Tom Brady's legacy will forever be tuck-ed in New England Patriots lure
Does anybody else find it hard to believe that Tom Brady is about to embark on his fifteenth NFL season? Granted, he only threw three passes during his rookie campaign, and went down with a season ending injury week one of the 2008 season when Kansas City Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard bent his left knee like a Jimi Hendrix guitar string, but still, there are a lot of miles on this soon-to-be 37-year old version of Brady given the teams annual post season run. Brady has played in 26 post-season contests and amassed 18 playoff victories over his stellar career, but it was his first triumph that still invokes much contention (and in this region elation) all these years later.
Like me, I’m sure you remember that snowy AFC divisional playoff game in Foxboro on January 19, 2002, and recall exactly where you were when Walt Coleman cited NFL Rule 3, Section 22, Article 2, Note 2 – the Tuck Rule. But how could we possibly know that would serve as the first brick in the foundation of a Hall of Fame career? It doesn’t make sense.
The tuck play was sloppy, poorly executed, lacked anticipation and was incompetently read by Brady who allowed Charles Woodson to knock the ball loose. Do those traits sound like they belong to Tom terrific? He has proven to be the walking embodiment of clean, efficient play with the foresight to know exactly what the defense is going to do before they do it, but that mastery came later.
Brady was a 24-year old kid trying to prove himself at the time when he found himself in the center of the tuck madness that lit up airwaves from coast to coast. He was far from his 2007 polished self that tossed a then record 50 TD passes that season. The Patriots leaned on their defense in those early years and asked far less of their field general. That formula will once again be needed if the 2014 Patriots hope to reclaim former glory.
Brady is older and wiser now, but lacks some of the fearlessness in the pocket he once possessed pre-injury. The long ball isn’t quite as accurate. He can’t scramble for a first down like that young kid in 2001, but he still knows how to win. He still knows how to lead a team on a game-winning drive when it matters most.
Brady has been a fixture atop the NFL’s franchise of the decade (2000-2009) since taking over for Drew Bledsoe, and the New England Patriots are widely regarded as one of the premier franchises in all of sports because of his right arm, but he wants more. A fourth ring and sixth Super Bowl appearance would go a long way in securing Brady’s legacy as the best quarterback the game has ever seen.
The passion still burns like an inferno deep within the golden boy. And while the birth of a legend may have been happenstance on that cold January day, he’s proven 2001 was no fluke time and time again.
In 2013 the NFL eliminated the rule that helped send Brady to Disney world. That same tuck play today would be ruled a fumble and a recovery for the defense. Yes, the NFL landscape has changed considerably since 2001, but one constant remains, Tom Brady. He’s as close to a sure thing as the NFL has ever known. It’s just hard to imagine it all started with an obscure rule that few knew about, but considering even fewer knew about how good Tom Brady would be coming out of the 2000 NFL draft, when he was selected 199th overall, it seems fitting (almost poetic) that Brady and the tuck rule would find one another. A match made in Patriot heaven.
Follow me on Twitter @dbonvie
 |
| Tom Brady and the tuck rule were destined for one another. Photo via: http://thesportsquotient.com |
The tuck play was sloppy, poorly executed, lacked anticipation and was incompetently read by Brady who allowed Charles Woodson to knock the ball loose. Do those traits sound like they belong to Tom terrific? He has proven to be the walking embodiment of clean, efficient play with the foresight to know exactly what the defense is going to do before they do it, but that mastery came later.
Brady was a 24-year old kid trying to prove himself at the time when he found himself in the center of the tuck madness that lit up airwaves from coast to coast. He was far from his 2007 polished self that tossed a then record 50 TD passes that season. The Patriots leaned on their defense in those early years and asked far less of their field general. That formula will once again be needed if the 2014 Patriots hope to reclaim former glory.
Brady is older and wiser now, but lacks some of the fearlessness in the pocket he once possessed pre-injury. The long ball isn’t quite as accurate. He can’t scramble for a first down like that young kid in 2001, but he still knows how to win. He still knows how to lead a team on a game-winning drive when it matters most.
Brady has been a fixture atop the NFL’s franchise of the decade (2000-2009) since taking over for Drew Bledsoe, and the New England Patriots are widely regarded as one of the premier franchises in all of sports because of his right arm, but he wants more. A fourth ring and sixth Super Bowl appearance would go a long way in securing Brady’s legacy as the best quarterback the game has ever seen.
The passion still burns like an inferno deep within the golden boy. And while the birth of a legend may have been happenstance on that cold January day, he’s proven 2001 was no fluke time and time again.
In 2013 the NFL eliminated the rule that helped send Brady to Disney world. That same tuck play today would be ruled a fumble and a recovery for the defense. Yes, the NFL landscape has changed considerably since 2001, but one constant remains, Tom Brady. He’s as close to a sure thing as the NFL has ever known. It’s just hard to imagine it all started with an obscure rule that few knew about, but considering even fewer knew about how good Tom Brady would be coming out of the 2000 NFL draft, when he was selected 199th overall, it seems fitting (almost poetic) that Brady and the tuck rule would find one another. A match made in Patriot heaven.
Follow me on Twitter @dbonvie
