Character zero
The worst moment yesterday for one-time Wonder Boy Tom Brady didn’t come when he fumbled the ball on his team’s first possession of the game against the Runnin’ Ravens.
It didn’t come during the ensuing interceptions on back-to-back drives.
It didn’t come when the cacophony of boos rained down from the stands of Gillette Stadium, filled with frustrated fans watching a Patriots team that seemed like it had Rod Rust at the helm.
No, the worst moment for Brady came just prior to tossing his first touchdown pass of the day against Baltimore. Brady stepped back, looking for the open man, failing to realize – or ignoring – the open route to the end zone in front of him. A more aware – or willing – quarterback might have dashed for the score.
Instead, Brady threw the ball, missing Randy Moss.
On the next play, same thing. Wide open road to the end zone. This time though Brady found Julian Edelman for the score, but his failure to run the ball into the end zone spoke volumes.
People that declare that Brady has lost some level of passion for the game can point to that moment as Argument A. It was a telling detail in a game where the Patriots never showed up from Play 1. It was the first time since 1978 that the Patriots had lost a playoff game in Foxborough, a moment in time when Brady was probably just learning to walk in San Mateo.
Much of what made Brady the Hall of Fame quarterback that he is was his passion. No matter what people thought, he proved them wrong, a drive that led him to greatness. But let’s face it, the kid that told Bob Kraft that drafting him was the best decision this franchise ever made is gone.
He has the Super Bowl trophies. He has the supermodel wife. He has fame and fortune.
What’s left to prove?
At some level Brady has become the antithesis of what true, hard-core Patriots root for. His cover-boy, diva persona reeks more Madison Ave. than it does Route One, where there seems to be an increasing disconnect these days from what once made this franchise such a passionate outlet for New England football fans. While it’s no secret that the Patriots had trouble selling out yesterday’s playoff game, the reasons behind it aren’t merely for lack of passion from the fans, who are forced to deal with overpriced parking, traffic, and in-your-face stadium promotion to push what seems the Krafts’ real focus these days – retail shops and restaurants. It used to be about the football in Foxborough. Now the team seems simply an avenue to get you to eat at Davio’s.
When the Patriots won their first Super Bowl, much of the drive came from wanting to prove the world wrong. That translated into their next two titles, even if at some level, everybody snickered at their oft-hue and cry about being “disrespected.” But it worked, thanks to veteran leaders like Mike Vrabel, Rodney Harrison, and Tedy Bruschi, guys the Patriots could have desperately used this season in the locker room.
With their absence comes a lack of direction. Heart and soul aren’t really attributes with which you would classify this squad. That’s a large part of the problem.
Yes, Brady played hurt yesterday, one season removed from knee surgery. He won’t use that as an excuse, even if he should. He’s had to become a different quarterback in the Randy Moss era, and there’s growing opinion that he was better off without him.
Maybe. But the real problem with Brady is that the determination that made him so great seems diminished. So, who can blame the fans for not wanting to show up? Their team certainly didn’t.
It says a lot when your team’s quarterback has more GQ cover shoots on his schedule than Sports Illustrated. But that’s the Tom Brady that Pats fans have now. He’s got it all and has nothing left to prove. Or does he?
In the eyes of Patriot fans, not so much the lackeys they recently were, he’s got plenty to show them in 2010, a defining season that will determine if New England is back on the road to greatness, or is simply a dying dynasty trying to hang on to its prior glory.
The season is over. The dynasty is long over.
The character that made this team so great is gone too. That is perhaps most concerning.
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