Seven is the Sweetest

The GOAT, Tom Brady, did it again without his Emperor, The Hoodie, and showed the world he had plenty in the tank to ascend atop the NFL hierarchy, claiming his 7^th Vince Lombardi Trophy last night at Raymond James Stadium.  The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed the than 42 yr. old veteran, to a two yr. $50 million fully guaranteed deal; good bet.  Even in the uncertainty that was 2020, TB12 did what he always does, work, win, and will his teammates to glory.  Brady recruited Gronk out of retirement, Antonio Brown from purgatory, and breathed life back into Super Bowl Lenny; in addition to his union with Bruce Arians and new teammates, a full plate.  He was vindicated in a commanding victory over the Kansas City Chiefs and said afterwards, “I think we knew this was going to happen now, didn’t we?” 

To be fair, the Bucs were ready to roll, all they needed was a captain to right the ship.  Mike Evans and Chris Goodwin were a godsend for Tom; he never had weapons like these.  Ronald Jones emerged as an every down back powered by a strong O-line.  Tompa 12 was only pressured 4 times on 30 drops, golly!  The underrated Defense on the other hand, was gunning for the GOATS heir, Patrick Mahomes, pressing, pushing, and squeezing the football life out him 29 times out of 56 dropbacks.  The hit he took in the 2^nd half from 3 Buccaneer defenders looked comical, until it wasn’t, ouch!  What should be respected, beyond Brady, is the fact the stout, stand tall, this is our house, and we came to play, defense; allowed 0 touchdowns against the best offensive.  Oh, they also beat the great Drew Brees in the Superdome and succeeded on the Frozen Tundra against that discount double check guy.  Like I heard Sean Peyton, HC of the Saints say, “Beware of the team that’s won 3 road games to get here.”  It’s ironic, here, was the Ray Jay, their home; some things were just meant to be.

Old men or more commonly referred in South Florida, Snow Birds, from Boston brought the Patriot way through traffic on Dale Mabry, (A contact sport) and took what the defense gave them, a free pass.  By taking away the dynamic duo of Evans and Goodwin, (Combined 3 catches for 40 yards) Brady hit his guy, Rob, for 6 catches, 67 yards and 2 TD’s.  The electric pair of running backs, Fournette and Jones, averaged 5yds per carry and tallied a combined 150 yards on the ground; moving the sticks.  Antonio Brown’s TD catch, before half earned him a $750k bonus, the Bucs a15 point lead, and Tom let the Honey Badger know, he’s the GOAT! The game felt over at half, maybe even before then.

The Chiefs O-line was depleted even further with the loss of left tackle Eric Fisher succumbing to injury against the Bills in the AFC Championship and it showed. Two interceptions, 3 sacks, no touchdowns, and only 80 yards rushing from everyone else not named Mahomes, showed the weakness of the offensive, one that only mustered 9 points.  Tyreek Hill was absent at roll call, his flip into the end zone in week 12, 13 catches, 269 yds., and 3 TD’s, didn’t translate into an A plus on the final.  He would say he failed, a quiet 7 catches for 73 yards.  Travis Kelce’s celebrity fantasy price tag paid only those on Draft Kings, 10 catches for 133, but he nor Hill helped change that ugly 3 of 13 on 3^rd downs, yikes! 

At the end of the day, Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. is the Greatest Of All Time quarterback, maybe the greatest athlete to this point ever.  He has more rings than any team!  At 43, he’s almost half the age of his competitors but I suppose, the fountain of youth can be found in Florida.  To stand against father time, Covid-19, a new environment, and string together a championship team with this tenacity is something to beholden.  When will we ever see a scrawny, Michigan Wolverine, picked 199^th, and win 7 Super Bowls; in our lifetime, doubtful.  So I say, take in the boyhood youthfulness that refuses to adhere to the rules and admire the animal, laser focused, “Psycho Tom,” that gets you to the promise land.  Stories like this need witnesses.