The Legend of Tommy Brady

[MoLewisrocks]

He did what all great leaders do. Against adversity, with his back against the wall, with the slightest chance of victory, he came through and won it off his own back.

1 year removed from an injury that rocked the Patriots universe, the mental scars still evident in his performance today and enough rust to coat the Golden Gate Bridge, he came through.

People can harp on about McKelvin's moment of stupidity. Fine, Hines Ward had one too. Pros make mistakes. The thing is, you have to capitalize on those moments when they present themselves. Surprise surprise... Tom Brady did capitalize on that moment.

What I know for sure is, I'd rather have Tom Brady than any other quarterback playing for the Patriots and it's going to be a sad day when he retires. We're watching probably the greatest player to ever play the game. Don't ever underestimate how special that is.

What he did is partially responsible for what ST did. That's what seperates him. He didn't only elevate the offense. He elevated an entire team. They showed him for just a couple of seconds after Buffalo scored to go up 11 and he was immediately marching up that sideline informing anyone who would listen that this wasn't over and they better not assume so. And then he showed them why it's not just sideline rhetoric here. A refresher for some and an awakening for the newbies. An identity for a team wondering just what there's is going forward.

They've got some stuff to work on. His timing and mechanics, his top receivers focus, protection (which Matt and Todd Light could get their identities hashed out...), the defense... They got a lot of that back in those last 5 minutes.

 

[JSn]

will to be far to montana he won 2 of hes 4 rings with out rice and T.O never played with montana hes big receivers where clark TE and taylor WR rice got most of hes yerds with young at QB and young played with T.O

Um... wtf?

 

[RoughingthePasser]

Tom plays we'll with a spread/ hurry up....but we can't do it all game. We went most of the game avoiding their cover 2 scheme until the end and drilled Watson down the middle. Tom knows defense...that's why he's a good QB.

Practices translate to gametime execution. The O unit can't be stopped.

I remember playing Denver a few yrs back and our offense went hurry up.One of the Denver LB's was blowing chucks on the field.
Beautiful.

i wish I could handcuff Rex Ryan to a treadmill for a couple of hours and watch that fathead barf up some hotdogs....NEXT week fool!

We're comin for you REX and that little weenie Schnottenheimer.

 

[BradyManny]

To be fair, the game would probably not have come down to that without some terrible officiating. The Wilfork call was about as bad as it gets.

Don't forget the AD call, that was even worse, considering the situation. The refs essentially handed Buffalo the game there. The Wilfork RTP was much closer to a penalty thatn Adalius, which was purely momentum, and in fact, AD let go of the QB to avoid hurting him more.

 

[sieglo]

I have to agree. I've been saying for awhile now, they're gonna win ugly for a few games. The Defense needs time to gel, and the offense is shakin some rust off.

The good news is that those last five minutes probably shook more rust off Brady than any normal 60 minute game. All that guy cares about is winning -- with the game on the line, you could see how his brain stopped giving a **** about protecting that left knee.

 

[RoughingthePasser]

To be fair, the game would probably not have come down to that without some terrible officiating. The Wilfork call was about as bad as it gets.

That was bs on the Wilfork play....wasn't that a safety?

Adalius-mabye....he was trying to get the QB down...I mean give us a break! The QB could have still thrown the ball or wormed out of the tackle. AD had to throw him down. HAD TO!

What is this sport turning into?

 

[sieglo]

That was bs on the Wilfork play....wasn't that a safety?

No, but it also wasn't roughing the passer. Brady gets hit like that almost every down!

The AD call was pure travesty.

 

[JSn]

AD was penalized for trying to stop a repeat of the lame-duck call from SB 42. Trent was still trying to get away, so I don't blame him for trying to take him to the ground.

 

[Absurdly Metro]

Don't forget the AD call, that was even worse, considering the situation. The refs essentially handed Buffalo the game there. The Wilfork RTP was much closer to a penalty thatn Adalius, which was purely momentum, and in fact, AD let go of the QB to avoid hurting him more.

Don't know what you were looking at. The AD play was most assuredly a penalty. He clearly slung Edwards to the ground after the whistle had blown. Vince wrapped up on Edwards at the hips and then slid down his legs as the QB fell backwards. I replayed that one about a hundred times. There is no way that hit could be construed as having been at or below the QB's knees.

 

[dba900]

It was impressive to watch him step it up in the last drives. The team really did seem to approach the game with a new focus. Even that kickoff fumble and recovery by Woods/Merriweather was more the result of smart, tenacious play by the two of them than by dumb luck or a mistake by Buffalo.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Brady and the offense played well enough that we likely would not have won without a bonehead play by the retruner for Buffalo. And this was against a truly aweful team.

i think i'd spin that just a little differently. i agree that if the return idiot takes a knee in the endzone, the game probably goes the other way and i also agree that we were very lucky to be playing the Jills last night. i also agree that Brady played "well enough" (Pass rating of around 80) until the last 5:32.

But, from that point on, what he did was remarkable.

According to the press this morning, Brady went into that huddle at 5:32 and said something like, "OK, we're going to win this game" (shades of "Hey, I just saw John Candy in the stands").

