The GOATest Story Ever Told, Chapter 2: The Day Tom Brady Officially Became the Patriots Starter

Jerry Thornton6/25/2021 4:00 PM

Portland Press Herald. Getty Images.

Note: This is the second in a series I started a few weeks back, looking at the moments that turned an obscure Montreal Expos catching prospect into a lowly regarded NFL draft prospect and, eventually, a demigod.

Now that 2021 in New England is shaping up to be the Summer of the Quarterback Controversy, it seems like as good a time as any to look back on the last time we had anything close to one, 20 years ago. Everyone remembers the Mo Lewis hit on Drew Bledsoe, and the Butterfly Effect it had on all life on this planet, the shockwaves from which are still reverberating around the world. Lesser remembered is the way the 2001 Patriots season unfolded. And what happened once Bledsoe was cleared to play again.

The SparkNotes version of the events, seen through the lens of history, is that Tom Brady came in for Bledsoe in that Week 2 game against the Jets, played his ass off, became and instant legend and no one ever doubted his place atop the Patriots quarterback depth chart. But that's one of those "Columbus was trying to prove the world was round and sailed to America" versions of history. Largely true in a broad sense, but also mainly bullshit.

Despite getting emergency surgery to repair a ruptured vein in his chest, Bledsoe was on the injured list for just eight weeks before getting cleared to play again. An astonishingly short period of time, and a testament to his toughness. In the time he was out, the Pats were 5-3. And in large part, not because of Brady. In his first three games (including at the Jets), he had no touchdown passes. In a blowout loss at Miami, he threw for just 86 yards and took four sacks. A 364-passing yard win over the Chargers was followed by a 16-for-20, 3 TD win over the Colts. But those were followed by 4 interceptions in a loss at Denver.

All of which is to say, the jury was most definitely out on who the starting QB should be once Bledsoe came back. For the radio talk shows, the topic was raw fish they could throw at the clapping seals that lit up the phone lines. Half the audience was done with Bledsoe, the other half were barking the old "You can't lose your job to injury" line. The fact that Bledsoe had just signed the richest contract in NFL history that previous spring and was like a son to Mr. Kraft was very much a part of the conversation.

My family was a pretty accurate microcosm of the whole discussion. My brother Jack was the scoutmaster of Camp Brady. He had seen enough of Bledsoe to last a lifetime and never wanted him under center again. Whereas my brother Jimbo was such a Bledsoe loyalist, he resented the fact they won Super Bowls without him. Our other brother Bill lives in Alaska so I don't remember which side he fought on in the war.

And me? I was officially in a "wait and see" posture. It was one thing to have Brady lead a pretty competitive Patriots team in a 24-17 loss to the "Greatest Show on Turf" Rams on national TV in Week 10. My question was how he would do under the pressure of having a fully healthy Bledsoe on the sidelines staring laser beams at him for taking his job. If he could handle that, I was prepared to carry Brady's banner into battle and never look back.

Here's a link to the America's Game about it that the NFL will not let me embed, cued up to the 17:10 mark. Bill Belichick making the decision to stick with Brady, saying, "We polled the coaches. We polled the fans. We're gonna poll the 4th graders. The barbers. We'll poll everybody." Finally telling his team Brady would be their quarterback for the rest of the year. A defiantly pissed off Bledsoe saying he expects "to compete for my job." The Pats were 5-5. Facing the 5-4 Saints at home. Behind a 6th round QB making just his ninth career start.

All things considered, this would be the biggest challenge of Brady's career to that point. And with all that pressure on him, over the sound of a furious Bledsoe grinding his teeth from the sideline, he produced this stat line:

19-for-26, 73.1%, 253 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INT, 143.9 passer rating

In a convincing 34-17 win. I was sold. And never doubted him again. And I felt like, despite the partisanship of my brothers, that most Pats fans were the same way. Brady led the Patriots to that win, then to wins in the final five games of the season, and then all three in the postseason, ending with that win over the same Rams that not only started the Dynasty, but ushered in the Century of the Massholes that has continued ever since. And more than any other game, the moment where he established beyond all doubt that he was New England's QB 1, then and forever after, was that late November game against New Orleans.