Tom Brady has become a football version of Ty Cobb. You can count on him to hit 300. Brady’s 310 yards passing (thank you, Wes Welker).
In New England’s 31-14 victory over the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on Sunday was his fifth straight 300-yard game, moving him to within.
A game of the NFL record shared by Steve Young, Kurt Warner and Rich Gannon. Young reeled off six consecutive 300-yard games with the San Francisco 49ers in 1998.
His streak was subsequently matched by Warner with the St. Louis Rams in 2000 and Gannon with the Oakland Raiders in 2002.
Returning from the season-ending knee injury he suffered in the 2008 opener with the Kansas City Chiefs, Brady came out firing this year, throwing for 378 yards in guiding the Patriots to their 25-24 season-opening victory over Buffalo at Gillette on Sept. 14.
Held under 300 yards in each of the Patriots’ next four games, Brady has surpassed that number in consecutive games against Tennessee (380), Tampa Bay (308), Miami (332), Indianapolis (375) and the Jets. Brady will be looking to join the company of Young, Warner and Gannon when the Patriots play the unbeaten New Orleans Saints at the Superdome next Monday night.
The Saints’ pass defense is middle of the pack, ranking 15th in the NFL (between the Buccaneers and Baltimore), allowing 214.9 yards per game. Injuries have ravaged the Saints’ secondary, prompting them to list their two starting cornerbacks, Jabari Greer (groin) and Tracy Porter (knee), as inactive for Sunday’s 38-7 win at Tampa Bay.
Two other corners, former Patriot Randall Gay (hamstring) and Leigh Torrence (The Times-Picayune reported he suffered a “stinger”), were shaken up during that game. The Saints signed veteran cornerback Chris McAlister, the former Baltimore Raven, last week. They signed another veteran, Mike McKenzie, who played for them from 2004-2008, on Monday.
One more yearm Linebacker Eric Alexander, whose primary contributions to the Patriots have come on special teams, has signed a one-year contract extension with the team. The signing was announced by Alexander’s representative, Elias Sports Management, on its Web site. The wheels for the deal were set in motion last month, at the same time linebacker Tully Banta-Cain agreed to his extension with the Patriots.
Alexander is in his sixth year with the team. Nunn and done In a move initially reported by the Boston Herald on its Web site Monday afternoon, Patriots practice squad member Terrence Nunn was headed to Tampa Bay and a spot on the Bucs’ 53-man roster.
The wide receiver, who spent last year out of football after going undrafted out of the University of Nebraska, immediately opened eyes in the summer by making highlight film-worthy catches in training camp. Nunn’s performance in camp carried over into preseason play as he caught eight passes for 133 yards in the Patriots’ four summertime tuneups, but he was unable to crack the 53-man roster in New England.