Say anything you want about Tom Brady’s guts. Just don’t put him in the same category with Joe Montana yet.
Brady is the guy who has made his reputation out of being accurate and minimizing mistakes. The interception he threw late in the fourth quarter to Reggie Howard, however, should have been avoided. The 3rd-and-goal pass to Christian Fauria should have been thrown away. If Brady does that, Adam Vinatieri gets a chance to give New England an 8-point lead.
Those are small nits to pick with Brady, but if he’s going to be considered the equal of Montana, he’s got to do just a bit more.
While the Panthers made Brady uncomfortable early in the first half, they never sacked him. Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis took advantage of Carolina’s aggressiveness with rollouts that confused the secondary and gave Brady time to find his receivers.
SILVER BULLETS
– Antowain Smith had 83 yards and a touchdown against Carolina, but he may not have done enough to save his job. If the Patriots bring Smith back next season, they have to give him a $500,000 roster bonus, and his salary goes from $1.4 million to $2.4 million. That’s not huge money, but Smith was a liability most of the season.
– The best move Panther GM Marty Hurney could make is to trade Stephen Davis while he’s still effective. DeShaun Foster is a far more explosive back who demonstrated his toughness in the postseason.
– Hope John Fox can sleep after his erroneous use of the two-point conversion. It was way too early to go for two–early in the fourth quarter–and it sent the wrong message to his players: “If we make the two, we’re just a field goal from tying it.” He should have been thinking about another touchdown and not limiting his team’s mindset.
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Edited by Phillip Thompson (plthompson@tribune.com) and Drew Sottardi (dsottardi@tribune.com)
