Tom Brady's revenge tour underway as Patriots spank winless Browns
CLEVELAND — Tom Brady came back with his game fully inflated.
Three touchdown passes, 406 yards, precision, touch — same ol' Brady.
The New England Patriots star even has fresh legs after serving his four-week Deflategate suspension. No, Brady didn’t suddenly turn into Cam Newton during his layoff. But Brady's wheels told a story, too, as he ignited a 33-13 romp against the Cleveland Browns.
One series after he was cut down from behind for a third-down sack as he tried to scramble away in the third quarter, Brady got a measure of revenge against Cleveland's overmatched defense. He rumbled around right end on a third-down scramble to leg out a first down.
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Officially, it went down as a 4-yard run. But if you saw Brady’s reaction, it was bigger than that. He celebrated by tapping into his inner Usain Bolt — mimicking the signature pose of the world’s fastest man.
“I don’t run much, so I was a little excited,” Brady said afterward.
That snapshot reflected the bigger picture, too, as the 39-year-old again positioned himself for another potential championship mission.
“It was fun to be a part of it,” Brady said. “It’s been a fun week to get ready to play and be back doing what I love to do.”
That might sound a bit cheesy. But at the same time, it might have been the best way that Brady — he said he missed “everything” about the game during his exile — could describe it after his drawn-out battle against the NFL and the seemingly excessive punishment for allegedly having a role in a plot to deflate footballs nearly two years ago.
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A legion of Brady haters probably will never be convinced he didn’t cheat — and the league’s contention that he impeded its investigation by destroying his cellphone probably did as much as anything to tarnish his golden image.
But Brady hardly wanted to admit his punishment served as any motivation.
“This isn’t the time for me to reflect,” he said. “I’m just happy we won. I have a job to do, and there is no point in looking back at anything, whether we won Super Bowls or lost championship games. The last four weeks, none of it matters.”
Translation: Now it’s time for one of the NFL’s most intense competitors to embark on a revenge tour, and the winless Browns just happened to find themselves witness to the opening act. A week after being shut out by the Buffalo Bills, the Patriots flowed with the stoked tone set by their leader.
Just take it from Rob Gronkowski, the all-pro tight end who began the day with one catch this season but added five more (for 109 yards) at the appropriately named FirstEnergy Stadium.
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“Everyone was amped up,” Gronkowski said. “Tom always brings the ampness.”
The what? Brady is such a bad man that he inspires new words.
“I’m always making up words,” Gronkowski told USA TODAY Sports a few minutes after coining his phrase. “I just flow with it.”
That’s what Brady did, too, while completing 28 of 40 passes. He threw all three of his scoring strikes to Martellus Bennett, the offseason addition who teams with Gronkowski to offer the Patriots another dangerous two-tight end package. Brady also found new wide receiver Chris Hogan four times for 114 yards — and most significantly on two heaves that netted 63 and 43 yards and demonstrated the discovery of a new deep-strike weapon.
For a player who hadn't played since last season's AFC title game, Brady looked to already be in midseason form — even if he wouldn't say as much.
“I think there was plenty of rust out there,” he countered. “I could better in a lot of areas.”
But Brady looked like Brady during several instances when he walked up to the line of scrimmage, deciphered schemes and switched to better plays. That comes with 17 years of NFL experience.
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He lamented, however, occasions when the Patriots sputtered in the red zone and a few cases when he recognized nuances as he thought about things after plays.
“There’s definitely a few of those,” he said. “Those are the ones you learn from.”
Still, it was a good warm-up act, if not the quintessential in-your-face statement to the NFL. Brady shredded Cleveland, not the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. Stiffer tests should come the next two weeks against the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers. In November, Brady will face the Seattle Seahawks. December brings a rematch against Von Miller and reigning champion Denver Broncos.
Cleveland was just the first stop of Brady's revenge tour.
But it may wind up on a Super Bowl stage.
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Follow NFL columnist Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell
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