Tom Brady was something else to behold. When he took over for Drew Bledsoe in early 2001, NOBODY had any idea of the kind of success and legendary career he was going to have. The man was driven unlike anyone we'd seen since Jordan.
He was never the most "skilled" per se. At least when talking about typical quarterback skills. He didnt have a cannon for an arm like Manning, Favre or, later, Rodgers. He couldnt run like Mike Vick or Cam Newton. He wasnt a high draft pick. He didnt come with a lot of expectations.
But he would do anything it took to win. No, im not talking about the asinine theory that he deflated footballs- Im talking about adapting to the situation. He just wanted the win. He didnt care if he threw for 5 TDs or handed it off to a RB that would rush for 200yds. If short screen passes would get the job done, he'd throw those all day. But the very second your defense sold out to stop that RB, or those screen passes, he was ready to burn you over the top or through the middle and take advantage of whatever you left open for him.
He was never out. Hes led more comebacks than anyone ever in history and he even did it on the biggest stage, coming back from down 25 points in the 3rd quarter of the Super Bowl.
The record breaking throw to Randy Moss is still my favorite football play of all time. The snow game against Tennessee where they could have put 70pts on the board if they wanted and Brady threw 5 TDs in one quarter is the most dominant performance ever on a football field.
There was just nothing like watching him. And I was just lucky that the team that got to enjoy the fruits of his success for the greatest amount of time happened to be my home team. And it happened to coincide with a time i was just falling in love with football anyway and Tom Brady made me fall that much harder.
There are guys doing incredible things in the game today. Patrick Mahomes seems to have Bradys desire and drive, as well as his ability to adapt AND has all the physical tools, too. So maybe he'll surpass him someday, i just cant imagine it. There has never been anything like Tom Brady. Thanks for 20-plus years of beautiful football, Tom. Good luck with the next phase of your life.
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