Volin: Is Tom Brady Being Too Stubborn?
Tom Brady has had quite a while to develop some chemistry with Danny Amendola and Aaron Dobson, and he's likewise had a full offseason and preseason to work with Brandon LaFell, yet if you watched Sunday's Patriots game against the Vikings, you'd never know it.
Dobson had one catch on two targets, while Amendola and LaFell had a combined zero targets (though Amendola did haul in a 26-yard reception in the second quarter that was called back due to a penalty on Dobson). Julian Edelman, meanwhile, was targeted seven times.
Brady was upset after the 30-7 win because the offense didn't perform up to his standards. The Boston Globe's Ben Volin joined Toucher & Rich on Tuesday and wondered if the quarterback is simply being too stubborn when it comes to trusting his receiving corps.
"He's done this before with pretty mediocre guys, Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney, it's not like he's had Pro Bowl receivers throughout his entire career," Volin said. "Brandon LaFell, he's not a Pro Bowler but he has a proven track record of success. Every year he consistently had 650 yards and about 45 catches with Carolina. He played 38 snaps the other day, didn't have a target ... but I don't get it. Tom Brady threw once to Aaron Dobson, he threw twice to Amendola but one of them was wiped out by a penalty, never even looked at Brandon LaFell. He obviously only trusts Julian Edelman, who was pretty awesome the other day. ... He's the only one that Tom Brady trusts right now."
Volin said that overall, the offense looks dysfunctional.
"We just need to look at the entire offense, and it's not just that the receivers aren't doing enough to get on Tom Brady's good side. We've got to wonder -- is Tom Brady being a little stubborn and what does he need to do to get his receivers more involved?"
As for holding out some hope that the Patriots might try to make a trade to bring in a wide receiver, Volin said don't count it.
"I don't think a trade is the answer. Look at how long it's taken Tom Brady to get on the same page with some of his [current wide receivers]," Volin said. "If they bring in a guy midseason via trade, who's to say that Tom Brady's going to be able to look at him, deliver him the ball or get on any sort of rhythm with him? I think they just gotta figure it out with the guys that they've got right now."
Listen to Volin's entire interview below:
Ben Volin'
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