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| Brady's reaction to Butler's intercepted summed it all up for anyone associated with the Patriots |
After Jermaine Kearse's catch down at the goal-line it appeared that New England would surely suffer a third straight Super Bowl defeat as it seemed once again that the football gods were once again going to snatch victory away from the Patriots with a David Tyree/Mario Manningham type play. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in particular needed this victory more than anything to quieten down all the doubters and finally get this massive weight off of their shoulders. Despite all Brady and Belichick have achieved if Wilson had indeed completed that pass to Lockette or if the Seahawks had just run the ball with Lynch like 99.9% of people would have done then Seattle would have surely won this game and left the Patriots franchise in devastation.
But the beauty of sport is that it is all swings and roundabouts and that is none truer than in the National Football League. When Brady started his career he was a young kid fighting tooth and nail to make it in the NFL and under the guidance of Belichick the Patriots won 3 Super Bowls in 4 years thanks to a a fantastic defense, great coaching and the heart as well as the desire of a young quarterback. Some would say that at that time Brady was just a game manager, some would say that despite having the best win ratio in NFL history he hadn't won the big one since 2004 and that it was just because of that great defense that Brady had 3 Super Bowl rings. People would even dare to call Brady a choker and bring up the lack of Super Bowl success since SpyGate despite guiding his team to the big one two more times since 2004. The 2007 team almost pulled of perfection, in 2011 the Pats just couldn't get the job done and it appeared that the 4th championship may never come around.
The Patriots roster this season was the best since 2007 and all the pieces were in place for a championship. After a sluggish start to the season and the humiliation at the hands of the Chiefs in week 4 the Pats steamrolled through the regular season to finish 12-4. They pulled off a memorable comeback win over the Ravens in this years divisional round before blowing out the Colts in the AFC Championship but then the deflate-gate drama happened. Since the Pats' AFC title victory people have tried to unsettle New England just a fortnight before Super Bowl 49 but in fact deflate-gate was possibly the best thing that could of happened to the Patriots heading in to this Super Bowl matchup against the Seahawks.
To be branded cheaters and have their integrity questioned once again must have stung and team owner Robert Kraft's speech proved that when he came out and defended the franchise in emotional fashion. It inspired the team and probably gave them the final push they needed to get the job done this past Sunday. If Brady and Belichick had failed to guide the team to Super Bowl victory this time around then to be honest despite all the success of this franchise would the Patriots have been able to bounce back from a third heartbreaking Super Bowl defeat? Knowing the Patriots obviously they would have still been successful but I think three defeats in a row at a time where the window on a 4th championship is closing more and more year by year may have indeed been two much even for this masterful duo and a franchise that has been at the top of the NFL mountain since 2001.
On Sunday Night it did appear that the Patriots may lose in the big one once again. Following a brilliant drive that ended in a Brady to Gronkowski touchdown just before the half the Patriots looked in control but Seattle snatched all the momentum back when Russell Wilson put a quick drive together in under a minute to tie the game at 14 each going in to the half. Then Seattle took control leaving New England down by 10 points at 24-14 against the best defense in the league and arguably the greatest defense of all time. Tom Brady and the Patriots had it all to do especially as no team had ever come back from a deficit larger than 7 in the fourth quarter of a Super Bowl but they put together a fantastic drive which included a fantastic play on 3rd&14 which saw Brady fire a dime to Julian Edelman who had a fantastic game; the drive ended in a Brady to Amendola touchdown with just under 8 minutes to play in regulation.
Then New England's defense came up big straight away to get the ball back by forcing Seattle to a 3 and out. 24-21 4:47 left on the clock, 2&11 Brady hit Rob Gronkowski for the first down as the Patriots forced their way in to field goal range and it looked like they would at least tie the game but against this Seattle team it needed to be a touchdown especially given the circumstances. So then on 2nd and goal the Patriots scored the go ahead touchdown as Brady hit Edelman after he pulled off a spin move to put the Pats up 28-24 but then as we know it seemed Seattle would break the hearts of all Pats players and fans before Malcom Butler pulled off one of the finest plays in Super Bowl history to stop Seattle's comeback attempt and leave the Patriots in ecstasy.
The Patriots had finally avenged the demons of the past and laid to rest the painful defeat to the Giants in this same stadium back in 2007 as well as the other Super Bowl loss to New York back in 2011. Tom Brady and Belichick have now appeared in 6 Super Bowls with 4 victories and both have the most playoff victories for a quaterback/head coach. Brady's stellar offensive performance which saw him complete 37 of 50 passing attempts for 4 touchdowns and 328 yards earned him his 3rd Super Bowl MVP award leaving him tied with his childhood hero Joe Montana. In the game he surpassed another one of his idols old records as Brady ended the game with 13 Super Bowl touchdowns with the record previously standing at 11. Many now, including myself personally, consider Brady to be the greatest quarterback of all-time now that he is tied with Super Bowl wins on 4 with Montana and Terry Bradshaw and the fact that when you total up all the records Tom has and all the success he has achieved with Bill Belichick and the Patriots it is clear to see why he has a very strong case for greatest of all-time.
The Brady and Peyton Manning debate for greatest of an era is now over as Brady as 4 Super Bowl rings to Peyton's one. I'm not taking anything away from Peyton but Tom has all the postseason records whilst Peyton has all the regular season ones. Tom has played with only 9 pro bowl wide receivers to Manning's 27 and yet Brady is the one with 4 Super Bowl championships. Of course it is a team effort and the fact that this Pats team had so much determination as well as skill to capture this championship helped Brady but in the NFL the quarterback always seems to get too much of the praise or too much of the blame which is why we have so many debates about QB's and all in all who is the best ever. The greatest of all time debate will be even more heated than ever unless Brady and Belichick can win a 5th championship then that would kill any argument from anyone ever.
But for anyone associated with the Patriots whether that be the players, the coaches, anyone linked directly with the franchise or anyone in the fanbase from across the globe the debates can wait because the Super Bowl is coming back to Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Patriots are 4 times Super Bowl Champions and have established themselves as the greatest dynasty in NFL history. This team showed all the passion, heart, desire, skill and motivation it takes to win an NFL Championship. Tom Brady dethroned a devastating Seattle defense, this offense came up big when it mattered most. The offensive line that stood up strong against a devastating Seattle frontline to play a big part and players like Julian Edelman (some people's MVP choice), Danny Amendola (an unsung hero who came up big this postseason), Brandon LaFell (Brady's comfort blanket and a big contributor) and finally superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski all did their jobs.
I did say if he stayed healthy Gronk would be the difference this season with the result being a Patriots Super Bowl win and that was the case. The Pats offense defeated the legion of boom and the Pats defense came up big all season long to write their own story and establish their own greatness in New England's football folklore. Malcom Butler will be receiving Tom Brady's MVP truck after his game winning play, which I myself did indeed suggest during my celebrations on Sunday night via Twitter, and the likes of Jamie Collins, Dont'a Hightower, Rob Ninkovich, Chandler Jones, Vince Wilfork, Brandon Browner, Devin McCourty, Darrelle Revis among many others all get to wake up feeling on top of the world after becoming champions and deservedly so after they all played fantastic on Sunday. All 53 players on the Patriots roster earned their Super Bowl ring as they all played a part in the team becoming champions, they all did it for themselves personally and they all helped cement Brady and Belichick's legacy which is something all Patriots fans have been wanting since 2007. Everyone associated with the New England Patriots will be smiles from today's parade and throughout the entire off-season before the hard work begins ahead of the 2015 season and their title defense which will begin on the 10th September but until then let us say it one more time... The New England Patriots are Super Bowl Champions!
