(born
August 3 ,
1977 ) is an American
Football Quarterback for the
National Football League's New England Patriots .
Brady graduated from
JunÃpero Serra High School , the same school that produced
Baseball player
Barry Bonds and NFL Hall of Famer
Lynn Swann . Brady attended the
University Of Michigan and led Michigan to an
Orange Bowl victory in the 1999 season. In the 2000
NFL Draft , Brady was selected by the New England Patriots in the 6th round (199th overall). With the Patriots, Brady has won three
Super Bowl s and two
Super Bowl MVP awards. Additionally, Brady was ''
Sports Illustrated 's''
Sportsman Of The Year in 2005.
Born in
San Mateo, California , Brady would be regularly taken to see the
49ers play in the 1980s, where he became a fan of quarterback
Joe Montana . Since that time, Brady has mentioned Montana as one of his inspirations and an idol
Tom Brady Story . Accessed January 11, 2006.
He played
College Football for and graduated from the
University Of Michigan , sitting on the bench his first two years; including a year as understudy to fellow UM teammate and future NFL quarterback
Brian Griese who led the Wolverines to the 1997 National Championship. Brady battled for the first string quarterback position with
Drew Henson and ultimately started every game in the 1998 and 1999 seasons under Michigan head coach
Lloyd Carr . He was All-Big Ten both seasons and team captain his senior year. The Wolverines won 20 of 25 games when Brady started and shared the
Big Ten Conference title in 1998. In the 1999 season, Brady led Michigan in defeating Alabama in an overtime game in the
Orange Bowl and threw for 400 yards in that game.
After being selected in the 6th round of the 2000 Draft, Brady served as the backup quarterback to rating of 148.3 in a 38–17 win. Brady helped bring the Patriots to an 11-5 record and into the
Playoffs . He also passed for his third highest single season rating (86.5).
During a 2001–2002 divisional playoff game against the
Oakland Raiders (played in January 2002), Tom Brady had been ruled as having fumbled on a pass attempt, with Oakland protecting a three-point lead. Citing the controversial "tuck rule," where a ball is ruled an incomplete pass after the quarterback starts any forward throwing motion, referee
Walt Coleman overturned the decision after reviewing the
Instant Replay , calling the drop an incomplete pass rather than a fumble (some analysts have claimed that Oakland should have been called for "roughing the passer" on that play, as the player who made contact with Brady hit his head; such a call would have rendered the "tuck rule" controversy obsolete). Brady, who threw for 312 yards in his first NFL playoff game, led the Patriots back from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit and engineered the winning drive in overtime to beat the Raiders. After defeating the
Pittsburgh Steelers in the
AFC Championship Game, the Patriots were considered 14-point
Underdog s against the
NFC champion
St. Louis Rams in
Super Bowl XXXVI .
With less than two minutes left in the Super Bowl, and the score tied, sportscaster
John Madden said that he thought the Patriots should let the time run out on the clock and look to win the game in overtime. Instead, Brady drove the Patriots offense down the field., completing 5 of 6 passes for 53 yards to advance the ball to the Rams 30-yard line with only a few seconds left in the game. The Patriots then won the game on an
Adam Vinatieri 's 48
Field Goal as time expired. Brady was named
MVP of
Super Bowl XXXVI while throwing for 145 yards and 1
Touchdown .
Tom Brady and the Patriots finished the year at 9–7, tied for the New York Jets and the
Miami Dolphins for the best record in the division. However the Jets won the division on the third tiebreaker, and the Patriots missed the playoffs.
Although posting a career-low single-season rating of 85.7, Brady threw for a league-leading 28 touchdown passes, though his 14
Interception s ties his worst total. Moreover, at Buffalo, Brady threw for a quarterback rating of 147.6, the second highest of his career. Furthermore, Brady played much of the second half of the season with a shoulder injury, and New England head coach Bill Belichick has since indicated that if the Patriots had made the playoffs, Brady would not have been able to play in the first game due to that injury. Brady continues to suffer from shoulder complications, but it has not led to a missed start.