He lifted the play of the offense and, I'd argue, everyone on the team from that moment on. Looking over and over at the fumble, it was a team effort; Player A hits the runner hard but holds him up, so Player B can come in and strip the ball and Player C (the effing kicker!) comes in and makes the recovery.

i think what Brady did last night was a lot more than play well-enough. Did he need some luck? Sure. Montana got lucky on "The Catch" (which some to this day argue he was throwing away). The Steelers had the Immaculate Reception and the list goes on. But, great players and great teams turn the luck into W's. Last night, Brady showed us why he is great.

 

[Patspsycho]

Not to hijack things here too much, but do you think that Cassel was at least starting to develop that trait? Obviously, unlike #12, he never had much of a chance to develop it before last season.

Anyone who knows football worth a sh-- knows Brady is completely on a different level that Cassel.

Cassel will be an average to an above average quarterback but he does not have Brady's incredible ability to will his team to a win.

 

[wistahpatsfan]

The best thing about Brady last night was the way he settled into the game so quickly. Most quarterbacks coming off of a missed season would take GAMES to return to their old form, never mind "Brady form". He got back into game shape before our eyes withing a single game! It was like watching four games worth of recovery. He had to relocate all of his skills from quarter-to-quarter the way lots of QB's do it game-to-game. The first half, he looked rusty, nervous, and inaccurate. By the end of the game, he was playing championship football.

Amazing.

 

[BSR]

Brady and the offense played well enough that we likely would not have won without a bonehead play by the retruner for Buffalo. And this was against a truly aweful team.

Sometimes you have to take a step back and appreciate a game for itself without putting into the context of the larger season. Of course you can look at the game and point out the problems that make you worry about the larger season or say that it was against an inferior opponent, but take some time and enjoy what you just saw. That was a fun win and it will transend the context of this season. It will be one of the moments that we fans will always point to, "remember that time Tommy brought us back down 11 to the bills with less then 3 min to play?". By that time the season will be done and gone and this game will have relatively little meaning in that sense. Who cares if it was against an awful team. It was still remarkable and fun to watch.

 

[Joker]

"He's a dynamic runner. He's trying to win a football game, ice a football game, and we've seen him do it," Jauron said. "He almost did it there. From the sideline it looked like he was making a particular effort to cover the ball with two hands and somehow it came out of there. It's just one of those things that happens."

the play is the play....no what ifs/then we lose crapola...THAT is weak sister pessimistic loser mentality.The Patriots TOOK that game. The Patriots WON that game. Try being a supportive fan rather than a doom and gloom chicken little worry wart.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

Well, let's be honest. For the first 55 minutes Buffalo played well above themselves (give them credit) and We played very tentative (as a team), making a play here or there, but just looking ordinary.

Then Tom just hoisted the ENTIRE TEAM on his shoulders and by sheer will, made his team play better, much better. That is what makes him GREAT. I just watched the final 5 minutes again (sober this time), and it was inspiring.

He is the difference. His players know it. I think this victory (in the way it was won), will have a HUGE lasting effect for this team this year. It will make them stronger. Much more so then a 45-7 blow out would have.

 

[SeauOUCH]

When we recovered the fumble on the kickoff all I was thinking of is I hope we don't score too fast! The thought that TB wouldn't score a game winning touchdown for us in that situation never even crossed my mind.

 

[ScottieC]

To be fair, the game would probably not have come down to that without some terrible officiating. The Wilfork call was about as bad as it gets.

Yea, I'm annoyed at all the lucky comments at work today - There was nothing lucky about that fumble, he did not lose while he was running, it took TWO guys to strip the ball and another to recover.

They went into that tackle going for the ball, period. That's knowing the situation and doing their job.

The recovery might have been lucky - The fumble was forced and an excellent special teams play.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

"He's a dynamic runner. He's trying to win a football game, ice a football game, and we've seen him do it," Jauron said. "He almost did it there. From the sideline it looked like he was making a particular effort to cover the ball with two hands and somehow it came out of there. It's just one of those things that happens."

the play is the play....no what ifs/then we lose crapola...THAT is weak sister pessimistic loser mentality.The Patriots TOOK that game. The Patriots WON that game. Try being a supportive fan rather than a doom and gloom chicken little worry wart.

And given his players comments in addition to his own, there is no way McKelvin doesn't make that same mistake again, and again, and again. He should have taken a knee. He was stopped and stripped at the 28. Situational football, Bill's players are always ready and ****'s are always...not.

 

[Mountain_Commando]

Yea, I'm annoyed at all the lucky comments at work today - There was nothing lucky about that fumble, he did not lose while he was running, it took TWO guys to strip the ball and another to recover.

They went into that tackle going for the ball, period. That's knowing the situation and doing their job.

The recovery might have been lucky - The fumble was forced and an excellent special teams play.

100% correct. Lucky would be receiver dropping the ball without external intervention. Special teams knew they had a job to do (did you see the 1 guy at the lineup raising up the crowd to cheer right before Gost kicked it), and they specifically went for that strip. A very well done job by the ST.

Thanks for this post.