BAMAPHIN 22
FinHeaven Elite
Tom Brady's opening-day problems may have been caused as much by the receiver who wasn't there than by the opposing defense that was.
Three days after his mediocre performance in a 19-17 squeaker over the Buffalo Bills, the Patriots quarterback admitted his worries about whether Deion Branch would return distracted him from preparing for the game.
"Last week I spent a lot of energy thinking about it and, at the end of the week, it really wasted a lot of my time and a lot of my energy," Brady said Wednesday. "It was a big mental drain and I think it affected the way I played."
Branch was traded to Seattle for a first-round draft pick on Monday, ending Brady's fading hopes that his good friend and New England's best receiver would return.
On the first play from scrimmage Sunday, Brady fumbled when hit by Takeo Spikes and Buffalo scored a touchdown. At halftime, the Bills led 17-7 and the two-time Super Bowl MVP had completed just 3 of 11 passes for 30 yards and a touchdown and was sacked three times.
He improved after that, finishing 11-for-23 for 163 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, but the Patriots' 183-yard rushing attack and a solid defense contributed more to the victory.
Branch missed the game as part of the holdout he began at the mandatory minicamp in June, depriving Brady of the receiver with whom he had developed a strong bond, on and off the field.
"I'm a very emotional person and over the last four or five months it's been draining," Brady said. "It's tough because you develop relationships with players. Coaches don't have (those) relationships with players and the management doesn't know what guys are like.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/nfl/09/13/bc.fbn.patriots.brady.ap/index.html
Three days after his mediocre performance in a 19-17 squeaker over the Buffalo Bills, the Patriots quarterback admitted his worries about whether Deion Branch would return distracted him from preparing for the game.
"Last week I spent a lot of energy thinking about it and, at the end of the week, it really wasted a lot of my time and a lot of my energy," Brady said Wednesday. "It was a big mental drain and I think it affected the way I played."
Branch was traded to Seattle for a first-round draft pick on Monday, ending Brady's fading hopes that his good friend and New England's best receiver would return.
On the first play from scrimmage Sunday, Brady fumbled when hit by Takeo Spikes and Buffalo scored a touchdown. At halftime, the Bills led 17-7 and the two-time Super Bowl MVP had completed just 3 of 11 passes for 30 yards and a touchdown and was sacked three times.
He improved after that, finishing 11-for-23 for 163 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, but the Patriots' 183-yard rushing attack and a solid defense contributed more to the victory.
Branch missed the game as part of the holdout he began at the mandatory minicamp in June, depriving Brady of the receiver with whom he had developed a strong bond, on and off the field.
"I'm a very emotional person and over the last four or five months it's been draining," Brady said. "It's tough because you develop relationships with players. Coaches don't have (those) relationships with players and the management doesn't know what guys are like.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/nfl/09/13/bc.fbn.patriots.brady.ap/index.html