In the 2003–2004 NFL season, after a 2–2 start, Brady led the Patriots to 12 consecutive victories to finish the season and win the
AFC East. Statistically, Brady's strongest game of the season was against Buffalo, when he achieved a season-high quarterback rating of 122.9.
In the first two rounds of the
Playoffs , the Patriots defeated the
Tennessee Titans and
Indianapolis Colts . On
February 1 ,
2004 , Brady led the Patriots to a 32–29 victory over the NFC champion
Carolina Panthers in
Super Bowl XXXVIII and was named
Super Bowl MVP for the second time, completing a Super Bowl record 32 of 48 passes for 354 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 1 interception. With 1:08 left in the fourth quarter and the score tied at 29, Brady engineered a 37-yard drive to put the Patriots in position for the game-winning 41-yard field goal by Vinatieri.
During the 2004–2005 season, Brady helped the Patriots set an NFL record with 21 straight wins dating from the previous year. New England's 14-2 record matched that of the 2003–04 season and equalled the best record ever for a defending champion. The Patriots also won the AFC East divisional title for the third time in four years. In the
AFC Playoffs , Brady led the Patriots to victories over the Indianapolis Colts and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Brady played his best game of the year in Pittsburgh despite requiring IV treatment the previous night when he had a fever of 103 degrees. Against the NFL's best defensive team, Brady recorded a quarterback passer rating of 130.5, his highest of the season. 2004 also served as Brady's best year statistically; his rating, at 92.6, was a career high.
On February 6, 2005, the Brady-led Patriots won
Super Bowl XXXIX for their third NFL championship in four years. Once again, Brady had a superb performance, throwing for 236 yards and 2 touchdowns, with no interceptions. But this time, the MVP honors went to receiver
Deion Branch , who caught 11 of Brady's passes for 133 yards.
During the 2005–2006 season, the Patriots were forced to rely more on Tom Brady's passing due to injuries suffered by running backs . The results were positive; Brady finished first in the league with 4,110 passing yards and third in the league with 26 touchdowns. At 92.3, his 2005–2006 passer rating was the second highest of his career, although he tied his worst interception total (14). He also rushed for 89 yards and fumbled a career-low 4 times. Brady and the injured Patriots finished with a 10–6 record and obtained their third straight AFC East title. Some of the highlights of the season included another game with the Steelers, in which Brady helped lead the team on the game winning drive. When the Patriots visited the
Atlanta Falcons , Brady achieved a regular season-high rating of 140.3. It was the fourth highest regular season single-game quarterback rating of Brady's career.
In the playoffs, Brady led the Patriots to a 28-3 victory over Jacksonville in the Wild Card Round. However, on January 14, 2006, the Patriots lost 27–13 against the
Denver Broncos at
INVESCO Field . Brady threw for 346 yards in the game and a touchdown with two interceptions, including one returned 100 yards by Denver cornerback
Champ Bailey . It was the first loss of Brady's playoff career.
Despite not playing in the game, Brady was present at
Super Bowl XL , as the official
Coin Tosser prior to kickoff.
There is considerable debate, both among football fans and sportswriters, as to where exactly Tom Brady ranks in the quarterback pantheon. This debate has existed and evolved for several years, from arguments over whether Brady was even better than average to current arguments that center on comparing Brady to only a few select and elite quarterbacks. Most notably, comparisons are often made with
Peyton Manning (#18) of the Indianapolis Colts, leading to fierce and bitter controversy.
Brady's fiercest detractors have argued that he is a "system quarterback". They believe that many other quarterbacks would have enjoyed the same level of success playing for the Patriots. Brady's defenders argue that he is a clutch player. Under Tom Brady, the New England Patriots' regular season record is 48–17, and they are 10–1 in the playoffs and 7–0 in overtime. Brady has extensive experience with pressure situations. He has led the most (21) game-winning scoring drives in the 4th quarter or overtime in the NFL since he became a starter. While not known for his outstanding statistics, Brady is seventh all-time in passer rating, posting an 88.5 career mark through the end of the 2005–2006 regular season. Brady also led the NFL in
Touchdown passes in 2002–2003 with 28, and total pass yardage in 2005-2006 with 4,110 yards.
