Jets DB on Tom Brady: I prepare the same as I would for Kirk Cousins
Sometimes, preparing for Tom Brady is just like preparing for Kirk Cousins.
By
John Breech
•
2 min read
The Jets might be facing one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL on Sunday, but that doesn't mean Jets safety Marcus Gilchrist is going to prepare any differently than he did last week.
Last week, Gilchrist and the Jets secondary picked off Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins twice in a 34-20 win. This week, the Jets are getting Tom Brady and according to Gilchrist, the preparation is basically the same for both quarterbacks.
"You prepare the same way you prepare for Kirk Cousins," Gilchrist told USA Today on Thursday.
Wait, you do have to take into account that Brady gets the ball out faster, is more accurate and is a way better quarterback than Cousins, right?
"You don't change," Gilchrist said. "It's like turning the light switch on and off because it's a different person. Kirk Cousins could have easily come out there (last week) and we could've not played sound football and not been where we were supposed to be and he could've looked the same way (like Brady)."
Instead, Cousins didn't look like Brady, though, he looked like Cousins.
If Gilchrist can make Brady look like Cousins on Sunday, that would be good news for Gilchrist, who picked off Cousins once in the Jets win.
Gilchrist said that the idea behind his thought process is that he doesn't want a game against Brady to be bigger than a game against a lesser quarterback.
"We can't allow one game to be bigger than the other," Gilchrist said. "Do we realize the type of player we're playing against? Yes, we do. But you don't change. We've got to be 1-0 this week, regardless of who it is -- Brady -- regardless of who we're playing."
Gilchrist should probably tell teammate Sheldon Richardson about this whole, "don't allow one game to be bigger than the other" thing that the team is doing because Richardson is definitely treating this game like it's bigger than the others.
Earlier this week, the defensive end said the Jets were "licking our chops" to face the Patriots.
"[They've] kind of run this division for a while so I am kind of happy we get next," Richardson said, via ESPN.com. "I mean, they are the Super Bowl champions, just leave it at that. You know, licking our chops."
