Now that Tom Brady is officially a Buccaneer, the debate will rage on about who the true mastermind was behind the New England Patriots’ dynastic run over 20 years that produced nine Super Bowl appearances and six championships. Was it Brady or Patriots head coach Bill Belichick?
Brady and Belichick were joined at the hip for nearly two decades, but Brady wasn’t the original quarterback Belichick worked with in New England when he arrived as head coach in 2000. That would be Drew Bledsoe, the top pick of the 1993 NFL draft who led the Patriots to an appearance in Super Bowl XXXI following the 1996 season, where they lost to Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers.
Belichick and Bledsoe struggled in their first season working together, as the Patriots finished with a record of just 5-11. And, the first game Belichick ever coached as head man of the Patriots was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 of the 2000 season. The Tony Dungy-led Bucs downed Belichick’s Pats at the old Foxboro Stadium, 21-16.
Take a look at a screenshot from the game book of that game below, courtesy of NFL GSIS. Notice the highlighted name under “Not Active.” Just some random sixth-round pick who probably won’t even be on the roster at the end of the year, right?
As we all know by now, Bledsoe was injured early in the 2001 season by New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis, paving the way for Brady to begin his legendary run with the Pats. New England finished the 2001 season by upsetting the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. Brady earned his first Super Bowl MVP award and the rest, as they say, is history.
[lawrence-related id=30043,30033,30026,30002]