Post by MizzouTiger on Feb 3, 2008 11:59:28 GMT -5
www.kansascity.com/sports/story/472950.html
Brady just one ring short of joining a select group of Super quarterbacks
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
P HOENIX | His boyhood hero was Joe Montana. He wears No. 12, the same as Terry Bradshaw.
New England quarterback Tom Brady is as much a student of history as he is a matinee idol and magazine cover boy.
And Brady realizes with a victory tonight over the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, not only will the Patriots complete an unprecedented 19-0 season, he will join Montana and Bradshaw in the most charmed company in NFL history — quarterbacks who have won four Super Bowls.
Montana did it with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s, when Brady was growing up in the Bay Area. Bradshaw accomplished it in the 1970s during the Pittsburgh Steelers’ dynasty.
Brady is the quarterback of the 21st century. He goes into tonight’s game three for three, having led the Patriots to Super Bowl wins over St. Louis, Carolina and Philadelphia during the last six seasons.
“Joe Montana is the greatest of all time, and he always will be,” Brady said. “Joe and Steve Young were my two favorites because they were the 49ers quarterbacks, and they were the best.
“When I saw Terry Bradshaw (at a Fox Sports production meeting), I got to talk about it with him. A few years ago, I remember Joe saying something like if I ever go to the fourth, he and Terry are going to kidnap me or something like that.”
Actually, Bradshaw greeted Brady with open arms when they met earlier this week and would be happy to welcome him to the Fraternity of Four Rings.
“I’ve sat down with him a few times, and I like him,” Bradshaw said of Brady. “He’s a good young man. He handles success, he’s a very humble guy. I saw something in him this year that I haven’t seen before, a more aggressive leadership role, head-butting, arguing with guys in the end zone, a little more gravel in his voice.
“His poise is amazing. All great quarterbacks have it, and he has it in abundance. He’s accurate as all get out, and he throws one of the most gorgeous balls you’ll ever see. Time and time again. Left, right, down the middle, and he can throw it 60 yards down the field.
“He’ll go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks we’ve ever seen.”
•••
It isn’t easy being Tom Brady. The NFL’s Most Valuable Player, The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year, The Sporting News’ Sportsman of the Year and boyfriend of supermodel Gisele Bundchen, Brady often lives an Elvis-like existence, unable to step out in public because the paparazzi lurk everywhere.
The day after the Patriots won the AFC championship, photographers camping outside Bundchen’s New York residence snapped pictures of Brady wearing a walking boot as he arrived at her home. A 1 minute, 18-second video popped up on the Web site TMZ.com.
“I was trying to get into the house as fast as I could,” said Brady, 30. “It kind of caught me off guard. That’s part of the world we’re living in these days. There are places I used to go … but I can’t anymore. I stay in the house more than ever. I rarely go out. I rarely do things in public. I’m around family and friends. Every once in a while you do go out and find different ways …
“It’s a good problem to have because we’re winning football games. If we’re 0-16, then nobody gives a (darn). I’ll take it to end up here (at the Super Bowl). I love my job, and there is nothing I would rather do than play quarterback for the New England Patriots.”
His teammates and coaches marvel at how well Brady handles the scrutiny of his private life and how he doesn’t let it interfere with his performance.
“Tom’s recognizable, and what he does is watched,” New England center Dan Koppen said. “We don’t pay attention to it. If you guys want to report on it, then go ahead. Tom’s a good guy who handles himself accordingly.
“You have to bring him back down to Earth somehow. Tom lives his life the way he wants to. He’s a great guy, a great football player, (but) we got to razz him a little. I think as his line we have a little bit more leeway than anyone else to give him some (grief). I’m just thankful that he’s on our team.”
So is Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
“Tom’s great to work with,” Belichick said. “Nobody works harder and is more prepared and more professional than Tom Brady. I love every minute and every opportunity I’ve had to coach Tom since his rookie year.
“That comes in a lot of forms. It can come in the meetings, on the practice field, during games, film sessions, one-on-one conversations. However he manages his life, I say he does a real good job of it.”
•••
Despite his celebrity, Brady enjoys a special comradeship with his teammates. Amid all the endorsements, photo shoots and gossip columns, he’s just a regular guy.
Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard discovered that when he was a backup to Brady during 2001-03.
