JACKSONVILLE – More than any other player, even more than Terrell Owens, if that’s possible, Tom Brady dominated the thoughts of the Eagles this week as they prepped and primed for Super Bowl XXXIX. They know more than anyone that Brady is a renowned winner; preventing him from attaining a championship is a quest with no history of success.
There was never a hint of disdain in their praise of Brady, never a feeling the Eagles had anything but the utmost respect for the Patriots quarterback. If it were difficult for the Eagles to repeatedly laud Brady’s winning edge, they hid it well.
Why get hot and bothered over something so obvious? Tomorrow night, the Eagles’ only chance to upset the Patriots at Alltel Stadium is to find a way to hand Brady his first-ever postseason loss.
“He just knows how to win,” defensive end Jevon Kearse said. “He’s not really going to have huge numbers. He is not going to throw for that 400-yard game or whatever, but he is not going to make mistakes, not turn the ball over. Then in the clutch, he’s going to find the open receiver or avoid that sack, get the ball downfield and give them a chance to win the ballgame.”
Receiver Freddie Mitchell may not have known the names of New England’s starting cornerbacks, but you can be sure that all the Eagles defenders knew Brady’s name, number, mannerisms, tendencies and quirks. For two weeks, they’ve studied his every move, searching for chinks in what thus far has been an impenetrable armor. Given the track record of defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, if there are weaknesses in Brady, the Eagles will find them.
But can they exploit what they uncover?
“Everything starts with Tom Brady,” Johnson said. “I have great admiration for him. He manages the offense exactly how they want it. He doesn’t put them in bad situations. In two-minute situations he is as good as anybody. I am a big fan of Tom Brady.”
That won’t stop Johnson from concocting a series of blitzes to keep Brady from settling into a rhythm. That’s the goal. Achieving it is going to take a defensive effort of epic proportions.
“Brady is the leader of their ship, the captain of their ship, but we’re going to be fine,” cornerback Lito Sheppard said.
“Because this is on a national stage people say this is where he turns on,” added safety Brian Dawkins, “but he does it all year long. They do blow out some people but a lot of their games are close games. He is always in these type situations. He’s always playing with a three-point lead or down by three points. The thing about him is he’s patient, he doesn’t force things. We have to be patient, we have to move around, we have to disguise, we have to get pressure on him.”
Putting heat on Brady is easy to plan, far more difficult to execute.
“He’s the kind of quarterback who gets rid of the ball,” Kearse said. “He’s got a pretty good release. A quarterback like that, who you don’t think that you have a chance of sacking, you have to get some hats on him and try to change it around and make him nervous.”
Brady has been the Most Valuable Player of both his Super Bowl victories and this far in this year’s playoffs he has decisively outplayed the heralded, record-breaking Peyton Manning and the rookie sensation Ben Roethlisberger. The next challenger is Donovan McNabb, a formidable adversary but a counterpart lacking in the big-game pedigree of the master Brady.
SUPER BOWL XXXIX At a Glance
Tomorrow: Ch. 5, 6:30 p.m.
The Line: Patriots -7
Over/Under: 47 1/2
Weather at Kickofff: Mostly cloudy, 55 degrees