A Man On A Mission

During the National Football League career of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, he has done it all. Brady is a two-time NFL MVP, 10-time Pro Bowl selection and no quarterback in league history has won more Super Bowls (four) and made more appearances in the Super Bowl (six) than him. And even at the age of 38, Brady is still going strong without showing any signs of slowing down.

But there has been a large cloud of controversy hovering over Brady since last season’s AFC Championship Game. After the Patriots victory in the game over the Indianapolis Colts, reports surfaced that New England had used under inflated footballs during the first half of their 45-7 victory. This led to a media circus around Brady leading up to the Super Bowl as most people accused him of cheating. But Brady was able to shrug it off as he led the Patriots to the victory in Super Bowl 49 and was named as the game’s MVP.

Following the Super Bowl, National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell appointed Ted Wells to run an “independent” investigation into the matter involving the Patriots and Brady. Brady failed to cooperate with the NFL to their standards on the investigation which led to Goodell dropping the hammer on the quarterback who was suspended by the league for the first four games of the NFL season. But Brady would appeal Goodell’s decision as both parties found themselves facing off in federal court where Judge Richard Berman ruled in favor of the quarterback and overturned the suspension.

And just like it was in 2007 following Spygate, Brady’s integrity has been questioned which has made for a more focused quarterback.

Through seven games this season, the Patriots have yet to taste defeat while Brady is a man on a mission. Brady has passed for 2,410 yards while throwing for 20 touchdowns to just one interception. Brady is doing this against teams that know that they must stop him and they’ve simply been unable to.

When the Patriots opened the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Brady threw for 288 yards and 4 touchdowns in the 28-21 victory. The following week saw Brady torch the blitz happy Buffalo Bills to the tune of 466 yards as he completed 38 passes. And when the Patriots dropped 51 points on the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3, Brady lit up the fantasy charts with 358 yards. Brady has also made victims out of those who have called him out. Prior to the Patriots Week 5 contest against the Dallas Cowboys, Brady was called out by Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy. Brady was sacked by the Cowboys in the game 5 times, but he ultimately had the last laugh in going 20-of-27 passing for 275 yards and a pair of touchdowns in New England’s 30-6 victory. Week 6 would see Brady face the same Colts that sent him to principal Goodell’s office and they were unable to stop him as he threw for 312 yards with 3 touchdowns in the 34-27 win. Heading into Week 7, the Patriots held a one-game lead over the New York Jets for first place in the AFC East. The Jets have one of the better defenses in the National Football League, but Brady was able to dissect them to the tune of  355 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Heading into the Patriots showdown with the Miami Dolphins this past Thursday night, there was fuel added to Brady’s fire when Dolphins linebacker Chris McCain posted a photo on social media of him crushing Brady’s head. Brady didn’t discuss the matter as he elected to let his actions speak for his words. And versus the Dolphins, Brady was 26-of-38 passing for 356 yards and 4 touchdowns as it was Miami that had their heads crushed by the Patriots 36-7.

Now the Patriots have a firm grip on first place in the AFC East, but they are thinking about bigger things.

The last time that the Patriots started a season by winning their first seven games was in 2007 when they became the first team in National Football League history to win all 16 regular season games. And just like that Patriots team in 2007, the current squad is led by Brady who is once again conducting his own personal revenge tour on the NFL to display to any of his detractors that he is one of the best at what he does. In spite of all of the distractions during the off-season, Brady found the time to improve his mechanics as his footwork resembles that of a player that is 28 instead of 38. Brady has never been fast, but he is elusive enough to move around in the pocket while also developing a great rhythm with wide receiver Julian Edelman and tight end Rob Gronkowski. But at the end of the day, Brady is simply cerebral in the pocket as he is in that rare air of guys who hate to lose more than they enjoy winning.

Brady is in the running to be named as the National Football League’s MVP for a third time while he’s also trying to help the Patriots get to Super Bowl 50. And if everything were to go the way of Brady and the Patriots, this NFL season would have a fantastic ending as Goodell who is the same man that attempted to put Brady on the sideline for four games, would be the same one that would hand him the award as the league’s MVP along with potentially another Vince Lombardi Trophy. Also, this season the Super Bowl will be held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California which only a stone’s throw from San Mateo where Brady grew up at. As a kid, Brady idolized Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana who helped the San Francisco 49ers win four Super Bowl Titles. Brady is tied with Montana and Terry Bradshaw for the most Super Bowl wins as a starting quarterback, but if Brady is able to win one more, the case could be made that he is the best to ever do it at quarterback in the NFL.