Looking at his statistics, one sees that the departure of offensive coordinator
Charlie Weis , who became head coach of
Notre Dame in 2005, did not seem to affect Brady. As previously mentioned, Brady finished the regular season with league-leading 4,110 yards passing and 26 touchdowns. Even as his Patriots shifted through a league record 44 starters, including injuries to left tackle
Matt Light and center
Dan Koppen for the season, the Patriots finished with a 10–6 record and clinched the AFC East for the fourth time in five years. Brady finished third in the league in
MVP votes for the 2005 season, with
Shaun Alexander winning the award.
Story: Smith making his case . Accessed January 11, 2006.
All statistics and accomplishments courtesy of NFL.com.
- Highest single-game quarterback rating: 148.3 (at Indianapolis, October 21, 2001)
- Highest single-season quarterback rating: 92.6 (2004–2005 season)
- Highest career quarterback rating against a team: Atlanta Falcons (140.4)
- Lowest interception total, season (minimum 2 starts): 12 (2001 and 2003)
- Highest interception total, season (minumum 2 starts): 14 (2002, 2004, 2005)
- 92.3 quarterback rating (2nd highest of career)
- 530 passes attempted
- 344 passes completed
- 26 passing touchdowns (3rd in the NFL)
- 14 interceptions
- 4110 passing yards, (1st in the NFL)
- 63.0% completion rate
- 2,548 passes attempted
- 1,577 passes completed
- 18,035 passing yards
- 123 passing touchdowns
- 66 passes intercepted
- 58–20 record as a starter (.744 winning percentage)
- 38.6 passing attempts per interception
- 7–0 in overtime games
- NFL record for most consecutive wins in post season: 10 (broke record of Green Bay Packer Bart Starr ).
- NFL record 10–1 in the post-season
- 367 passes attempted
- 225 passes completed
- 2493 passing yards (226.6 ypg)
- 15 passing touchdowns
- 5 passes intercepted
- 73.7 passing attempts per interception in the post-season (lowest rate, NFL history (minimum 250 pass attempts): Bart Starr second with 71 attempts per post-season interception)
- 3 Pro Bowl s
- 2 Super Bowl MVP awards
- 3 Super Bowl victories
- Most completions in a Super Bowl (32 in Super Bowl XXXVIII )
'' cover featuring Tom Brady]]
- On January 26 , 2004, Tom Brady attended the annual State Of The Union Address as a guest of President George W. Bush . Brady declined to discuss his political views with the media. According to The Smoking Gun as of 2004, Tom Brady is a registered voter, but he has not voted in any political election so far.
- On April 16 , 2005, Brady hosted an episode of '' Saturday Night Live '' with musical guest Beck .
- Brady is a lifelong Roman Catholic who visited John Paul II at the Vatican .
- Brady appears in a Visa commercial with his teammates from his offensive line, Brandon Gorin , Tom Ashworth , Russ Hochstein , Matt Light , and Dan Koppen in which the offensive linemen represented Visa's five layers of protection.
- In the December 12 , 2005 Issue of '' Sports Illustrated '', Brady was named Sportsman Of The Year ; he is the fourth professional football player to receive the honor since the award was created in 1954 and the first professional football player to garner the accolade since 1990.
- Was nominated for the FedEx Air Player of the Year Award with Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer (Winner).
- In his five full seasons as an NFL quarterback, Brady has thrown for either 12 or 14 interceptions per season. In 2002 and 2004, his touchdown-interception ratio was identical (28–14).
- Brady guest-starred as himself in '' The Simpsons '' episode "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass" alongside Raiders' Defensive Tackle Warren Sapp , Basketball Center Yao Ming and two-time Olympic Figure Skating medallist Michelle Kwan . (The episode first aired February 6, 2005).
- Brady guest-starred as himself in '' Family Guy '' episode "Patriot Games". (The episode first aired January 29, 2006).
- Brady had a Cameo Appearance in the movie '' Stuck On You '' ( 2003 ) as a computer Nerd .
