ANOTHER must see watch.

ArchAngel007 said:

Thanks for the replies guys was always curious what was the adult fan base mindset about the GOAT back then. Did some of you still wanted Bledsoe at QB when he came back from injury in that 2001 season?

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My brother and I often had that conversation. We both thought that Brady did not have that "choke" factor in him. No disrespect to Bledsoe because I still admire and consider him one of the best QB's the Patriots have had but it always seemed that he threw the most inopportune INT's or missed the open receiver at the time.

The first SB would not have been possible without Bledsoe.

He came in for an injured Brady and led that team to a victory over the Steelers in the AFCCG.

Anyways Bledsoe help the Pats to their first SB victory and has been a class act ever sense.

vuudu said:

WTF does poor build even mean? They make it sound like he has a deficiency.

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Think Hunchback of Notredame.

Reubski23 said:

At what point did people start seeing TFB as the best in the league?

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For me it was 2003. Greatest D in team history, but every time they needed points, Brady responded. At Miami to Brown, at Denver to Givens, at Houston to Graham. It's hard to tell when the rest of the nation came around, because as soon as they realized he was the best, they pretended that they didn't think he was the best.

Concussion Protocol said:

Imagine the Jaguars winning the SB this year. That's what it was like.

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They were ranked dead last in ESPN's power rankings after week 2 that year. I remember it like it was yesterday. The team looked horrible, it was a bunch of rag tag FA signings and high draft picks that never lived up to the hype. Bledsoe was the only thing that was keeping them from being the worst team in the NFL. Then Bledsoe went down...

I don't know about the Jags comparison, but pretty close. Just imagine having a a team with a Pro Bowl QB, and not much else, having some no name flier pick QB come in and lead them to a Super Bowl. It was just beyond ridiculous.

The funny thing was that even though Brady wasn't Brady like we know him today, and Belichick wasn't the man, you could see he had the intangibles. I remember right after losing to St. Louis in the regular season, which put them at 5-5, one of my buddies said 'You know what, I think this team could run the table.' And we we're all like 'huh, I think that might actually be possible'. We were saying this about a 5-5 team that was the consensus worst team in the NFL after week 2. You could just see something with the way the team played and the way Brady held it all together. It was weird.

JJDChE said:

They were ranked dead last in ESPN's power rankings after week 2 that year. I remember it like it was yesterday. The team looked horrible, it was a bunch of rag tag FA signings and high draft picks that never lived up to the hype. Bledsoe was the only thing that was keeping them from being the worst team in the NFL. Then Bledsoe went down...

I don't know about the Jags comparison, but pretty close. Just imagine having a a team with a Pro Bowl QB, and not much else, having some no name flier pick QB come in and lead them to a Super Bowl. It was just beyond ridiculous.

The funny thing was that even though Brady wasn't Brady like we know him today, and Belichick wasn't the man, you could see he had the intangibles. I remember right after losing to St. Louis in the regular season, which put them at 5-4, one of my buddies said 'You know what, I think this team could run the table.' And we we're all like 'huh, I think that might actually be possible'. We were saying this about a 5-4 team that was the consensus worst team in the NFL after week 2. You could just see something with the way the team played and the way Brady held it all together. It was weird.

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Wow, I'm impressed, you have a hell of a memory. I can barely remember how old I was back then, had to count with my fingers.

awesome

i keep forgetting that there was really only one year the Brady had an elite WR, and in that year he threw for 50 tds and the team went 16-0....the ONLY year he has EVER had an elite WR....it would honestly have been unfair if he had one through most of his tenure

(and he never had an elite RB)

Reubski23 said:

At what point did people start seeing TFB as the best in the league?

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depends on the hate level, lol

there's a whole lot to this day that would argue against that! lmao

Once again thanks to all for replying on your guys trip to memory lane. Again I was only a 5th grader at the time when the whole Brady Era started that when they won the first SB he instantly became my childhood idol.

