Tom Brady is a great looking guy…
Tom Brady is nailing one of the hottest chicks in the world...
Tom Brady is the best quarterback in the NFL...
Yes, it is February 6, 2008 and I am finally saying it. Is he the greatest quarterback to ever live? Time will tell. Is he the best active QB right now? Fa Sho. Prior to Super Bowl XLII, I would have said no to both questions. Perhaps I am the only person who, first off, wasn’t convinced Brady was the top quarterback, or better yet, was only persuaded after Sunday night. This is why…
Who put the Pats up early with a 12-play touchdown drive after the Giants marched down the field with a 16-er to open the game? Brady. Who kept New England in the game? Brady. What hunk with chiseled features led his team to a late fourth quarter drive to take the lead with less than three minutes remaining? Anyone? Yes, it was No. 12, Tomas Brady. So why then, has there been a barrage of criticism, especially from the Four Letter Network, coming Handsome Tom’s way? Let’s find out shall we.
In no other sport are players more unfairly criticized than football. What fails to be understood about the game is how different it is than any other sport. First off, football does not “flow” like the other major sports. The game is a series of inter-reliant events with a varying degree of coaches and players actively involved in every play throughout the course of a game. Players are dependent on the head coach, coordinators, and teammates, for successes and failures.
No other sport can claim to hold its athletes more responsible for circumstances outside their control than football. Example. If the game had ended on Moss’ touchdown catch, Brady’s performance would have been praised. He would have been commended for showing incredible moxie and toughness while leading his team to their fourth championship in seven years. My question is, how can he be criticized for the events that followed in the final 2:42 of the fourth quarter? Events he had no direct control over.
Sure, Tom missed open receivers. Hell, I’ll bet he would admit he didn’t play as well as he could have so I can tolerate criticism for isolated mistakes. But to say he flat didn’t play well is wrong. It’s wrong because those mistakes would be overlooked if the Patriots had won. HIS fourth quarter drive would have been legendary. To drudge up these so-called mistakes because the Giants engineered their own remarkable final drive is not fair or right.
The Four Letter Network suggests Brady played poorly. They are sorely mistaken. Without context Handsome Tom’s numbers, 29-of-48 passes for 266 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions, are pedestrian, there is no denying that. But given the game itself (Super Bowl XXII), the match-up (the Giants, engineered to neutralize NE’s style), and the surrounding issues (19-0, possibly best team ever, and Brady solidifying himself as the best big game QB ever), it certainly makes those numbers far more impressive.
You can look at it from another angle. If you were to ask New York personnel who was the one offensive player they needed to keep in check they would not have said Randy Moss. Westerton Welker torched the Giants in Week 17 for 11 catches and 122 yards. He picked up key first downs and helped the Patriots move the ball late in the game. The game plan for New York in Super Bowl XLII was to hit Brady in the face, rattle his cage, and prevent him from spreading the ball underneath to Welker and Kevin Faulk, and then eventually over the top to Moss. The Giants succeeded on two of these four goals, the two being ones Brady had no control over.
Giants Goals on Defense
- Hit Brady more than J-Lo got hit in “Enough”…Only at the beginning because then she got tough and strong enough to beat up a man which would never happen no matter how much she learned about fighting or tried to train to become a “fighter”. (Check)
- Rattle his cage. (No Check)
- Prevent him from spreading the ball to Welker/Faulk. (No Check)
- Prevent the big play to Moss. (Check)
Brady got hit, and hit often. To say he was on his back more than a hook on a scavenger man-hunt is an understatement. Brady was pressured on nearly 70 percent of his dropbacks and still hit on 60.4 percent of his 48 passes. The Giants pass rush took Moss, the best deep option, out of the game with their relentless pressure. What was Brady able to do? First, stay poised. Time after time, with the pocket collapsing around him, or with a hand in his face, or even a G-Man pulling him down, Tomboy was able to pick the Giants apart underneath with an almost unstoppable Welker and a shifty Faulk, who combined for 18 catches.
Still not convinced? Ask yourself this: who in the NFL today could play any better than Brady did against the Giants? You might say Tony Romo. Get F’ed. The Mexican hit 18-of-36 passes for 201 yards with one touchdown and one interception for a QB rating of 64.7 in the Divisional Playoff Game. Brett Favraa? Sorry babe. The old shitkicker was 19-of-35 passes for 236 yards throwing for two touchdowns and two interceptions for a QB rating of 70.7 in the NFC Championship Game.
Of course, for those who think Brady was unimpressive, the Peyton Manning response will always be given. Dude, “Petyon would have played way better brah.” There’s no way to be sure, but let’s take a look at his statistics from last year’s Super Bowl run. In four playoff games, Manning averaged 25-of-41 passes for 275 yards. Goober also had seven interceptions and three touchdowns, just to throw that in there. Any mimbo can see Handsome Tom was the only guy for the job and played way better than anyone else in the League could. Also, don’t bring up Montana, Elway or Bradshaw because comparing eras is gay and an act in futility.
Three major factors contributed to the insurmountable odds Brady faced and how he responded to what was laid in front of him.
1. Brady took on one of the up and cumming defensive coordinators in the game in Steve Spagnuolo, who crafted an ingenious game plan.
New York negated rhythm with pressure from the front seven (most often just the front four). They prevented the big play with this pressure by mixing up blitz packages and shut down the run almost immediately. After that, they could pin their ears back and come after Handsome just about every other play. This basically took effect after New England’s first scoring drive and continued for the rest of the game.
2. Handsome Tom was up against a more prepared, confident, and relaxed team.
There is no question New York was a different team throughout the year. They were an overrated team early, an improving squad midway through, but still incapable of winning the big games, and an incredibly underrated team entering the playoffs. This schizophrenia contributed to how underrated the Giants pass rush truly was. No one knew how good they were, especially the Patriots coaching staff who refused to help the front five with a loaded backfield of Heath Evans, Ben Watson, or Kyle Eckel.
3. The undefeated season, 19-0, and the title of “best team ever” affected the Patriots more than anyone expected.
It may be a hypothetical and irresponsible comment, but I do what I want so when I say the ’72 Dolphins would not have gone undefeated in the modern era I stand by that. Football is a bigger sport on a grander stage. It’s 24/7 player. The World Wide Web and cell phones with recorders and cameras among many other things have made everyone a potential member of the media at any given time. We are the Viet Cong and professional athletes are American troops. Think about the groundswell created from a guarantee like the one Joe Willie Namath gave prior to Super Bowl III. Lock it in a time machine and unleash it now. It becomes apples and oranges with the NFL/AFL controversy, but the impact from such a statement would have been unconscionable. People would have died.
New England lost Super Bowl XLII. New York was a better team Sunday. It’s as simple as that. But in this game, Tom Brady gave one of the gutsiest performances in recent memory. So I say to the Four Letter Network, Handsome Tom’s performance should be remembered, not for tarnishing his legacy, but for maintaining it.
