Chin up, Zig. 

You'll always have the memories.

my memory sucks but I have DVDs!

FOXBORO — Tom Brady did catch one break this week. The Patriots quarterback, who possesses the most famous right thumb in the universe at the moment, likely won’t be at full strength tomorrow in the AFC Championship Game against the Jaguars at Gillette Stadium.

And, yes, that is the Jags defense that ranked second in the NFL in points and yards allowed, takeaways and sacks. A wounded digit is unquestionably less than ideal against such a defense.

But there’s another important element at play here. The Jaguars run a cover-3 defensive scheme that is exploitable by a savvy quarterback and a smart offensive coordinator.

Wouldn’t you know, the Patriots have both.

The Jaguars’ scheme closely resembles the Seahawks and is somewhat similar to the Falcons, as the systems all stem from the school of Pete Carroll. Brady torched those cover-3 defenses in five meetings dating back to Super Bowl XLIX, completing 73 percent of his passes for 1,717 yards (343.4 per game), 10 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 104 passer rating. The Patriots were 4-1 and averaged 32 points per game.

“I think they definitely do some different things, schematically, coverage-wise, front-wise, players are a little bit different,” Brady said of the Jaguars. “It’s a very unique challenge. I think their front is great. Their linebackers are very instinctive, very fast. Great cover guys in the secondary. Ballhawking defense, they strip it off you. They sack you. They scored eight touchdowns this year on defense. So they’re a good defense.”

Obviously, the major question still involves Brady’s velocity with the injured hand, and that factor might not be apparent until his first pass.

Like the Seahawks, the Jaguars proudly boast they do what they do because they do it well, and there’s some admiration in that confidence, especially when they operate with such a high degree of execution. But there’s danger in that mentality when they might be too stubborn to make adjustments against an offense that can spend a week preparing to conquer their predictable looks.

Consider the 49ers as an example. While here, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo got a firsthand look at Brady’s preparation and execution twice against the Seahawks and Falcons and once against the Jaguars. And in Week 16, Garoppolo was 21-of-30 for 242 yards, two touchdowns (plus a rushing score) and an interception in a 44-33 victory over Jacksonville.

What’s more, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan implemented a sound game plan. He was the Falcons offensive coordinator in 2015 and 2016, so he practiced against the cover-3 on a daily basis for two years.

And the Jaguars surrendered four of their six highest point totals this season against NFC West teams. It can’t be a coincidence that offenses accustomed to the Seahawks’ style, including the Seahawks themselves, knew how to attack the Jaguars. And Jags defensive coordinator Todd Wash earned his stripes under Carroll in 2011 and 2012.

While the Jaguars have earned all of the praise they’ve received, they are vulnerable. Most notably, to play an elite cover-3, defenses need to be terrific over the middle. The Seahawks employed the best free safety (Earl Thomas) and strong safety (Kam Chancellor) in the NFL during their prestigious run, but the Jaguars don’t have that level of talent with Barry Church and Tashaun Gipson. And the Jags have a good, athletic group of linebackers with Myles Jack, Telvin Smith and Paul Posluszny, but they aren’t yet on par with Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright.

Surely, the Jaguars have a high-octane pass rush, and the Patriots offensive line has to win that standoff to keep Brady comfortable enough to attack the weaknesses in coverage.

The soft spots in the zone will be over the middle, where the Patriots will test the linebacker and safety depth with combination routes with Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola, Dion Lewis, James White and Rex Burkhead. It’s paramount to attack the linebackers with routes at different depths to test their discipline, as holes will open between the numbers. That’ll help get Gronkowski free behind the linebackers and in likely one-on-one situations with their single-high safety.

Brady can essentially ignore Pro Bowl cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye, although the deep post might be open for a couple opportunities. There’s also no need to consider the theory that the Jaguars will shadow Gronk with any particular player because that would be a stark change in their zone philosophy.

www.bostonherald.com/sports/patriots/2018/01/jaguars_defense_can_be_susceptible_to_patriots_offense

It was fucking treeeeemendous seeing Drew and Tom on the podium yesterday.

Tom Brady needs 279 years passing in the Super Bowl to pass 10,000 yards in his POSTSEASON career.

Brees and Rodgers have less than 8700 yards COMBINED in their playoff careers.

Many Hall of Fame players call Tom Brady the best ever
Posted by Michael David Smith on February 3, 2018, 10:33 AM EST

Who do the best players of all time consider the best player of all time?

An impressive list of Hall of Fame players say that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who will try to win his sixth Super Bowl ring on Sunday, has already established himself as the greatest ever to play the game.

Here’s a list, compiled by NFL writer Dov Kleiman, of Hall of Famers on the record saying that Brady is the best ever to play:

Emmitt Smith: “The best quarterback ever to play the game is Tom Brady, in my opinion. Without a doubt.”

Deion Sanders: “It’s the Brady era. You can’t get no better than that.”

Michael Irvin: “All of us living should understand how blessed we are to be in this moment while he’s doing what he’s doing. I say yes to comparing him to [Michael] Jordan, and I think what he’s doing is more difficult.”

Jerry Rice: “I always felt Jim Brown was the best ever. But Tom Brady, you have to put him up there.”

Jim Kelly: “The best. No doubt.”

Troy Aikman: “It was always an easy answer, it was Joe Montana. Now . . . I’ve changed my tune. I think [Brady is] the greatest to play our sport.”

Shannon Sharpe: “Tom Brady is the greatest football player in the 97-year history of the NFL.”
profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/02/03/many-hall-of-fame-players-call-tom-brady-the-best-ever/

Jerry did not say TB12 was better than Montana. He said Jim Brown was the best and Brady was "up there"

They will fade like your first high school crush

yeah hopefully we get some answers on this.