Ailing Tennessee Secondary Could Be Just What Tom Brady Needs

It's hard to feel too bad for Tom Brady and the Patriots. Much has been made of Brady's struggle to find a groove after returning from last year's season-ending knee surgery -- but even at less than top form, Brady's fourth in the league in yards passing, and the Patriots are tied for first in the AFC East.

New England's golden boy has looked very un-Brady-like at times, though, and his struggles have transferred over to Randy Moss, who -- despite 30 catches -- has found the end zone just once.

Both Brady and Moss are in need of a confidence-boosting breakthrough performance. They could get just that against Tennessee's disheveled secondary on Sunday.

Already without cornerback Nick Harper and safety Vincent Fuller, both out with broken arms, the TItans announced Saturday that cornerback Cortland Finnegan would also sit against New England because of a hamstring issue.

If ever there was an opportunity for Brady to get untracked, it's going to be against Tennessee.

Last week, Peyton Manning scorched the 0-5 Titans for 309 yards and an 82-percent completion rate. Jacksonville's David Garrard also topped the 300-yard mark against the Titans, racking up 323 yards passing in Week 4. With those two outings, Tennessee's pass defense dropped to No. 21 overall in the NFL at 208.2 yards per game. Making matters worse is that the Titans have just nine sacks in five contests, and will not have disgruntled Jevon Kearse in the lineup again Sunday.

Manning picked Tennessee apart on shorter, underneath routes, utilizing Austin Collie and tight end Dallas Clark to great success. Brady should be able to do the same with Wes Welker and New England's bevy of running backs and tight ends -- but the short game and lack of Titans' pass rush ought to leave the door open for a few deep shots downfield to Moss as well.

New England heads overseas next week to battle another hapless foe, Tampa Bay, in London's Wembley Stadium, so Brady should get another opportunity to air it out without much resistance there. By the time New England reaches its Week 8 bye, the Patriots should be 5-2 -- the only issue is whether they'll get there with Brady looking like his normal self.

If he can't take advantage of Tennessee's beaten defense, the concerns over New England's offense will feel much more palpable.