Great thread turned into a bickering-fest. Wish I could say I was surprised.
If you find any more articles like this, please post them! These are fantastic reads.
NEW YORK TIMES; COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Exhausted Brady Delivered for Michigan
By CHARLIE NOBLES
Published: January 3, 2000
It was approaching 1:30 a.m. today when Tom Brady stood outside the Michigan locker room explaining his career day against Alabama in the FedEx Orange Bowl. After several minutes, the senior quarterback had to plead off.
''Sorry, but I've got to sit down,'' Brady said, picking up his travel bags to head toward the team bus. ''I'm beat.''
The Michigan quarterbacks coach, Stan Parrish, described Brady as on the ''borderline of exhaustion'' late in regulation in the Wolverines' 35-34 overtime victory over Alabama at Pro Player Stadium. But Brady was still there to contribute a 25-yard touchdown pass to tight end Shawn Thompson in the overtime period.
The game ended when Alabama's Ryan Pflugner missed the extra point after Andrew Zow's 21-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Carter.
Brady said he was prepared to go on, even with his body telling him differently.
''You know, these guys are counting on you,'' he said, motioning to teammates walking past him. ''When you know that, it doesn't matter what it takes. But that's the way everybody would be; that's not just me. Those linemen were dog tired. Everyone was dog tired. It was just a matter of playing to the end.''
This turned out to be a game of extremes for Michigan, which finished 10-2 with five straight victories. It managed one first down in the game's first 28 minutes, but then became almost unstoppable.
The Wolverines decided at halftime to largely abandon a running game that wasn't working and instead put wide receiver David Terrell in as many one-on-one passing situations as possible. Terrell, named the game's most valuable player, finished with three touchdown catches.
Still, it was Brady, completing 34 of 46 passes for 369 yards and 4 touchdowns, who kept Michigan focused. The Wolverines twice came back from 14-point deficits fueled in large part by the Alabama star Shaun Alexander's 161 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns.
Brady drew praise from his coach.
''He's everything you want in a quarterback,'' Michigan's Lloyd Carr said. ''First of all, he's tough-minded and tough physically. He's very, very smart and makes good decisions.
''He's a lot like Brian Griese. He'll play in the N.F.L. There's a lot of guys out there who doubted Griese, and they've lived to see how wrong they could be. And anybody who doubts that Brady can play in the N.F.L., they'll find themselves in the same situation. The kid just can see things. And the guys around him, they love him. If you knew him, you'd love him, too.''
Brady, a Californian, lost his battle with Griese for the No. 1 quarterback job as a sophomore. With Griese going to the Denver Broncos, Brady seemed the heir for a two-season run. It didn't turn out to be that simple, with the touted sophomore Drew Henson's emergence this fall. Henson, a minor league third baseman for the Yankees, saw some playing time until the season's eighth game, against Indiana. Since then, it has been Brady's team again.
Carr says now that Brady could have disrupted Michigan's unity had he complained too much.
''He handled it in a way where he gained in the eyes of his teammates,'' the coach said early today. ''He gained in stature because he put his team first.''
Instead, a Michigan quarterbacking tradition is emerging.
''Brian passed along a legacy for me to uphold,'' Brady said. ''Now Drew has some great experiences here this season that he can draw from next season. That's what it's all about. You play to the expectations of the position.''
Those expectations, blossoming into reality as the season wore on, helped bear this distinctive fruit: Michigan's third straight 10-victory season.