Commentary: Part Four of Five
If you missed the first three parts of this commentary, you can find them, along with a more elaborate explanation of these rankings online (keene-equinox.com). I’m attempting to rank Boston’s championship teams of the 21st century by measuring three criteria: each team’s playoff run, team likability and the historical implications of each title. It’s also just plain fun to relive some of the greatest seasons in Boston sports history. You could say this week’s team started the winning tradition, giving the city its first title from any major sport since 1986. Here’s number two, the 2001 New England Patriots.
The Recap
It’s not hard to find the beginning of this story.
With nobody open downfield and the pocket closing fast, Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe decided to roll out and run the ball up the sidelines. Quarterbacks almost always run out-of- bounds before they can get hit, avoiding contact and the risk of injury.
But it had been a frustrating day. With five minutes to play, the Patriots had yet to find the end zone, trailing the New York Jets 10-3. So on this particular third and ten play, Bledsoe decided to push for the first down. He was less than two yards from his destination when Jets linebacker, Mo Lewis, delivered a crushing hit that would send Bledsoe to the injured reserve for eight weeks and change the course of the franchise forever.
An untested, shaggy-haired quarterback from northern California would take control of the team, ultimately failing to lead the Patriots back and dropping them to 0-2 on the year. But comebacks later proved to be Tom Brady’s strong suit.
AP Photo / Patric Schneider:
Tom Brady understood the team concept as well as anyone, saying after winning Superbowl MVP, “That whole team, as far as I’m concerned, is MVP.”
Brady would go on to win 11 of the 14 games he started during the regular season, including overtime wins against the San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills. But the 2001 Patriots were much more than just Tom Brady’s team.
Throughout the year, players would provide reminders that they bought into the altruistic, team-first concept that Head Coach Bill Belichick preached.
The running game centered around Antowain Smith, who had 12 touchdowns on the year behind a surprisingly solid offensive line that featured Damien Woody, Joe Andruzzi and rookie Matt Light. Do-it-all offensive player, Kevin Faulk, also established himself as a threat to run and catch out of the backfield in addition to his primary duties returning kicks.
The receiving core was headed by David Patten and Troy Brown, who had the best season of his career.
But the part of the team that truly encapsulated its selfless nature was the defense. Individually, there was nothing special about them. Veteran Brian Cox had made as many pro bowls (three) as the rest of the defensive unit combined. Cox, Tedy Bruschi and Roman Phifer comprised the linebacker core that seemed to get better as the year went on, allowing just seven rushing touchdowns all season.
Cornerbacks Otis Smith and Ty Law combined for eight interceptions, returning four of them for touchdowns.
Yet despite a six game winning streak to end the season, the Patriots were not expected to make much of a splash in the AFC playoffs.
The postseason started with a bang—or rather a blizzard.
When the Oakland Raiders arrived at Foxboro Stadium for the divisional round game, there were roughly four inches of snow coating the field. But the weather didn’t slow Oakland down; they would dominate for most of the game and lead 13-3 entering the fourth quarter.
The Patriots would cut the lead to three with a furious 67-yard drive capped by a Tom Brady rushing touchdown, but that only set the stage for one of the most controversial plays in NFL history.
With just under two minutes to play and the Patriots driving, Brady was hit and ruled to have fumbled the ball—the Raiders recovered and the game appeared to be over. The ruling was overturned upon review, however, when head referee Walt Coleman ruled that Brady was “tucking” the ball prior to losing control, making it an incomplete pass.
The play set up an Adam Vinatieri kick that seemed to miraculously ascend through 45 yards of snowflakes, between the uprights and into the history books. Ty Law would later call the field goal the most amazing play he’d ever seen.
And Vinatieri wasn’t done. A 23-yard kick in overtime had the Patriots making celebratory snow angels in the end zone as the Raiders tried to figure out how they let the game get away.
New England would go to the AFC Championship Game in Pittsburgh, where they were 10-point underdogs.
After Tom Brady was knocked out of the game with an injury in the second quarter, their chances seemed to be dwindling.
Bledsoe, who had not seen game action since the sideline hit that sent him to the hospital in week two, ran a two-minute drill in his first drive that ended in a touchdown pass to Patten.
You couldn’t have scripted it any better. But the real hero of the game was Troy Brown, who returned a punt for a touchdown and made a spectacular lateral after a blocked field goal to secure another seven points. It was enough to send the Patriots to the Superbowl.
The St. Louis Rams entered the game as the biggest Superbowl favorite in NFL history; they were projected to win by two touchdowns. With unquestionably the best offense in the league, the Rams had lost just two games all season. But, the Patriots felt they were the better team.
To show that they considered themselves one unit, they rejected the traditional player introductions and all ran onto the field together, in stark contrast to the individual announcements of St. Louis moments earlier.
After falling behind early, Ty Law intercepted a pass from star quarterback Kurt Warner and returned it for a touchdown to give New England a 7-3 lead. When Brady threw a touchdown on the Patriots next possession, they appeared to be in control of the game.
But it was still early.
Warner would run for a touchdown and throw for another in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 17.
New England got the ball back with 1:21 to play when offensive coordinator Charlie Weis cautioned a wide-eyed Brady to protect the football above all else in the final drive.
But Bledsoe had other ideas for his protégé. He cut Weis off and famously bellowed, “[Expletive] that. Go out there and sling it!”
Brady would do just that, driving his team 53 yards and setting up another Adam Vinatieri game-winner. Four months removed from being a virtually unknown backup, Brady was named Superbowl MVP. The Patriots had pulled off the biggest upset in NFL history.
As confetti continued to stream down Vinatieri exclaimed what everyone else was thinking, “We shocked the world!”
The Ranking
The team likability of this Patriots squad is hard to quantify.
It went beyond the underdog storylines; these guys just seemed to get it. Since that fateful season, most of the players have stayed relevant.
Law, Bruschi, Brown and Woody have become successful media personalities. Mike Vrabel, who was a valuable hybrid player in defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel’s 4-3 system, is coaching at Ohio State.
Joe Andruzzi heads a successful charitable foundation and was spotted carrying victims of the Boston Marathon bombing to safety last spring. Boston has never seen such a strong team identity.
The playoff run was spectacular. Round after round, the Patriots defied the odds with ice in their veins.
It was later discovered that Brady had taken a nap hours before the Superbowl kickoff. One common thread you see in all over-achieving underdogs is an unwavering self-confidence—New England had that in spades.
The fact that Bledsoe got to be the hero of the AFC Championship Game just added to the fairy tale feel of the entire season.
Historically, it broke a streak of five consecutive Superbowl losses for New England. It was the franchise’s first ever Lombardi Trophy. Fans witnessed the birth of a quarterback-coach combo that continues to dominate the league over a decade later.
The Lasting Image
Brady, hands on his head and confetti in the air, shaking his head in disbelief.
Stay tuned next week for number five!
Zach Winn can be contacted at zwinn@keene-equinox.com