Cam Jordan Becomes the Latest Opponent to Pull on Tom Brady's Cape
Saints defensive end on NFL Network, when asked about facing Tom Brady:
“When you say GOAT, like one of the GOATs. He's probably No. 2 on the list behind the quarterback who has 80,000 passing yards [Drew Brees]. There’s probably another quarterback right there. He’s not. Man, neutralize Tom Brady? You don’t have to really worry about him escaping the pocket, at this point, [like] a lot of other quarterbacks do in this league.
“He has such a phenomenal system. You talk about what Tom’s been able to do, make all the throws and, of course, the weapons he has, Leonard Fournette, Shady McCoy. You talk about Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown. They don’t lack for much on their offense. You talk about Gronkowski. So, how to neutralize just him? I don’t know if that’s possible, but we do try to make them single-faceted."
Mother of God. When will these defensive ends learn?
Before:
After. Meaning, after 0 QB Hits, 0 sacks and 3 tackles to 381 passing yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs and a 104.3 passer rating (despite 7 drops):
How many more overconfident defenders must die, Mr. Speaker? How many more???
The thing is, maybe Chase Young deserves some slack. He's a rookie. He was going to the playoffs for the first time. It's human nature to think things will be different for you than for all the others who came before you. So maybe his youthful exhuberance is an excuse for poking this grizzly, and he had to experience what happens for himself.
But Cameron Jordan has no such excuse. He's a 31-year-old veteran of 10 seasons. With six Pro Bowls and an All Pro on his resume. You'd think he'd have been paying attention enough to realize this is the equivalent of taking a toaster into the bathtub. There are aerosol particles of guys who've shot their mouths off like this in Tom Brady's fragrant wind.
Besides that, these are his arguments? He's dusting off this old chestnuts like they haven't been discredited a million times over? He's one of the GOATs but he's not THE GOAT because Drew Brees has more passing yards. He can't escape the pocket. He's a system quarterback. It's not him, it's his weapons. Holy moly. Is it 2004 again so soon?
The thing is, I believe I speak for most of New England when I say we love Drew Brees. The Saints organization has been kindred spirits ever since both franchises were persecuted by Ginger Satan years ago. So none of what I'm about to say is meant to disparage Brees, just to set Jordan or anyone else who thinks like him straight. A few fun facts, just by way of comparison:
- Brees has 9 postseason wins in his career. Brady has 9 playoff wins since turning 39.
- Brees has an impressive 8 playoff games with a 100+ passer rating. Brady has 17.
- Brees has 5 postseason games with 3 TDs. Brady has 11. Including one with 6.
- Brees has led his team to 31+ points in playoff wins five times. Brady has done it 16 times.
- Brees has led his team to 41+ points in playoff wins twice. Brady has done it six times.
- Brees all time postseason record against NFC teams is 8-8. Brady's is 7-3. This is his first season in the NFC.
- And while we're talking about "systems":
But hey, Jordan is a great football player and a grownass man. I'm not going to tell him how to approach his first January game against Brady. If he wants to drag out old, tired cliches and end up being just another pile of bones crushed under Brady's mighty cleats, that's his business.
Then again, maybe he's coming from a place of respect. Maybe he recognizes the inevitable and is just angling for some merchandise afterwards.