Will Tom Brady Thank Mo Lewis in His Pro Football Hall of Fame Speech?

Only 48 hours after Tom Brady said not so fast regarding reports that he would retired after 22 seasons in the NFL he has decided to hang up his spikes after all. In 20 seasons with the New England Patriots and the past two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Brady leaves the sport as the greatest quarterback who ever played the game. 

Brady appeared in 10 Super Bowls winning seven - 6 with the Pats and last year with the Bucs & without Bill Belichick. Of his 7 Super Bowl triumphs, Brady was named the game's MVP in five of them. His bid to appear in his 11th Super Bowl fell short last weekend when the Bucs lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Semi-Final where he earned his first career unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

I lived in Boston for five of the six Super Bowl titles Brady won with the Pats. Of all Brady's triumphs, I will probably best remember when he won his fifth Super Bowl ring when the Pats overcame a 28-3 deficit against the Atlanta Falcons late in the third quarter to win 34-28 in overtime in Super Bowl LI. As great as Brady was he was even greater than we all thought possible.

At the time, I was working in the JFK Building at Government Center where the Pats victory parade and rally culminated. Needless to say, that was a day where very little work got done. I'm sure football fans in Atlanta aren't sorry to see him go. You can wear a Red Sox hat in Atlanta, but wearing Pats gear is pressing your luck.  

Yet what is remarkable is how unlikely it was for Brady to succeed as he had. After all, Brady wasn't drafted by the Pats until the 6th round and he was drafted at a time when Drew Bledsoe was ensconced at quarterback. There was very good chance, Brady might never take a snap on the field. 

But on September 23, 2001, in a game against the New York Jets in Week 2 of the 2001 NFL season, Bledsoe was forced out of the game late in the fourth quarter due to a hit by Jets linebacker Lewis which resulted in Bledsoe leaving the game and being hospitalized. Bledsoe later revealed the hit nearly killed him.

I remember listening to WEEI radio the following morning and Dale Arnold declaring somewhat sardonically, "The Tom Brady era has begun." Little did he know. Little did any of us know. Just over four months later, Brady led the Pats to their first Super Bowl title in an upset win over the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. That hit would change the course of the NFL forever. 

I wonder if Brady ever thinks about it. If Bledsoe doesn't get hurt maybe he never gets on the field that season or ever. At best, he spends his career as a journeyman back up quarterback. Because if it was a split second earlier or a split second later this is very likely what would have happened.

In about five years from now, Tom Brady will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There will be some people to thank during that Hall of Fame speech. I wonder if Mo Lewis will be among them.