Interesting Ryan Clark comments on Brady and the Patriots

**Paintballguy** · 05-06-2013, 07:54 PM

Already, opponents are taking jabs at the Patriots, and specifically, Tom Brady thanks to no longer having Wes Welker around.

Steelers safety Ryan Clark was on ESPN's "NFL Live" earlier today, and said a mouthful about a Welker-less Patriots offense, and how vulnerable Brady will be without his security blanket. He talked about Brady seeing "ghosts" when he gets pressure. The material is certainly stuff that's been written by local columnists. It's just interesting coming for an opposing player, one the Pats will face this season.

''I think what's really underestimated is Wes Welker's importance to not only the New England Patriots, but Tom Brady,'' Clark said. ''A lot of what they do is timing. A lot of what they do is option reads, when you're working inside against that nickelback or against those linebackers. Losing him is huge.''

Clark was only just getting warmed up at this point.

''I know they think Danny Amendola can come in and have the same type of numbers he had with the Rams, but we also have to remember, he's fragile,'' Clark said. ''He's not a guy who has completed a whole season, especially playing inside in what can be a physical AFC East. You also think about (Rob) Gronkowski and the injury, that is going to be bigger than anything for the New England Patriots coming in this year.''

Again, this type of view has been written by the locals, it's just not something you usually hear from an opposing player. Ryan then talked about the pressure angle, and how Brady isn't the same.

''In 2010, we saw it start with the Jets in the playoffs. When Tom Brady gets pressure and when you're man-to-man and bumping those guys and making it hard for him to throw, he sees ghosts,'' Clark said. ''Even when guys aren't around him, even when he's not about to be sacked, when his clock goes off in his head that the ball should be out, we'll see him duck, we'll see him flinch. When you get Tom Brady doing that, the whole New England Patriots mystique goes away.''

Clark agreed that Brady picked apart the Steelers zone-blitz, but it was a different story when they changed to man-to-man.

''I'll be honest, the years we tried to go in there and fire zone and play Tom Brady in that way, he was able to pick us apart. In that, you're not overloading the offense - one-on-one rushes, only rushing five, so he's able to find places to go,'' Clark said. ''Two years ago, we played them and dominated them because we went man-to-man and had a big corner in Cortez Allen on Gronkowski, and made it hard for Tom Brady to get the ball off, in timing, and made him have to make plays. It was hard for him.''

We'll see how Brady reacts when the Pats take on the Steelers in November.

http://bostonherald.com/sports/patri...dy_sees_ghosts

**HoustonRaven** · 05-06-2013, 08:07 PM

Remind me what happened the last time Clark ran his mouth about a QB?

**GOTA** · 05-06-2013, 08:12 PM

Amendola can do everything that Welker did in that offense and he's a lot younger. The Pats offense got better by this change.

**Raveninwoodlawn** · 05-06-2013, 08:25 PM

He thinks every single vet that leaves on another "rival" is going to really hurt them...but never when guys on his own team.

Apparently according to Clark, only the Steelers have good replacements ready to go.

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**Paintballguy** · 05-06-2013, 08:46 PM

Originally Posted by GOTA

Amendola can do everything that Welker did in that offense and he's a lot younger. The Pats offense got better by this change.

I agree. I'm a fan of amendola. I drafted him in my fantasy team year before last but he got hurt. I think he can put up big numbers with Brady.

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**wickedsolo** · 05-06-2013, 08:59 PM

Originally Posted by GOTA

Amendola can do everything that Welker did in that offense and he's a lot younger. The Pats offense got better by this change.

I agree with you to a certain extent. Amendola is younger and faster than Welker, but durability is a major concern. Furthermore, Welker and Brady just always seemed to be in sync with each other.
I think the Patriots could have a tough year and honestly, I am not impressed with their draft this year either. I think they have a lot of good defensive players that just don't fit their scheme. It seems like Belichik got too cute, defensively, and now has mix-n-match players that dont all fit together in a good scheme.

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**wickedsolo** · 05-06-2013, 08:59 PM

Originally Posted by Raveninwoodlawn

He thinks every single vet that leaves on another "rival" is going to really hurt them...but never when guys on his own team.

Apparently according to Clark, only the Steelers have good replacements ready to go.

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Well, what is he really supposed to say? Haha.

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**Ravenswintitle** · 05-06-2013, 09:28 PM

Saying this kind of stuff can come back to haunt you

**Ash55** · 05-06-2013, 09:45 PM

Ryan Clark just talks way to much. He needs to sit his ass down.

**moose10101** · 05-06-2013, 09:48 PM

especially playing inside in what can be a physical AFC East.

"AFC East" isn't what comes to mind when talking about physical teams.

**The Excellector** · 05-06-2013, 11:19 PM

Well, keeping it real, Tom Brady is darn near the whole team. Other than along his offensive line, the closest resemblance of a teammate he had was Wes Welker. On defense, all they have is Vince Wilfork.