“Tom is able to relate to all players,” Huard said. “He’ll hang out with the defensive backs, with his offensive linemen … Tom had a way, much like a Michael Jordan, that he can take the players around him up to another level. He’s just one of the guys. You want to win for a guy like that. All the players respect him, and more than anything, they respect his work ethic.
“He’s a guy who is there every morning at 6:30, he’s there on Tuesdays, who is doing the extra work and turning over every stone to win the game.”
Four Super Bowl appearances later, that hasn’t changed.
“He puts in the work to be one of the elite players because when Tom first got here, he was a slim, skinny kid and now you kind of look at him and he has legs, chest …” Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour said. “He’s in there doing Olympic lifts and working out in the offseason just like he was an offensive or defensive lineman. He’s a part of us, and that’s the way he carries himself.”
The results speak for themselves. Brady had a season for the ages in 2007, throwing an NFL-record 50 touchdown passes, including a record 12 games with three or more touchdown passes. He also led the league with 4,806 yards — the third-most in NFL history — threw just eight interceptions and had a 117.2 passer rating, second best in league history.
Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, who tied for the NFL lead with 112 catches this season, paused for a moment to come up with the right word to describe Brady.
“I don’t know, perfect?” Welker said. “The guy, in everything he does, it’s to perfection, and he kind of holds everybody else to that standard just by the way he works hard and the way he goes and prepares for games.”
His opponents regard Brady just as reverently. San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers has admitted to sneaking peeks at Brady during games when the Chargers are on defense.
“For me to pick out one thing, it’s his calmness every play,” Rivers said. “He plays with such a relaxed demeanor, even in the pocket … when things aren’t going real good, you don’t even know it.
“When our defense had him going a little bit, you never sense any panic. That’s an experienced, championship-type quarterback for you. He’s the leader of that group. Every receiver they seem to roll in there, he’s able to make it go.”
•••
Of all the attributes Brady brings to a team, it’s his ability to win. He has never missed a start since taking over for Drew Bledsoe in the third game of the 2001 season, and he is 86-24 in the regular season, the best mark in the Super Bowl era. He is 14-2 in the playoffs, an .875 percentage, second only to Hall of Famer Bart Starr of Green Bay (9-1, .900).
Brady has never lost an overtime game, winning all six games that have gone an extra period. And in games decided by six points or fewer, he is 30-5.
That’s what has made this 18-0 run to perfection so special to Brady.
“Being 18-0, I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished thus far and I think we have talked as a team that for the rest of our lives, we’ll all remember this week, win or lose,” he said.
“I’ve played in these (Super Bowl) games for the fourth time, and maybe one day I’ll look back and realize what it means. It’s been an unbelievable eight years of my life.”
And he revels in the opportunity to share it with others.
“You love for a lot of players to experience this,” Brady said. “I remember when guys new to our team a few years ago, when Rodney (Harrison) first won the Super Bowl, when guys like Larry Centers won the Super Bowl and Christian Fauria … all these guys came to our team after 2001 and won in 2003 and again in 2004, and now, to see Junior Seau go through it, and Randy Moss and Wes Welker … you’re like a parent to his kids, you see them experience it, and it brings you back to the excitement and joy you first had when you did it.”
Even with a win tonight, Brady won’t be satisfied with four Super Bowl titles.
“I’ve got three,” he said. “I’ve got seven fingers left on these hands. I’ll be working my tail every day to accomplish that.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Terry Bradshaw Four Super Bowl rings
IX: Steelers 16, Vikings 6 9-14, 96 yards, 1 TD
X: Steelers 21, Cowboys 17 9-19, 209 yards, 2 TDs
XIII: Steelers 35, Cowboys 31 17-30, 318 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT
XIV: Steelers 31, Rams 19 14-21, 309 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Brady | Three Super Bowl rings
XXXVI: Patriots 20, Rams 17 | 16-27, 145 yards, 1 TD
XXXVIII: Patriots 32, Panthers 29 | 32-48, 354 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
XXXIX: Patriots 24, Eagles 21 | 23-33, 236 yards, 2 TDs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Montana Four Super Bowl rings
XVI: 49ers 26, Bengals 21 14-22, 157 yards, 1 TD
XIX: 49ers 38, Dolphins 16 24-35, 331 yards, 3 TDs
XXIII: 49ers 20, Bengals 16 23-36, 357 yards, 2 TDs
XXIV: 49ers 55, Broncos 10 22-29, 297 yards, 5 TDs
Brady just one ring short of joining a select group of Super quarterbacks
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
P HOENIX | His boyhood hero was Joe Montana. He wears No. 12, the same as Terry Bradshaw.
