The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are playing the New England Patriots in Foxborough this Sunday and that means it will be Tom Brady’s first time back in town since leaving the franchise he won six Super Bowls with.
While there’s certainly been a lot of drama surrounding Brady and his relationship with Patriots coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots players are the ones who will need to step up and stop the quarterback from leaving with a victory.
Patriots linebacker Matt Judon certainly seemed confident about the team’s ability to stop Brady when he spoke with reporters on Thursday.
“Bro, he’s the next quarterback we’ve gotta play,” Judon said. “They’ve also got two other quarterbacks on the roster. I know he was in this building for a long time, and what he’s done can never be taken away from the game of football, but it’s not like we’re afraid of what Tom Brady can do. We have to stop their whole offense.
“Tom Brady is a great quarterback and nobody can take away what he did, but we’re not here to talk about that right now. We have to play the game. We have to stop him from winning a football game.”
How does Judon think the Patriots will be able to shut down Brady, who is averaging 362.3 passing yards per game?
“Beating blocks, honestly. It’s just beating blocks,” Judon said. “It’s not like he’s got a bubble around him.”
Easier said than done, of course. And the Patriots almost certainly won’t be able to prevent Brady from breaking the all-time passing yard record on Sunday. But if they can put him on the run and prevent him from getting comfortable, then they might have the chance to send the local fans home happy.
