Esiason: Don't Know If Tom Brady Has Ever Played Better
BOSTON (CBS) -- Is there any stopping the New England Patriots offense this season?
The Patriots put up 51 points against the Jaguars on Sunday, giving them 119 points over the first three games of the season -- a new team record. Their 88 first downs are a new NFL record for the first three games of the season, and the Patriots are 3-0 for the ninth time in franchise history.
We haven't even gotten to Tom Brady, who threw his 400th career touchdown on Sunday. Brady is just the fourth player to join the NFL's 400 club, and he's up to nine touchdowns and no interceptions on the season.
So how do you stop the New England offense?
"That's a very good question. If I had the answer I'd be coach of the year," joked Boomer Esiason of WFAN and The NFL Today, who joined Toucher & Rich on 98.5 The Sports Hub on Monday morning.
"I want to see them against a top-notch defense; Denver or Kansas City. Right now they are just feasting on everybody and it's amazing what Brady is doing," he said. "He's barely getting touched and just sitting back there and surveying the field."
Getting pressure on Brady is the key to stopping -- or at least slowing down -- the New England offense, but no one has been able to do that over the first three games. Despite having three rookies along the offensive line, Brady has only been sacked six times this season.
"It starts with pressure, and if you watched Broncos-Lions [last night], Matthew Stafford is getting beat to pulp and it's causing turnovers. The Patriots are not turning the ball over and their defense is the one forcing the pressure," said Boomer.
Brady is completing 72.2 percent of his passes and is up to 1,112 yards for the season. We've seen a lot of great seasons out of Tom Brady, but Boomer says this may be his best start ever.
"I don't know if he's ever played any better than he is right now. In 2007 when he had Randy Moss that was a special year, but they're averaging more points per game in the first three games this year than they did that year," said Esiason. "I don't know how to put my finger on it other than the guy works out like a phenom. Tony Gonzalez told us he spent a little time with Tom this offseason out in California, and he was amazed at what Tom puts himself through to get himself ready for a football season.
"I could sit here and say I'm not surprised, but what does surprise me is that at his advanced age, with the amount of championships that he's won and MVPs he's taken home, the fact he's married to one of the most beautiful women in the world, the fact he's still playing with this edge and this intention to prove people wrong, it's truly amazing."
Esiason also touched on the struggles of the Miami Dolphins, and what Ben Roethlisberger's injury means to the rest of the AFC:
