Tom Brady's New England obituary
Brady used lessons learned from Belichick to craft his Patriots farewell
Quarantine Files is a series on LoganReardon.com, tackling different sports topics while we try to live without sports.
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“I knew why he did it. He was going to make a mistake by getting rid of me a year too early rather than a year too late.”
Mike Vrabel knew how Bill Belichick operated. That’s why he wasn’t surprised when the cold-hearted coach dealt him and backup quarterback Matt Cassel to Kansas City for the No. 34 pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. The pick became safety Patrick Chung – who, like Vrabel, has won three Super Bowl as a key Patriot defender.
As usual, the wheel kept turning.
We’ve seen Belichick make these decisions dozens of times since he took over as coach and de facto general manager of the Patriots in 2000.
Richard Seymour was sent to the Raiders in 2009 after five Pro Bowls in his first eight seasons. Belichick got back a 2011 first-round pick that became Nate Solder, a two-time champion who shored up the offensive line with steady play from 2011-2017.
Logan Mankins was a stalwart on the Patriots’ O-line from 2005 through 2013, making six Pro Bowls and six All-Pros (one first-team, five second-team). He goes down as one of the rare guys who played over five years in Foxboro, but won no Super Bowls. The team won it in 2004 and 2014, the year’s before and after he left. Talk about bad luck.
Regardless, Mankins was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for tight end Tim Wright and a 2015 fourth-round pick. Wright struggled and was released within a year, but the pick became Trey Flowers – winner of two titles and totaling 2.5 sacks in the Patriots’ win over the Falcons.
I could give you examples all day, but that’s not what we’re here to talk about.
The changing of the guard has finally come at the quarterback position. The one player that seemed above the rest finally evacuated from Belichick’s football gulag of sorts.
“Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady...”
I saw it in a Tweet the other day and was wildly uncomfortable.
Tom Brady is not Mike Vrabel or Matt Cassel. He isn’t Richard Seymour. He isn’t Logan Mankins.
Brady wasn’t exiled to Tampa like Mankins. The soon-to-be 43-year-old quarterback made like most old New Englanders and fled for the Florida sun on his own.
In that way, Brady proved he was above the rest. He Belichick’d Belichick. Before his coach could ship him off, Brady made his own move.
How Brady fits with the Bucs’ explosive offense is another story for another day. This one is for Tommy’s career as a Patriot.
It started off in an improbable way that only Belichick likely saw coming. The sixth-rounder picked 199thoverall was given the reins as Drew Bledsoe’s backup for the 2001 season. Players get hurt every game – especially before much of today’s safety rules were in place – so Bledsoe’s fall was inevitable. Brady’s rise, well, that was anything but.
The numbers weren’t gaudy in Year 1 (18 TDs, 12 INTs, 2,843 yards), but the Patriots began doing what they did for the next 20 years – win.
From five victories to 11. From last in the division to first. From laughing stock to top dog.
The lasting image of that season is Brady’s game-winning drive against the Greatest Show on Turf. The Patriots got the ball with 1:21 remaining at their own 17-yard line and the Rams having scored 14 unanswered to tie the game at 17.
“And now, with no timeouts (left), I think the Patriots with this field position, you have to run the clock out. You have to play for overtime now,” color commentator John Madden said as the drive began.
Brady completed a four-yard dump off pass to J.R. Redmond to start the drive.
“Now, I don’t agree with what the Patriots are doing right here,” Madden urged. “I would play for overtime.”
Another completion to Redmond, this time for nine yards before Brady spiked the ball with 41 seconds left.
“This guy is really cool, though,” Madden said of Brady. “… The way he’s playing this game today, he’s been very impressive with his calmness.”
Brady to Redmond again, this time for 10 yards.
“Now I kind of like what the Patriots are doing,” Madden admitted as Redmond got out of bounds to save time.
The Rams finally brought some pressure and forced a Brady throw-away, but he connected with Troy Brown on the next play for 24 yards to get the Pats to the Rams’ 36-yard line.
“This is amazing,” Madden said. “This is something that I’ll admit, as a coach and as an analyst, I don’t think they should’ve done.”
A six-yard completion to Jermaine Wiggins and one final spike set Adam Vinatieri up for a game-winning 48-yard field goal.
“What Tom Brady just did gives me goosebumps,” Madden said.
Goosebumps have been a common occurrence in New England since that game.
Whether it was a meaningless, but extraordinary regular season comeback against Drew Brees and the Saints…
Or a high-stakes, Super Bowl-winning comeback against the best defense in the NFL…
Examples are endless. Memories are endless.
You can argue if it was Brady or Belichick who was responsible for all those things. It really doesn’t matter. The magic that these two created won’t be matched by any quarterback-coach pairing again in league history.
So, what got in the way of a storybook ending for the greatest dynasty in modern sports history?
Well, the two authors were more interested in writing their own endings. How those two, separate endings play out remains to be seen.