ALP said:

awesome

i keep forgetting that there was really only one year the Brady had an elite WR, and in that year he threw for 50 tds and the team went 16-0....the ONLY year he has EVER had an elite WR....it would honestly have been unfair if he had one through most of his tenure

(and he never had an elite RB)

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Corey Dillon

Marko said:

Corey Dillon

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i disagree

elite players make it into the HOF,

or whatever other metric we feel like using, Dillon most likely would not stack up...did he have an amazing year? yes, but an elite back i do not believe he was

venecol said:

Wow, I'm impressed, you have a hell of a memory. I can barely remember how old I was back then, had to count with my fingers.

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My memory is pretty questionable, but for some reason those moments stick out. After Bledsoe went down it really felt like a low point for the franchise, which is why I remember them being last in the Power Rankings. 4 or 5 years later I was reminiscing and thought I had remembered them being last and I was able to pull it up on ESPN's power rankings archives. I don't think you can find it any more.

That moment when my buddy mentioned the fact they could run the table was just ones of those times when somebody says something in a crowded room and a hush comes over the crowd. It was literally right after the St. Louis game ended. There was a group of us in the room together and when he piped up it just sounded like the most outlandish thing to say because of where the franchise had been, but we all looked at eachother as we thought about it and kinda just nodded and said 'yeah, that could happen'. I remember the feeling of hope which just hadn't been there for so long. Of course, they did end up running the table so that moment was relived a few times among our group of friends.

ALP said:

i disagree

elite players make it into the HOF,

or whatever other metric we feel like using, Dillon most likely would not stack up...did he have an amazing year? yes, but an elite back i do not believe he was

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He had a dominant year. Period. You said he never played with an elite RB. That is false. Dillon was elite in 2004.

ALP said:

i disagree

elite players make it into the HOF,

or whatever other metric we feel like using, Dillon most likely would not stack up...did he have an amazing year? yes, but an elite back i do not believe he was

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Jerome Bettis averaged 3.9 YPC for his career and got a gold jacket. Dillon was far better than that overrated slob.

Dillon would have been HoF bound if he didn't get drafted by Cincy, IMO. Put him on a good team and he's going to Canton. He was a great runner.

ArchAngel007 said:

What was your guys' reaction when you saw that the Pats had drafted a QB from Michigan that was benched?

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Whoa, whoa....slow down for a minute.

Tom Brady didn't start his freshman or sophomore years (pretty much the norm for anyone) because Michigan went undefeated and won the national title in '97 with Brian Griese, son of the great Bob Griese. He did however, start to gain some recognition in his sophomore year, and then started every single game for Michigan in his junior and senior years, where he set school records for most completions in a season and led his team to a 20-5 record (1998 and 1999).

He went on to lead them to a Citrus Bowl victory and an Orange Bowl victory during his time at Michigan, holding off 2 sport stud Drew Henson for the starting job. Even though Brady started every game in '98 and '99, head coach Llyod Carr would insert Henson in the 2nd quarter and then ride the hot hand for the second half (1999). After a handful of games into the season, Carr grew to regret a decision where he used Henson in the second half over Brady and re-inserted Brady, where he led his team back from a huge deficit and was given the nickname of the "comeback kid."

I don't know if "being benched" is the proper term, but Drew Henson was a much higher recruit and a much better all around athlete at the time, so it was only natural that he would get the benefit of the doubt with some platoon time. It was telling however, that Brady was the guy who still started every game during that time period.

JJDChE said:

They were ranked dead last in ESPN's power rankings after week 2 that year. I remember it like it was yesterday. The team looked horrible, it was a bunch of rag tag FA signings and high draft picks that never lived up to the hype. Bledsoe was the only thing that was keeping them from being the worst team in the NFL. Then Bledsoe went down...

I don't know about the Jags comparison, but pretty close. Just imagine having a a team with a Pro Bowl QB, and not much else, having some no name flier pick QB come in and lead them to a Super Bowl. It was just beyond ridiculous.

