October's X-mas

 -It looked like Christmas in New England this past Sunday with the red uniforms in the snow; and the fifty plus points that were scored. So much for Jason Whitlock's "Brady will never mentally get over his knee injury" prophecy; number 12 is very much back to his old self. The aspect that makes Tom Brady so great is that he is incredibly critical of himself. You knew he was appalled by his performance in Denver and you had to know that he was going to light up the skies against Tennessee. Brady is never arrogant and never thinks of himself too highly; which in turn creates for an unmatched work ethic. Never thinking you are good always challenges yourself to do better and to work harder. Perhaps Peyton Manning is the only other NFL quarterback whose work ethic fairly compares to Tom's. Before the Patriots most recent trip to the Super Bowl, Giants wide receiver (now in jail) Plaxico Burress boldly stated that his team would defeat the Patriots 21-17. When Brady was told of this lofty prediction during Super Bowl media week, he laughed saying "he is only giving us 17 points?". Implying that the Patriots would easily score more than 17, but this statement was important because for the first time ever it seemed Brady was displaying arrogance. Tom's typical response would have been a laugh perhaps, but then a neutral comment about how its going to be a great game and that the Giants are a good team/Plaxico a good player. That year may have developed a sense of arrogance in anyone; as New England went undefeated in the Regular season and set so many NFL records. I would never imply that a sense of arrogance is why the Patriots lost the Super Bowl, but I do know the Giants were underestimated severely (by myself and many others). I bring this up only to point out that more than ever Brady is back to normal; and normal for him is greatness.

       After demolishing the Titans 59-0 and after throwing for six touchdown passes, Brady remains humble and looking to continue to improve. Perhaps the Super Bowl loss and the season away from football has helped Brady regain his true form. Look for him and the Patriot offense to return to their 2007 form and what better place to start than in England against the 0-6 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They obviously can't go undefeated, and they wont set a new NFL points record, but they will be dominant offensively the rest of this season. The New England Patriots will be explosive offensively and will not lose more than two games the rest of the season, including the coming weekend's 35-10 win over Tampa Bay.