• Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

November 18, 2015, Queens, NY  Tom Brady has led New England to a 9–0 record. The Patriots are the defending Super Bowls champs, having won their 4th overall after a ten-year drought. After a non-descript college career, Brady was drafted in the 6th round, number 199 overall and appeared to be an afterthought at the time.

In his 2nd season, Brady was a backup to former no. 1 overall pick Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe had led the Pats to a Super Bowl appearance against the Green Bay Packers which ended in a loss. Bledsoe was injured on a QB scramble against the NY Jets in the 2nd game of the 2001 season. Brady was named the starter, and Bledsoe was relegated to a backup role. Brady made clutch play after clutch play to lead the Pats to an improbable Super Bowl versus the heavily favored St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. After the Greatest Show on Turf was able to tie the game at 17-17, Brady led the Pats in to field goal range, and kicker Adam Vinatieri connected and the Pats won their first Super Bowl after 2 previous losses.

Brady subsequently, led the Pats to back to back victories in SB XXXVIII and XXXIX. In 2007, Brady teamed with WR Randy Moss, and the Pats compiled points in abundance. Brady passed for a then NFL record on 50 TD passes, while Moss caught a record 23. The Pats made it to SB XLII undefeated and undaunted. The NY Giants stood in the way of history. “19-0″ T shirts were printed and the headlines were written. Brady was in line to win a 4th Super Bowl without a loss. The Giants saw to it that a different ending was needed to their storybook season. Brady rallied the Pats from behind to take a late 14-10 lead on a TD pass to Moss. The Giants final drive was stalling out near midfield, when QB Eli Manning passed to special teamer, David Tyree, after evading a sack. Tyree was in the game as a WR at the time and made what has become known as “The Helmet Catch.” The Giants were able to continue downfield, where Manning completed the game winning TD pass to Plaxico “Cheddar Bob” Burress.

The Giants fairy tale ending kept Brady from celebrating an undefeated season, and Mercury Morris was able to pop champagne after the final undefeated team had lost. The Miami Dolphins remain the only undefeated team during the Super Bowl era.

In 2008, Brady was injured in the season opener and missed the remainder of the season due to a knee injury. Brady made it back leading the Pats to the playoffs but suffered devastating home losses in back to back seasons to the Ravens and Jets, respectively. The Pats were able to get back to the Super Bowl and faced the Giants again with the same outcome, a loss in SB XLVI.

After consecutive losses in the AFC Championship game, the Pats were 2-2 during the ’14 season after a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Brady looked ordinary, and if it was time for him to be replaced, Brady was having none of it. He led the Pats back to Super Bowl XLIX where he rallied the Pats from a 24-14 deficit against the defending Super Bowl champ, Seattle Seahawks, to a 28-24 victory. This was his 4th victory and 3rd Super Bowl MVP.

Brady is adept at playing from the pocket as a passer, has an ability to read defenses by processing information quickly, and is unmatched at picking up first downs or scoring touchdowns in fourth and short situations.

Brady has lived a storybook existence, superstar athlete, married to supermodel Gisele Bundchen and a Q rating which has him to become an endorser of luxury brands. If Hollywood were to cast his life story, it would star Brad Pitt as the leading man.

By Vernon McKenzie

Graduate of New Institute Of Technology with a BA in Communications with a focus on Television Radio. Owner and Executive Producer of PureSportsNY

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