2001 New England Patriots: Belichick and Brady

2001 New England Patriots: Belichick and Brady

[paypal_donation_button]2001 New England Patriots: Belichick and Brady

The birth of the New England Patriots dynasty of the 2000’s officially began in 2000 when Bill Belichick would be named the head coach. This came shortly after Belichick’s one-day stint as the New York Jets head coach, in which he quickly announced his resignation from the Jets in a press conference. The next step in building New England’s foundation took place in the 2000 NFL Draft when the Patriots selected a quarterback out of the University of Michigan with the 199th pick in the 6th Round. That quarterback would be Tom Brady.

The following season in 2001 would be the breakout season for the Patriots as a team and as a franchise. The Patriots went 11-5 in 2001, finishing in a tie for 1st place in the AFC East along with the Miami Dolphins, but the Patriots had the tiebreaker. The Patriots also finished 1 game ahead of the New York Jets. Quarterback Drew Bledsoe was poised to lead the Patriots into postseason success, but in a Week 2 loss against the Jets on September 23, Bledsoe would suffer a chest injury after attempting to go out of bounds in the 2nd quarter. Jets linebacker Mo Lewis was responsible for the injury-causing hit.

After Bledsoe went 0-2 as a starter, Brady stepped in and started the rest of the way for New England, going 11-3, completing 264 of 413 pass attempts for 2,843 yards and 18 touchdowns. Running back Antowain Smith had 1,157 yards off 287 rushing attempts and scored 12 touchdowns. Smith also had 19 receptions for 192 yards and 1 touchdown. Fullback Marc Edwards had 25 receptions for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns. Running back Kevin Faulk had 30 receptions for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns. Wide receiver Troy Brown had 101 receptions for 1,199 yards and 5 touchdowns. Wide receiver had 51 receptions for 749 yards and 4 touchdowns.

On special teams Kevin Faulk had 33 kick returns for 662 yards while Troy Brown had 29 punt returns for 413 yards.

Strong safety Lawyer Milloy led the defense in tackles with 77 while also having 3 sacks and 2 interceptions. Linebacker Roman Phifer had 70 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 1 interception. Middle linebacker Tedy Bruschi had 54 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery. Cornerback Ty Law had 59 tackles, 1 sack and 3 interceptions for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cornerback Otis Smith had 55 tackles, 2 sacks, 5 interceptions for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns and 2 fumble recoveries.

Free safety Tebucky Jones had 50 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception and 3 forced fumbles. Linebacker Mike Vrabel had 40 tackles, 3 sacks and 2 interceptions. Defensive end Bobby Hamilton had 7 sacks and 1 fumble recovery. Defensive tackle Anthony Pleasant had 6 sacks, 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble. Defensive end Richard Seymour, who was the 6th overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, had 3 sacks and 1 fumble recovery. Defensive end and outside linebacker Willie McGinest had 6 sacks and 1 forced fumble. Cornerback Terrell Buckley had 3 interceptions for 76 yards and 1 touchdown.

The biggest regular season win for the Patriots came in Brady’s first career start, which was in Week 3 on September 30 against the Indianapolis Colts. New England took care of Indianapolis 44-13 in what would be the first meeting between Tom Brady and quarterback Peyton Manning. The closest win the Patriots pulled off would be a 17-16 nail-biter against the New York Jets in Week 12 on December 12.

January 19, 2002 would see the infamous “Tuck Rule” game between the Patriots and the Oakland Raiders in the Division Round. Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon completed 17 of 31 pass attempts for 159 yards and touchdown in the game while Brady went 32 for 52 for 312 yards and 1 interception. David Patten had a good game, having 8 receptions for 107 yards. In the 1st quarter Raiders wide receiver James Jett caught a 13-yard touchdown pass to begin the scoring. Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri put his team on the board in the 3rd quarter with a 23-yard field goal, and then Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski kicked field goals from 38 yards out and 45 yards out.

In the 4th quarter, Brady scored a touchdown with a 6-yard run, and with 0:27 remaining in regulation, Vinatieri kicked a 45-yard field goal to tie the game. In overtime Vinatieri would kick a 23-yard field goal to move the Patriots forward. The Tuck Rule incident came with 1:47 remaining in the 4th quarter where Tom Brady initially appeared to fumble the ball when Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson tackled him and linebacker Greg Biekert recovered the ball. After a video review, the referees reversed the call on the field, which allowed the Patriots offense to keep the ball. The Patriots beat the Raiders 16-13.

The Patriots then faced the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game on January 27 at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field. Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart completed 24 of 42 pass attempts for 255 yards, but he threw 3 interceptions. Tom Brady went 12 for 18 for 115 yards, but Brady would get injured in the 2nd quarter. In an ironic twist, Drew Bledsoe stepped in for Brady and completed 10 of 21 pass attempts for 102 yards and 1 touchdown. Troy Brown performed well for New England as he had 8 receptions for 121 yards.

In the 1st quarter Troy Brown had a 55-yard punt return touchdown. In the 2nd quarter Steelers kicker Kris Brown kicked a 30-yard field goal, but the Patriots would respond with an 11-yard touchdown pass to David Patten, and then in the 3rd quarter a 49-yard blocked punt return touchdown by cornerback Antwan Harris. Later on running back Jerome “The Bus” Bettis had a 1-yard touchdown run for Pittsburgh, and running back Amos Zereoue had his own 11-yard touchdown run. In the 4th quarter Vinatieri kicked a 44-yard field goal. The Patriots beat the Steelers 24-17.

Super Bowl XXXVI would be played between the New England Patriots and the NFC Champion St. Louis Rams on February 3, 2002 at the Lousiana Superdome in New Orleans. The Patriots took on “The Greatest Show on Turf” which was led by quarterback Kurt Warner, who completed 28 of 44 pass attempts for 365 yards and 1 touchdown, but also threw 2 interceptions and had 1 fumble. Tom Brady completed 16 of 27 pass attempts for 145 yards and 1 touchdown.

Rams kicker Jeff Wilkins booted a 50-yard field goal in the 1st quarter to begin the scoring. Ty Law would have a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter, which would be followed by an 8-yard touchdown reception by David Patten, and then in the 3rd quarter an Adam Vinatieri 37-yard field goal to give the Patriots a 17-3 lead. St. Louis stormed back in the 4th quarter as Kurt Warner had a 2-yard touchdown run, and then threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ricky Proehl. Eventually being named the Most Valuable Player for Super Bowl XXVI, Tom Brady marched the Patriots offense down the field for one last drive with no timeouts, and then as time expired Vinatieri kicked a 48-yard field goal to give the Patriots the stunning 20-17 upset victory. The Patriots had won their first Lombardi Trophy with flying red, white and blue colors.