There have been plenty of story lines’ following the New York Giants victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. Some of them are accurate (“Eli Manning is an elite quarterback”) and some simply aren’t. The sports world is a: ‘what have you done for me lately’ industry. So when Tom Brady has lost back-to-back Super Bowl’s there has to be something wrong. Well, that simply isn’t true. Did Brady play perfect on Sunday? No, but he was a minute away from carrying his team to the Super Bowl.
The Patriots that played on Sunday were not the same Patriots team that won three Super Bowl’s. No, in fact this team is nowhere near as talented on defense as it has been in previous seasons. Brady practically played without his favorite target, tight-end Rob Gronkowski who was clearly bothered by an ankle injury. This made it less likely that Brady would complete many passes of 20 yards or more. Gronk’s injury limited the Patriots’ offense and yet Tom Brady played well. He completed 16 straight passes, (a Super Bowl single game record), he had two touchdown passes and he completed 65.8% of his pass attempts. However, Brady wasn’t perfect. He made a bad decision that led to a safety, threw one interception and a few passes of his were just a tad off-target. In other words, they weren’t perfect throws. With that being said quarterbacks shouldn’t have to play a perfect game to win. Tom Brady had a very good game, but with drops by Aaron Hernandez, Deion Branch and most notably Wes Welker it made it near impossible to put the Giants away or have a successful attempt at a last second comeback.
Dropped passes are apart of the game, but in the Super Bowl they are inexcusable. They are momentum killers and a big reason the Patriots didn’t hold onto the lead. If those passes are caught, we could be talking about how Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in NFL history. Instead, we are asking if he has become a choke artist. In the fourth quarter Tom Brady didn’t play his best ball, but did he choke? He put the ball in a position for his receivers to make a play and they didn’t make the plays. The Giants wide receivers did make plays. The Giants made just enough plays to win and that’s what great teams do. New York is a great team with a roster full of talent. The Patriots are a solid team with a great quarterback. They have a great tight end, but he was hurt. Championship teams overcome injuries and make the plays to win. New England didn’t do that and that is why they are second best. Tom Brady played well enough to win, but the Giants had more talent and that’s what it came down to. There’s nothing wrong with the future Hall of Famer, the only thing wrong in Brady-land is the talent around him.
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