Drew Bledsoe was the Patriots’ franchise player and one of the first to have a $ 100 million contract with a team in the NFL. With those credentials, it was difficult for a QB chosen in the sixth round of the Draft to put his position in trouble, but he did not count on that quarterback being Tom Brady.
Tom Brady is not Harry Potter, someone who was born knowing he was the chosen one. Being selected in the sixth round of an NFL Draft may not bode well for a career, but If Brady has something, it is patience and he showed it from his first moment with the Patriots.
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In fact, Drew Bledsoe did not see Tom Brady as a real competition and less as one of the best QB’s in the NFL. But everything can change, for a man, a young player, a franchise of the most important football league and an entire country.
September 2001 will be remembered as one of the darkest months in American history. The terrorist attack at Twin Towers brought the NFL to a halt for a week because of all the chaos that was being lived in the country.
That bye week possibly changed the course of history for Drew Bledsoe and Tom Brady. In the NFL comeback game, the Patriots faced the Jets. Bledsoe was the starter, as appropriate, but one play changed everything. A tackle from Mo Lewis, Jets defender, took Drew off the field.
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Tom Brady the makeshift QB for the Patriots
With Drew Bledsoe on the bench, injured by the blow, the turn was for that young man selected in the sixth round and who shone in college with the Michigan Wolverines. Tom Brady saw his first plays as the Patriots QB.
He had to finish the game because Drew Bledsoe couldn’t come back and ultimately wouldn’t return until the end of the season, before the Super Bowl. After the meeting, Bledsoe had internal bleeding in his chest, which took him away from activity for a few weeks.
The opportunity of his life was there and as he himself says in the first chapter of Man in the Arena: “You have to be ready for when your opportunity presents itself“. Tom Brady was ready and guided the Patriots into the postseason, with help from the bench from Drew Bledsoe.
His first big challenge would be against the Raiders, a game before the AFC championship final. An impressive snowfall fell during the game and that helped Tom Brady at times, as it made it easier for him to read his rivals on the field.
An oversight almost cost him the game, as he did not notice a charge from Charles Woodson that caused him to lose the ball. There came the first great controversy, because the referees did not mark the loose ball, but an incomplete pass and that helped Adam Vinatieri tied the game and in overtime, the Patriots would win.
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He who kills iron, dies iron
Drew Bledsoe had been discharged during the season finale and was 100% ready to return with the Patriots and It seemed a logical decision that he would be the starter upon his return, but it was not like that. Bill Belichick trusted Tom Brady.
Always from the bench, he supported Tom Brady in everything, although desperate to play. He had his chance in the championship game against the Steelers, an injury knocked Brady out of the game. Drew Bledsoe had a great game and led the Patriots to a new Super Bowl.
With the successful return of Drew Bledsoe to the field, everything seemed to be returning to its natural position. Drew as a starter in a Super Bowl and the sixth-round QB on the bench, but again Bill Belichick surprised everyone by naming Brady as the starter for the big gameIn the end, it was a minimal ankle injury.
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The first major career win of the NFL GOAT
His teammates knew that Drew Bledsoe was safety on the field, but they never stopped trusting Tom Brady, at the end of the day, the former Michigan quarterback had led them to the biggest game of the NFL season.
The rival would not be easy, the Rams were looking for the double championship and were full of stars, but they did not dominate the game. It was Tom Brady and the Patriots, until Kurt Warner decided to tie the game at 17. With a few seconds left on the clock, Tom Brady needed to get close to Adam Vinatieri for a legendary field goal.
Against him, is that there were no more times out, so every second was worth its weight in gold. He managed to complete a pass with his tight end, thanks to the play reading he had of the pressure that would come from the Rams. He attacked that place they left when doing the blitz and brought Vinatieri closer to win the Super Bowl.
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It wasn’t all honey on flakes at Patriots
That Drew Bledsoe who at the beginning of the season did not see Tom Brady as a competition for his position, had to eat bench watching his partner win the Super Bowl. He was happy that he did it, but he had that feeling that he hadn’t done it..
After the game, Drew Bledsoe broke down and succumbed to no longer being the Patriots’ franchise player, but that support Drew gave Tom Brady and the entire team was key to his mindset. He realized that not just one player matters, but the whole teamEven if you are a quarterback with a $ 100 million contract.
That injury, those Bill Belichik decisions and his always-ready mentality, made Tom Brady start a successful career and become GOAT’s GOAT in world sport.
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