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Jets safety on Tom Brady: 'I got to play against a legend'
By Zach Kruse
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had just completed 34 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns during another New England win over the Jets, but New York safety Dion Bailey wasn’t angry.
The young defensive back was still in awe of the Hall of Famer he just faced.
“It’s not frustrating, it’s exciting,” Bailey said. “I got to play against a legend and he’ll go down as a legend.”
An undrafted free agent out of USC, Bailey signed with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014 before landing in New York off waivers in late September. He played 29 snaps on Sunday after starting safety Calvin Pryor left with an ankle injury.
Brady put together another vintage performance against the Jets defense, throwing for over 350 yards and scoring three touchdowns (one rushing) despite the Patriots calling just five run plays to running backs. Head coach Bill Belichick put the game in his quarterback’s hands, and the four-time Super Bowl champion delivered. Brady threw two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to power the Patriots to a 30-23 win over their division rival.
“Tom is great at dissecting any defense, and that’s what he did down the stretch,” Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis said, via ESPN. “He ended up making more plays than us. He ended up finding the matchups that he wanted to find and made the plays he needed to throw.”
Brady picked on Bailey during a key spot on Sunday. Facing a 3rd-and-17 on New England’s first touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, Brady found receiver Julian Edelman for 27 yards against Bailey’s coverage. Five plays later, receiver Danny Amendola caught Brady’s pin-point throw for an 8-yard touchdown. The Patriots took a 23-20 lead and never trailed again.
For better or worse, Bailey is already looking forward to his next opportunity to play Brady.
“Next time we suit up against him, I’ll be much more prepared to go, I’ll have more experience,” Bailey said. “I never played on the field against him, got my first snaps and felt like I did pretty good just getting thrown out there. Next time I’ll be much more mentally prepared.”
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