New England quarterback Tom Brady is as much a student of history as he is a matinee idol and magazine cover boy.
And Brady realizes with a victory tonight over the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII, not only will the Patriots complete an unprecedented 19-0 season, he will join Montana and Bradshaw in the most charmed company in NFL history — quarterbacks who have won four Super Bowls.
Montana did it with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s, when Brady was growing up in the Bay Area. Bradshaw accomplished it in the 1970s during the Pittsburgh Steelers’ dynasty.
Brady is the quarterback of the 21st century. He goes into tonight’s game three for three, having led the Patriots to Super Bowl wins over St. Louis, Carolina and Philadelphia during the last six seasons.
“Joe Montana is the greatest of all time, and he always will be,” Brady said. “Joe and Steve Young were my two favorites because they were the 49ers quarterbacks, and they were the best.
“When I saw Terry Bradshaw (at a Fox Sports production meeting), I got to talk about it with him. A few years ago, I remember Joe saying something like if I ever go to the fourth, he and Terry are going to kidnap me or something like that.”
Actually, Bradshaw greeted Brady with open arms when they met earlier this week and would be happy to welcome him to the Fraternity of Four Rings.
“I’ve sat down with him a few times, and I like him,” Bradshaw said of Brady. “He’s a good young man. He handles success, he’s a very humble guy. I saw something in him this year that I haven’t seen before, a more aggressive leadership role, head-butting, arguing with guys in the end zone, a little more gravel in his voice.
“His poise is amazing. All great quarterbacks have it, and he has it in abundance. He’s accurate as all get out, and he throws one of the most gorgeous balls you’ll ever see. Time and time again. Left, right, down the middle, and he can throw it 60 yards down the field.
“He’ll go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks we’ve ever seen.”
•••
It isn’t easy being Tom Brady. The NFL’s Most Valuable Player, The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year, The Sporting News’ Sportsman of the Year and boyfriend of supermodel Gisele Bundchen, Brady often lives an Elvis-like existence, unable to step out in public because the paparazzi lurk everywhere.
The day after the Patriots won the AFC championship, photographers camping outside Bundchen’s New York residence snapped pictures of Brady wearing a walking boot as he arrived at her home. A 1 minute, 18-second video popped up on the Web site TMZ.com.
“I was trying to get into the house as fast as I could,” said Brady, 30. “It kind of caught me off guard. That’s part of the world we’re living in these days. There are places I used to go … but I can’t anymore. I stay in the house more than ever. I rarely go out. I rarely do things in public. I’m around family and friends. Every once in a while you do go out and find different ways …
“It’s a good problem to have because we’re winning football games. If we’re 0-16, then nobody gives a (darn). I’ll take it to end up here (at the Super Bowl). I love my job, and there is nothing I would rather do than play quarterback for the New England Patriots.”
His teammates and coaches marvel at how well Brady handles the scrutiny of his private life and how he doesn’t let it interfere with his performance.
“Tom’s recognizable, and what he does is watched,” New England center Dan Koppen said. “We don’t pay attention to it. If you guys want to report on it, then go ahead. Tom’s a good guy who handles himself accordingly.
“You have to bring him back down to Earth somehow. Tom lives his life the way he wants to. He’s a great guy, a great football player, (but) we got to razz him a little. I think as his line we have a little bit more leeway than anyone else to give him some (grief). I’m just thankful that he’s on our team.”
So is Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
“Tom’s great to work with,” Belichick said. “Nobody works harder and is more prepared and more professional than Tom Brady. I love every minute and every opportunity I’ve had to coach Tom since his rookie year.
“That comes in a lot of forms. It can come in the meetings, on the practice field, during games, film sessions, one-on-one conversations. However he manages his life, I say he does a real good job of it.”
•••
Despite his celebrity, Brady enjoys a special comradeship with his teammates. Amid all the endorsements, photo shoots and gossip columns, he’s just a regular guy.
Chiefs quarterback Damon Huard discovered that when he was a backup to Brady during 2001-03.