The funny thing was that even though Brady wasn't Brady like we know him today, and Belichick wasn't the man, you could see he had the intangibles. I remember right after losing to St. Louis in the regular season, which put them at 5-5, one of my buddies said 'You know what, I think this team could run the table.' And we we're all like 'huh, I think that might actually be possible'. We were saying this about a 5-5 team that was the consensus worst team in the NFL after week 2. You could just see something with the way the team played and the way Brady held it all together. It was weird.

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I remember sitting in a room full of Patriot fans at a SB party and before the game there was still a guy who had not bought into the team. "There's no way they win this"...."This rookie can't handle the pressure" were some of the comments he liked to bark out. When the Pats were up 14 he had finally started to buy in when, suddenly, the Rams tied up the game and back to the negativity he went. Madden's "I don't like what the Patriots are doing" , Mr. Debbie Downers "I told you so's" while sitting on the coach and all the while Brady was driving the team down the field ending with a Troy "the football God" Brown reception that put them within field goal range. The rest is history as they say but that drive was when Tom Brady solidified himself as "the Dude". I don't know how many thought of him as a GOAT but most definitely recognized the Patriots had a really good franchise QB.

What a ride it has been. Funny thing is that I think with this last SB win he has gotten better. I think the weight of winning that elusive 4th ring might have had him pressing a bit but now I don't think a top defense can rattle him like they seemed to do in the past. He is a cool in the pocket as I can ever remember seeing him.

ArchAngel007 said:

Thanks for the replies guys was always curious what was the adult fan base mindset about the GOAT back then. Did some of you still wanted Bledsoe at QB when he came back from injury in that 2001 season?

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This my opinion only but Bledsoe seemed to choke far too often in big moments. The guy still deserves all the credit in the world for his part in beating the Steelers in the AFCCG and for being the class act he was then and still is now. However, when Brady replaced him you immediately saw the "clutch" in Brady that you had not seen in Bledsoe. Most wanted Brady over Bledsoe but there were a few that thought Bledsoe had the experience etc.... It was definitely a debatable issue as Bledsoe was a hell of a QB in his own right.

Another question regarding Bledsoe I sometimes throw around is IF Parcells had not pulled his "I'm going to the Jets after the season" BS prior to the SB, would the Pats have been able to win that SB? And if so which direction would have Bledsoe's career gone after that?

36min?? This is PERFECT. I'm at work waiting for paint to dry. lol. Thanks!

Thanks for a great video and thanks to everyone else for all the great posts. I was 15 when the Pats won their first SB with Tom and I didn't follow the game as thoroughly as I have for the last 10 years. I also just wanted the Pats to win lol. So reading all these posts was a real treat.

patfanken said:

Back in 2000 when they drafted him, the Pats were coming off an 8-8 year with a team that had some decent starters, but no depth and deep in cap hell. BB spent that season clearing out the deadwood and trying to get the cap back in working order.

As for our expectations, I think none of us were shocked they drafted him. A decent prospect with expectations to either fight for the #3 job or be camp fodder. IIRC his acquisition was pretty much met with a big snooze. However what WAS a surprise was when they kept all 4 QB's on the roster the entire year. Back in those days almost all teams kept 3 QB's on the roster. But FOUR? That was almost unheard of.

When it became apparent that season was a dumpster fire, there were few complaints, it just was what it was. In 2001 people who went to Smithfield came back with some nice things to say about him, but it was still a bit of surprise when he beat out the Huard and Bishop was sent packing. And the rest, as they say, was history.

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Actually I WAS surprised they drafted him.

Looked like a wasted pick for a team with a young franchise QB and solid backups.

I still remember though when watching the draft coverage on ESPN, they returned from a commercial and announced "New England" has just made a real interesting pick", but that is what they do during the draft coverage, and over the years they have talked about a ton of interesting picks.