JACKSONVILLE, Fla., -- On a gray, dreary day in North Florida, the basic tenet of NFL success came through loud and clear once again, which it always does.
That lesson is this: A great quarterback cures your ills, a so-so one exposes them.
Tom Brady, as he did in winning three Super Bowls, still covers up the problems for the New England Patriots. David Garrard, on the other hand, exposes the trouble spots for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In a 24-21 Patriots victory, one that clinches the AFC East for New England, Brady picked apart a good Jacksonville defense, his short passing game a mastery to watch, reminding us once why New England will again be a factor in the playoffs.
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| As long as Tom Brady's the main man in this motley crew, the Pats will always contend. (Getty Images) |
While Brady was carving up the Jacksonville defense -- a slow, painful death for that unit as he dinked and dunked his way to three touchdown drives -- Garrard had his moments, including a late 33-yard touchdown pass to Matt Jones. But it was clear that his coaches don't believe in him enough to give him a chance to make many throws, the shackles a sign of what they truly believe.
Brady is a star. Garrard is a guy.
That's why New England (11-4) is readying for the playoffs. It's also why the (8-7) Jaguars have to win next week at Kansas City and pray like heck for help to have a chance to get into the postseason.
With Jacksonville ranked second in the NFL in run defense, Patriots coach Bill Belichick used the same strategy that New England used in beating the Minnesota Vikings -- the top-ranked run defense -- earlier this season. He spread the Jaguars out, and let Brady perform his magic.
With a group of receivers that might not include one that would start on another team -- especially true with starting tight end Ben Watson out -- Brady methodically carved up the Jacksonville defense. Rather than run into the power of the defense inside, or challenge deep down the field, he went underneath most of the day.
"We tried to spread it around the best we could," Brady said. "That was the plan -- to find the open guy and try to spread them out a little bit and run it."
The best example came on a 14-play, 82-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter. Brady was 7-for-8 for 46 yards in the drive, which was capped by a 1-yard Corey Dillon run. Taking what the Jaguars gave him, Brady's patience keyed the possession.
He hit Daniel Graham for 7, Kevin Faulk for 6, Bam Childress for 5, Faulk again for 6, Troy Brown for 8 and Jabar Gaffney for 8. He also scrambled twice for 13 yards.
