Brady: Cowboys still a 'very good football team' despite injuries
By Darren Hartwell
Tom Brady took advantage of his weekend off to do a little extra homework on the New England Patriots’ Week 5 opponent. And while injuries have devastated the Dallas Cowboys to date, the Patriots quarterback still believes they’ll be a tough test.
The Patriots will travel to Dallas next Sunday in what will be Brady’s first-ever game at AT&T Stadium. The 2-2 Cowboys are a shell of their Week 1 selves, with quarterback Tony Romo, star wide receiver Dez Bryant and now running back Lance Dunbar on the shelf for the considerable future.
During his weekly radio appearance on WEEI’s “Dennis & Callahan” on Monday morning, Brady admitted he’d like to face the Cowboys at their best but insisted they’ll still pose a challenge.
“I think it’s always great to play against the best players and the best that they have,” he said, via WEEI.com. “But at the same time, football takes a toll. We have guys that are out, they have guys that are out. Obviously they have some of their very best, best players out, which is a bummer.
“I’ve never been down to that stadium. We haven’t obviously had much of a history with the Cowboys. It will be a fun game regardless. They went to New Orleans (Sunday) night, I know it was a tough loss. They’ve had two tough losses. I think they’re a very good football team, especially on defense.”
Dallas’ defense will get a boost from defensive end Greg Hardy and linebacker Rolando McClain, who both are back from suspensions. But the Cowboys could find themselves without star linebacker Sean Lee, who left Sunday night’s game with a concussion and didn’t return. If Lee can make it onto the field, though, Brady thinks he could make quite the impact.
“He’s a great player,” Brady said of Lee. “He’s got all those type of instincts that I remember from (former Miami Dolphins linebacker) Zach Thomas, and he makes all those plays and tackles, always around the ball, he’s an interceptor, he just kind of knows where the ball’s going. He may be back, and we’ll certainly prepare as if he’s going to play. I know it’s a big blow when they lost him (Sunday) night, but we’ll prepare for him to be there.”
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