NFL notebook: Brady needs to play

Tom Brady needs to play in the preseason, and the Patriots are doing the right thing if he starts at least the first three games of the August schedule before they rest most of their starters in the fourth preseason game.

APTom Brady

I’ve mentioned before the importance of preseason games for quarterbacks trying to win starting jobs, but for Brady — a quarterback coming off major ACL surgery — they are part of the rehab process and carry just as much weight. As a coach, you want to see how Brady responds in the pocket first and foremost — because you can’t simulate those situations in training camp. How does he respond when people are at his feet? Does he follow through on his throws with a rusher in his face? Does the ball sail? Can he make the intermediate throws, such as the deep dig and the comeback, while sidestepping a rush?

Sounds simple for a QB like Brady, right? Well, it should, but the Patriots still need to see Brady in game-like situations, and Brady needs to experience football on a level outside the practice field when he’s in live action and has to take a hit. I understand the risk of injury any time a superstar plays in the preseason, but Brady needs the work to play at a high level in September.

If I’m the Colts, I’m worried about safety Bob Sanders. Yes, I’m biased when I talk about Bob since he’s a fellow University of Iowa alum, but that still doesn’t hide the fact that this defense looks better on tape when he’s playing. But to do that, he needs to stay healthy, and anytime a player visits Dr. James Andrews — the guru of surgeries in the NFL — it’s time to worry.

I’m still a believer that Sanders is as big a difference maker to the Colts’ defense as Troy Polamalu is to the Steelers and Ed Reed is to the Ravens, but he just can’t stay on the field. The Colts have and will adjust, but it isn’t a good sign when one of the best pure safeties in the league is on the shelf already.

The injury to Steve Smith is something to keep an eye on over the course of the next week at Panthers camp. X-rays never really tell the full story when a player is injured, and if Smith doesn’t respond to treatment, expect the team to have an MRI done (if they haven’t already without alerting the media).

I doubt we’ll see much — if any — of Smith during the preseason, especially when the top two receivers on the Panthers roster right now could be Muhsin Muhammad and Dwayne Jarrett. Not enough there to get excited about. Smith is too important to risk any further injury to the shoulder.

The Michael Vick reports can make your head spin with rumors, sightings, etc., etc. Every team seems to instantly deny interest, but we shouldn’t be fooled by any of the talk. One league source told the National Football Post that teams that do have a real interest in Vick are not going to tip their hands because you don’t want to be the team that went after him and missed — forcing your franchise into the public eye.

APDerrick Brooks

I’m not surprised that Derrick Brooks is going to New Orleans to work out for the Saints. I have always thought Brooks could continue his career under new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams because Williams is always looking for veterans who can command the huddle and the locker room.

But Brooks will have to show Williams that he can still use his lateral quickness and can drop into coverage, plant his foot and drive on the ball. This is an opportunity, but Brooks still has to show that he has something to offer a defense that uses the blitz as a weapon. Williams will play some Cover 2, but he doesn’t lean on it as a core coverage like Brooks’ defenses in Tampa.

The more I read about Todd Haley down in Kansas City, the more I’m staring to like the way he’s running his new team. First, it was DT Glenn Dorsey and his punishment for being out of shape, and now it’s WR Dwayne Bowe and his current spot on the depth chart, which is near the bottom.

One thing about turning a program around is putting stars — or guys who think they’re stars — in their place. I don’t know how many games Haley and the Chiefs will win this season, but it sounds like everyone is competing and your name isn’t going to get you anywhere. I love it.

I’m anxious to see LeSean McCoy carry the football in the Eagles’ first preseason game — and to watch him in pass protection. Because if McCoy can show the Eagles that he can make plays with the ball in his hands, plus pick up blitzing linebackers, staring running back Brian Westbrook can continue to rehab at a pace that will allow him to be fresh for the regular season.

In my opinion, Westbrook’s rehab and recovery are directly connected to McCoy’s development, and the west coast system runs through the running back position. Big games ahead for the rookie from Pittsburgh.

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