Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady completes his AFC East reunion tour on Sunday against the Jets. He spent 20 years with the Patriots in the division and is 3-0 this season against the teams he used to play twice a year. The Bucs have outscored the Bills, the Dolphins and the Patriots, 97-61. Brady, 44, leads the NFL with 4,580 passing yards and 37 TD passes in his second season with Tampa Bay.
"He knows everything," Jets DT Sheldon Rankins said. "He's seen it all, he's played against it all. Just understand that each and every rep is its own battle, its own war, and focus on that. Don't get too ahead of yourself, don't start thinking about what just happened, but understand the task at hand and go out there and treat every down like it's its own objective. And have fun playing the game. Don't look across the line and get starstruck and all those things. At the end of the day, football is football. At the end of the day, he is Tom Brady, but you got to treat him like a nameless, faceless guy. Go out there and go through your progressions, go through your keys and play football the way you play football your whole life."
Brady was preparing for his final season at the University of Michigan when Jets QB Zach Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in April's draft, was born. Wilson, 22, and Brady share a birthday on August 3rd and their 22-year gap is the largest between two starting quarterbacks since at least 1950. Wilson has continued to make strides the back half of the season and has been interception-free his last three games. He led the NFL in ESPN's QBR in Week 16 with a 92.4 rating as he completed 14 of 22 for 102 yards and 1 TD. He also had 91 yards and 1 TD on the ground, one was a 52-yard score, which was the longest run of any Jets QB in franchise history.
"Zach's decision making has been fantastic," HC Robert Saleh said. "His off-schedule stuff, he's starting to look natural. I mean, shoot, he finally pump faked a defender and ran around him for a big chunk of yards to just show the natural playmaking ability where he finally looked a little bit loose [Sunday] in terms of running with a purpose, not running just to run. He's coming along, he's getting more comfortable, he's calmer back there. Like I said, he's in a great headspace and it's going to be fun to watch him continue to grow."
"He knows everything," Jets DT Sheldon Rankins said. "He's seen it all, he's played against it all. Just understand that each and every rep is its own battle, its own war, and focus on that. Don't get too ahead of yourself, don't start thinking about what just happened, but understand the task at hand and go out there and treat every down like it's its own objective. And have fun playing the game. Don't look across the line and get starstruck and all those things. At the end of the day, football is football. At the end of the day, he is Tom Brady, but you got to treat him like a nameless, faceless guy. Go out there and go through your progressions, go through your keys and play football the way you play football your whole life."
Brady was preparing for his final season at the University of Michigan when Jets QB Zach Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick in April's draft, was born. Wilson, 22, and Brady share a birthday on August 3rd and their 22-year gap is the largest between two starting quarterbacks since at least 1950. Wilson has continued to make strides the back half of the season and has been interception-free his last three games. He led the NFL in ESPN's QBR in Week 16 with a 92.4 rating as he completed 14 of 22 for 102 yards and 1 TD. He also had 91 yards and 1 TD on the ground, one was a 52-yard score, which was the longest run of any Jets QB in franchise history.
"Zach's decision making has been fantastic," HC Robert Saleh said. "His off-schedule stuff, he's starting to look natural. I mean, shoot, he finally pump faked a defender and ran around him for a big chunk of yards to just show the natural playmaking ability where he finally looked a little bit loose [Sunday] in terms of running with a purpose, not running just to run. He's coming along, he's getting more comfortable, he's calmer back there. Like I said, he's in a great headspace and it's going to be fun to watch him continue to grow."