tom Brady has 58,028 passing yards and 428 passing touchdowns. If you look at the way that the Patriots run game has produced, averaging 4.2 rushes per carry. Defenses will have to respect the backfield which should opening things up in the passing match ups. Brady in his career average throws for 257.9 yards per game, with the run game just under 5 yards a carry.  The Patriots will face 2nd and short of 3rd and short with Brady under center.  This could cause match up problems for defenses with Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola and the big tight end mismatch Martellus Bennet. Adding Brady to the mix, with these offensive weapons among others it's crazy to think where this team could go by the end of the season. As long as Brady returns to the field as the Brady of old, defenses could be in for long games against him and the Patriots.

This recent suspension wasn't the first time that Brady, Belichick, and company have had their fair share of on the field controversy through the years. January 9th, 2002 Patriots vs Raiders, Charles Woodson sacks Brady and forces what he thinks is the game winning fumble for the Raiders. After further review it was determined that Tom Brady's arm was coming forward in a throwing motion and therefore was ruled an incomplete pass. The game ends on a Vinatieri field goal to send the Raiders home and eventually sending the Patriots, back to  New England as Super Bowl Champions.

September 9th, 2007 the Patriots are caught filming the New York Jets defensive coaches’ signals. Belichick later admitted to violating the rules, but said there was no intent to hide what he was doing and that he made a mistake. Obviously the most recent was “DeflateGate” in a 45-7 beating of the Indianapolis Colts. All but one of the footballs the Patriots were using, were slightly under inflated, it was decided by NFL commissionerRodger Goddell,   that a suspension was needed. Break up the sentences. To be completely honest if you get beat 45-7 the weight of the football is not going to make that big of a difference. Thankfully this chapter in the NFL is closed and Tom Brady can get back to playing football and we can all go about our business either loving or hating Tom Brady.

The Patriots were faced with adversity, losing Tom  Brady four games, and they responded about as well as a team can. With the next man up mentality, Jimmy Garoppolo looked like a poised, season veteran and his stats show it. In two games this season Garoppolo completed 71% of his passes for 496 yards and 4 touchdowns. If you are a Patriot fan, the future after Tom Brady looks just as bright for the Pats. Garoppolo quickly can get himself in rhythm and his accuracy would make one question why he is only a backup. The brightest spot is the amount of football IQ the young QB out of Eastern Illinois, he had the ability to dissect a play almost before it happens. All in all, the Patriots showed the team can rise above not having their star QB or that Gronk guy and still be OK. The Patriots also found that they have a QB of the future when Father Time inevitably catches up with the 39 Brady.

What does all this mean for the Patriots remaining schedule? Going 3-1 without Brady gives the team a lot of confidence, one would have to assume when most were writing them off at the beginning of the season. Coming off of a loss to division foe Buffalo 16-0 for the first time being shut out at home since 1993, one would assume Belichick and his coaching staff will have the Patriots focused and ready to play in Cleveland. Which brings the last point up, the Patriots are playing the Cleveland Browns who have continued to struggle as an organization, look for Brady and the Patriots to roll all over the Browns in Cleveland righting the ship with captain Tom back at the helm.

Sources
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/deflate-gate-england-patriots-controversies/story?id=28373420
http://www.patriots.com/schedule-and-stats
http://www.nfl.com/teams/depthchart?team=NE

Written by
Carlo Guadagnino

Edited by
Cody Yocca
Anna Riddel