Tom, I am your father
Twelve weeks into the NFL season, and things are shaping up to be one of the best playoff runs in the history of the league. Last season, we saw the unthinkable, Tom Brady left The Evil Empire, traveled south and won the Super Bowl on home soil with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The major question last year, did Brady make Belichick or Belichick make Brady, was answered when TB12 went on to win his 7th ring, more rings than any other franchise, and the first without the evil empire. Everyone, including myself, went on to assume that Brady was the secret to the success of the New England dynasty.
Throughout his career, Tom took countless journeyman receivers and made them stars. While this time was a little different, he was not only at the helm of the first team to ever play a Super Bowl in their home stadium, but he also had some big names by his side that he hasn’t had in New England for quite some time.
With these new toys, and some luck, he was still able to add to his Super Bowl ring total and became the only player, or franchise, with 7.
Conversely, the winter was cold and drab like a Belichick hoodie in New England, the Cam Newton experiment was not working out. The Patriots were not a very good team on either side of the ball and were making uncharacteristic mistakes for a Belichick coached team.
The questions started being asked, was this Cleveland version 2.0 for Belichick. At 7-9 in third place in the AFC East at the end of the 2020 season, this was not the Belichick or “patriot way” we have been so accustomed to for the last 20 years.
This is where the story takes a major left turn. In the 2021 draft, the Pats went after a QB from Alabama who was not the talk of the class. The hype was not there, as he was not a generational talent, nor an unknown athletic freak of nature, but rather he was a “dad-bod” system quarterback with a ceiling of a future game manager.
Everyone, including myself, was crowning the Bills the team to win the East in for years to come. Now it’s week 13, the Patriots are 8-4 atop the division, competing for the #1 overall seed in the AFC. Cam got cut, sat for half the season, and now is back home in Carolina getting pulled after getting steamrolled by a 4-7 Miami team.
Will number eight be the most special of all? Will this be a Super Bowl or Tom vs The evil empire?
Can TB12 bring his all-pro crew to Los Angeles in February, and be looking down the field at his successor? The now GOAT, that no one was excited about, against his old mentor with another young QB that no one was excited about.
These two men have won six Super Bowls together, but this could be Super Bowl Armageddon.
There is still plenty of football left to be play, and a lot can change from week to week. Yet, right now there are two undisputed facts that continue to remain true: never bet against Brady unless he faces the NFC East, and the Coach with the QB that no one is excited about, will find a way to win games.
Watch out, as these two facts of the last 20 years may come head to head against each other in an all-time classic on a magical Sunday this February.