After torching the Denver Broncos for four touchdown passes and more than 300 yards
on Sunday, Tom Brady approached the microphone at his press conference in a way the
Boston media have grown accustomed to: calm, cool, and with his usual humbleness
After complimenting teammates, his opponents, and deflecting any praise towards him,
I kind of wish the Patriots quarterback changed things up a bit. I was hoping he'd
look into the throng of cameras and media members in front of him, and with a little
bit of a smirk on his face, say "You can all kiss my ass and you know who you are."
Brady has too much class to say that or shove it in everybody's face, but it
would've be oh, so very fitting. You see, after an un-Brady-like performance in a
blowout loss to Kansas City on September 29, the media and New England fan base
went into a frenzy not seen in the region since Bobby Valentine, through the media
criticized fan favorite Kevin Youkilis in his first month on the job several years ago.
Even in this knee-jerk, rush to judgement, condemn and convict without getting all the
facts world we live in, the reaction to his two-interception game against the Chiefs
was mind-boggling and embarrassing. NFL analysts and the so called"experts" in the
media spoke about Brady as if he were the second coming of Johnny Unitas, who may
have tarnished an otherwise brilliant career by hanging on too long.
He is declining right before our very eyes they said, his arm strength was sagging and
his pin-point accuracy had gone way off the mark. NBC analyst and former teammate
Rodney Harrison told the country Brady "looked scared to death" in the pocket. ESPN
analyst and former teammate Tedy Bruschi said Brady was no longer an elite quarterback.
Chris Mortenson gossiped like a teenage girl in the high school cafeteria stating that
Brady wasn't even getting along with the coaching staff anymore and signaled an end
to the Brady Era in Foxborough. Adam Schefter went so far as to report that Brady
could be traded. Oh, the comedy of it all.
For a guy who has always played with a chip on his shoulder the size of Peyton Manning
this was the fuel that stoked a fire that has always burned with great intensity and
passion. Everybody should've known that, especially all the fans in New England who
thought Brady's reign was quickly coming to an end.
This was a guy who told Michigan coach Lloyd Carr that he should be starting over
mega-hyped and super talented Drew Henson. This was the same sixth-round
draft pick who told Patriots owner Robert Kraft upon his introduction that picking
Brady was "the best decision the organization has ever made." How did everyone
forget this when they decided to criticize Brady for one bad game as if he were
Geno Smith?
How did Brady respond after the doubters jumped all over him and said he was
declining right before their very eyes? The only way Brady knows how: with greatness.
In the five games since the Kansas City debacle, Brady had 18 touchdowns to just
one interception. He's gone from fading quarterback to front-runner for the MVP.
In Sunday's showdown against rival Peyton Manning, Brady proved to Tedy Bruschi
and everyone else who doubted him, that he's still an elite quarterback and on par,
if not flat-out just better than the five-time MVP.
Brady was so amped up for Sunday's game, he was throwing football's as if they
were filled with jet fuel. Those who questioned his arm strength should watch tape
of that game then get their heads examined. Brady is always the smartest guy on
the field, directing a sophisticated offense that made Denver's lock-down defense
look awfully weak.
There is a reason why Brady has the highest-winning percentage of any starting
quarterback in NFL history. It still boggles my mind that people who watched
every one of Brady's games over the last 12 years, failed to see them. Chris Collinsworth
and others marveled before Sunday's game how Manning was actually getting better
as he got older. Everyone should be saying the same thing about Brady, who is
37, or just a year younger than Manning.
Jimmy Garrapolo, keep holding that clipboard for a while because Tom Brady
is going to be around for a lot longer than most of the experts think, that's for
sure.
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