So what’s wrong with Tom Brady? A former teammate says the real question is what’s wrong with the guys around him.
“Tom Brady can still play,” NBC’s Rodney Harrison told WEEI in Boston on Tuesday, via ESPN.com. “But when you surround him -- there’s a reason why Brandon LaFell was let go [by Carolina]. He’s not a great player. He’s a young guy, and he has to make his way in this league.
“And Danny Amendola, you look at him, no one ever said he was a great player. He’s always been hurt. The history is behind it. Rob Gronkowski obviously coming off that ACL injury, he’s been hurt. So it’s not like when you look at the Patriots on paper they just have all these weapons and teams are afraid of them.”
Then there’s the blocking. Or lack of it.
“I think it’s one of those situations where Brady, he’s really, really frustrated,” Harrison said. “He doesn’t have any confidence in his offensive line.”
As a result, Harrison thinks Brady is “scared to death” in the pocket.
“But at the end of the day, Tom needs to play better,” Harrison said. “The offensive line needs to protect him, but Tom -- we’ve said it week in and week out -- he’s missing opportunities that are there; he’s just floating the ball in the air.”
The ball may be floating some more on Sunday night. Fresh off a 41-14 thrashing by the Chiefs on national TV, the Pats return home to face the 3-0 Bengals on Sunday Night Football.