Tom Brady – From 199th Draft Pick To The Greatest Of All Time

Tom Brady stamped himself as the greatest of all time after leading the Patriots to a 13 – 3 victory over the Rams in Super Bowl LIII but it hasn’t come without some controversy and struggles.

Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr

Personal

• Born: San Mateo, California, on August 3, 1977 (41 Years Old)
• Parents: Galynn & Thomas Brady
• Youngest Of Four Including Three Older Sisters
• Married To Gisel Bundchen
• Three Children (Benjamin, Vivian & John)
• Hometown: Brookline, Massachusetts & New York City

Early Life

It all began in the 1980’s for Brady when he attended a 49ers game – ever since, he idolised Joe Montana and the NFL. This led Brady to attend a football camp at the College of San Mateo, where he was taught to throw the football by camp counselor and future NFL/AFL quarterback Tony Graziani.

Brady’s passion for NFL continued through to his high school years where he attended Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo. Whilst his passion was for football he showed his athleticism by also playing basketball & baseball.

The start of his Padres Junior Varsity football career was a struggle with Brady not able to get a start, even though his team couldn’t score a touchdown all year.

With the number one QB injured, Brady earned his start and was able to finish his high school career with 236 completions from 447 attempts. He threw for 3,702 yards and managed 31 touchdowns.

Juggling multiple sports, his baseball skills gave him the reputation as a powerful left-handed hitting catcher and was even drafted in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB draft by the Montreal Expos.

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He was offered big money to continue his baseball career but with his dream of being an NFL star, he declined and continued to play football.

Determined to reach his dream, Brady created tapes of his football highlights and sent them to the schools he was considering attending. It proved a great move with multiple schools desperate for his attendance.

College Life

It was assistant Bill Harris from Michigan that won the race and signed Brady who would play there from 1995 to 1999.

It was a slow start to college football for Brady who remained the number two QB for the first two years with Michigan which forced him to hire a sports psychologist to treat his anxiety & frustration. The frustration would get so intense that he even considered a move to California.

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It wasn’t until he worked closely with Greg Harden that Brady began to find his feet and build his confidence on the field. Brady told 60 Minutes in 2014:

“He will always be somebody I rely on for sound advice and mentorship. He has helped me with my own personal struggles in both athletics and in life. Greg really pushed me in a direction that I wasn’t sure I could go.”

In the 1998 & 1999 seasons, Brady was able to secure the number 1 QB spot and not only started in every game but broke records and led the team to multiple 4th-quarter comebacks, earning him the moniker of “Comeback Kid”.

Professional Career

A lightly regarded prospect coming out of college, Brady was selected by the New England Patriots with the 199th overall pick in the sixth round of 2000 NFL Draft. Stunned as six other quarterbacks were drafted before he was, Brady was so embarrassed that he briefly left the family home during the sixth round, and cried. Once the Patriots notified him that he would be drafted, Brady was grateful that, he later said, he would not “have to be an insurance salesman”.

Brady started the season as the fourth string quarterback, behind starter Drew Bledsoe and backups John Friesz and Michael Bishop; by season’s end, he was number two on the depth chart behind Bledsoe. During his rookie season, he was 1-of-3 passing, for six yards. Tight end Rod Rutledge caught Brady’s first and only completed pass of the season in a 34–9 loss to the Detroit Lions on November 23.

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In his second season, Brady took over as the starting quarterback after Drew Bledsoe was injured. He led the Patriots to first place in the AFC East and a victory over the favored St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, winning his first Super Bowl MVP award.

Despite missing the playoffs the following season, Brady would then lead them to back-to-back World Championships in 2003 and 2004, winning Super Bowl MVP again in 2003.

Brady’s Patriots continued to be successful but failed to make the Super Bowl in consecutive years until the 2007 season where Brady not only set an NFL record with 50 touchdown passes but he would also lead the Patriots to a 16–0 finish. It wasn’t to be as the Patriots suffered their first Super Bowl loss with Brady as QB, falling 17-14 decision to the New York Giants. There were still personal honours for Brady as he wo his first career NFL MVP Award, winning 49 out of 50 votes.

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He was left shattered as he missed virtually the entire following season due to a knee injury in the season opener. But he would come back strong in the 2009 season to be named the league’s Comeback Player of the Year. In 2010, Brady set the NFL record for consecutive passes without an interception (358) and broke his own record for the highest season touchdown to interception ratio (among players who have started a full season) at 9:1.

In the 2011 season, Brady led the Patriots to their first AFC Championship since 2007 and appeared in the Super Bowl for a fifth time; but the Patriots would lose again to the Giants.  

Following AFC Championship Game losses in the following seasons 2012 and 2013, Brady and the Patriots made their sixth trip to the Super Bowl after the 2014 season (Brady’s 15th season as a professional). There, he led the Patriots to a fourth-quarter comeback over the defending championSeattle Seahawks. He would lift his fourth Super Bowl trophy (the Patriots’ first in ten seasons) and was named Super Bowl MVP for the third time.

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2015 was a year to forget for Brady as the NFL published a 243-page report regarding the deflation of footballs used in the previous season’s AFC Championship Game. The report concluded that, more likely than not, Brady was at least generally aware of the intentional deflation. Many NFL fans believed the report’s finding was a leap based on the evidence that was mentioned in that report. After an injury-plagued season the Patriots would eventually lose the AFC Championship game to the Denver Broncos.

In his seventh Super Bowl appearance. Brady and the Patriots would overcome a 25-point deficit against the Atlanta Falcons (down 28-3 in the third quarter) to force the first overtime in Super Bowl history, winning 34-28 to give Brady his fifth Super Bowl title in a game that will go down as one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time. He also earned his fourth Super Bowl MVP award after setting title-game records for appearances, pass attempts, completions, passing yards and fourth-quarter comebacks.

The 2018 season would be another great year for Brady as he led the Patriots to the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles. Brady threw for 505 yards at 40 years old, setting a record for most passing yards in a Super Bowl, but the Patriots lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 41-33.

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Of course, in 2019, the Patriots won Super Bowl LIII, defeating the LA Rams 13-3 earning Brady his sixth Super Bowl title, becoming the first player in history to have won six Super Bowls and more than Favre, Brees, Manning & Marino combined.

Over his career, Brady has won three league MVP awards, six Super Bowls, and four Super Bowl MVP Awards. A 14-time Pro Bowler, Brady has also twice led the NFL in passing yardage. As of November 2017, he owns the third-highest career passer rating (97.9) among quarterbacks with at least 1,500 career passing attempts. He has thrown for more passing yards and touchdowns than any other quarterback in NFL postseason history; he also has won more playoff games than any other quarterback.

With a dream that started as a young boy, Tom Brady never lost sight of what he wanted to achieve and proved that hard work and a dream can make anything possible and that is why he will go down as the greatest of all time.

Relive One Of The Greatest Super Bowls Of All Time Below

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