Brady rattles Eagles D

IT MIGHT BE easier for the Eagles' defensive backs if there were more complex answers, if they could correct a technique or a package that only needs to be rectified to change the result. But the easiest they could come up with in the aftermath of yesterday's 38-20 loss to the Patriots was that New England had Tom Brady at quarterback, and Brady did what he's often done in his 12-year career.

"I know that he did a hell of a job throwing the ball around, putting his guys in position to make plays," cornerback Brandon Hughes said. "They made the plays at the end of the day, and we didn't. That's what the game comes down to."

The Eagles were not the first team to suffer at the right arm of Tom Brady, but they were the latest - and they were supposed to have the cornerbacks that could at least disturb a pass-happy offense like New England's. Yet the dream secondary accumulated during the offseason was incomplete, and even a fully assembled group might not have been enough.

Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie missed the game with an ankle injury and Nnamdi Asomugha was limited by a knee injury, leaving only Asante Samuel as a regular starter on the field. Hughes made his first career start and rookie Curtis Marsh made a brief appearance, too. The inexperienced cornerbacks combined with an already inconsistent group of safeties, allowing Brady to dissect the defense for 361 yards and three touchdowns. Only 10 of 34 passes landed incomplete, and he completed passes of 63 and 41 yards.

"We weren't confused," said safety Nate Allen, who sometimes appeared confused. "They just had a few plays when they got us on the coverage. Tom Brady, he's a great quarterback. He does what he does sometimes."

Take Brady's 41-yard touchdown pass to Wes Welker in the second quarter. Allen was the deep safety on the play. Brady ran a play action to Danny Woodhead, took three steps and found Welker uncovered down the middle of the field.

"A great play action," Allen said. "I bit on it, he got over the top."

Before the play, Welker told Brady that he was going to fake an in-cut and instead run a post. That's exactly what he did. Upon returning to the sideline, Welker told Brady, "I told you." The Eagles were left trying to figure out what just happened.

Coach Andy Reid described the play as a "communication mishap." Allen said miscommunication is not uncommon in football, and "there's going to be that every Sunday."

Asked why these communications mishaps remain so egregious in Week 12 of the season, Reid pointed the finger to himself after saying, "We all have responsibility here."

The 63-yard reception came one drive earlier, when Brady bought time in the pocket on a third-and-13 and found Deion Branch along the left sideline. Hughes, who started in place of Asomugha, dived in front of Branch to try to make the play but missed the ball after remaining with Branch while Brady scrambled. It was an aggressive play by Hughes, who stayed with Branch as long as could and needed to make a quick decision with the expectation that he had safety help over the top.

"I did what I could do," Hughes said. "Maybe I could do a better job of pacing to him. But at the same time, in hindsight, I don't know what more I could have done. But I could have played better."

Asomugha, who was unavailable for comment after the game, injured his knee during Thursday's practice and only played in designed packages to cover the Patriots' tight ends. Hughes said the game plan did not dramatically change when Asomugha went down, and Reid characteristically said the reserves were expected to step in.

For his part, Brady said his performance was just "OK." Patriots coach Bill Belichick was more effusive in praise, recognizing that Brady "did a good job of really pressing the issue."

Brady spread the ball around, relying less yesterday on his tight ends and more on his wide receivers. But with different packages and personnel groupings, the Patriots kept the Eagles' secondary reeling and kept them uncomfortable.

"We couldn't figure anything out," Samuel said.

It seemed that was the best answer the Eagles could offer. The defensive backs wanted to look at film today, but that will merely confirm what was easily admitted after the game. Brady bested the secondary, a frequent occurrence for the quarterback, leaving the Eagles with what's too frequently become the result.

"We felt we had a good plan for them," Allen said. "They just executed better."