“Tom is able to relate to all players,” Huard said. “He’ll hang out with the defensive backs, with his offensive linemen … Tom had a way, much like a Michael Jordan, that he can take the players around him up to another level. He’s just one of the guys. You want to win for a guy like that. All the players respect him, and more than anything, they respect his work ethic.
“He’s a guy who is there every morning at 6:30, he’s there on Tuesdays, who is doing the extra work and turning over every stone to win the game.”
Four Super Bowl appearances later, that hasn’t changed.
“He puts in the work to be one of the elite players because when Tom first got here, he was a slim, skinny kid and now you kind of look at him and he has legs, chest …” Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour said. “He’s in there doing Olympic lifts and working out in the offseason just like he was an offensive or defensive lineman. He’s a part of us, and that’s the way he carries himself.”
The results speak for themselves. Brady had a season for the ages in 2007, throwing an NFL-record 50 touchdown passes, including a record 12 games with three or more touchdown passes. He also led the league with 4,806 yards — the third-most in NFL history — threw just eight interceptions and had a 117.2 passer rating, second best in league history.
Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker, who tied for the NFL lead with 112 catches this season, paused for a moment to come up with the right word to describe Brady.
“I don’t know, perfect?” Welker said. “The guy, in everything he does, it’s to perfection, and he kind of holds everybody else to that standard just by the way he works hard and the way he goes and prepares for games.”
His opponents regard Brady just as reverently. San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers has admitted to sneaking peeks at Brady during games when the Chargers are on defense.
“For me to pick out one thing, it’s his calmness every play,” Rivers said. “He plays with such a relaxed demeanor, even in the pocket … when things aren’t going real good, you don’t even know it.
“When our defense had him going a little bit, you never sense any panic. That’s an experienced, championship-type quarterback for you. He’s the leader of that group. Every receiver they seem to roll in there, he’s able to make it go.”
•••
Of all the attributes Brady brings to a team, it’s his ability to win. He has never missed a start since taking over for Drew Bledsoe in the third game of the 2001 season, and he is 86-24 in the regular season, the best mark in the Super Bowl era. He is 14-2 in the playoffs, an .875 percentage, second only to Hall of Famer Bart Starr of Green Bay (9-1, .900).
Brady has never lost an overtime game, winning all six games that have gone an extra period. And in games decided by six points or fewer, he is 30-5.
That’s what has made this 18-0 run to perfection so special to Brady.
“Being 18-0, I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished thus far and I think we have talked as a team that for the rest of our lives, we’ll all remember this week, win or lose,” he said.
“I’ve played in these (Super Bowl) games for the fourth time, and maybe one day I’ll look back and realize what it means. It’s been an unbelievable eight years of my life.”
And he revels in the opportunity to share it with others.
“You love for a lot of players to experience this,” Brady said. “I remember when guys new to our team a few years ago, when Rodney (Harrison) first won the Super Bowl, when guys like Larry Centers won the Super Bowl and Christian Fauria … all these guys came to our team after 2001 and won in 2003 and again in 2004, and now, to see Junior Seau go through it, and Randy Moss and Wes Welker … you’re like a parent to his kids, you see them experience it, and it brings you back to the excitement and joy you first had when you did it.”
Even with a win tonight, Brady won’t be satisfied with four Super Bowl titles.
“I’ve got three,” he said. “I’ve got seven fingers left on these hands. I’ll be working my tail every day to accomplish that.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Terry Bradshaw Four Super Bowl rings
IX: Steelers 16, Vikings 6 9-14, 96 yards, 1 TD
X: Steelers 21, Cowboys 17 9-19, 209 yards, 2 TDs
XIII: Steelers 35, Cowboys 31 17-30, 318 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT
XIV: Steelers 31, Rams 19 14-21, 309 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Brady | Three Super Bowl rings
XXXVI: Patriots 20, Rams 17 | 16-27, 145 yards, 1 TD
XXXVIII: Patriots 32, Panthers 29 | 32-48, 354 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
XXXIX: Patriots 24, Eagles 21 | 23-33, 236 yards, 2 TDs
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joe Montana Four Super Bowl rings
XVI: 49ers 26, Bengals 21 14-22, 157 yards, 1 TD
XIX: 49ers 38, Dolphins 16 24-35, 331 yards, 3 TDs
XXIII: 49ers 20, Bengals 16 23-36, 357 yards, 2 TDs
XXIV: 49ers 55, Broncos 10 22-29, 297 yards, 5 TDs