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February 3, 2004
Brady has stepped his game up a notch
By John Dell | JOURNAL REPORTER
HOUSTON
OK, so quarterback Tom Brady doesn't have the arm strength of a Dan Marino or the fast feet of a Michael Vick. Turns out he doesn't need either, because when it comes to knowing how to win, Brady is a cut above.
All he did on Sunday night was set a Super Bowl record for accuracy by completing 32 of 48 passes. He amassed 354 passing yards, the third-highest total in Super Bowl history, as his New England Patriots won their second Super Bowl in three years with a heart-pounding 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Brady, who at age 26 has played just four years in the NFL, won his second Super Bowl MVP award and has likely vaulted to the top of his profession. After staying awake most of the night to celebrate, Brady was a little groggy yesterday morning, but it didn't wipe the toothy smile from his face.
"Excuse me if I stutter a little bit; I'm working on about an hour's sleep," said Brady, who won a new Cadillac Escalade for being named MVP.
There's no stutter in the way Brady directs the Patriots, and the Panthers found out the hard way. Brady improved to 6-0 in the postseason and is the youngest in league history to already have won two MVP Super Bowl awards. He is also just the fourth to win multiple MVP awards (Bart Starr and Terry Bradshaw won two each, and Joe Montana won three times).
What made Brady so effective Sunday were his clutch throws in the fourth quarter, when he completed 13 of 19 passes. While he did throw an interception in the end zone to Reggie Howard in the fourth quarter, the rest of the quarter he was nearly perfect.
Brady said that it was amazing that he threw the ball 48 times and didn't get sacked. But he always seems to know where the pressure is coming from as he sidesteps trouble or glides left or right on effective rollouts.
When people start comparing Brady to other great quarterbacks such as Montana, Brady usually blushes and then brushes it off.
"Joe Montana was the guy I watched when I was growing up," said Brady, whose parents had season tickets the San Francisco 49ers' games.
Brady tried to remember the first time he saw Montana play but was having trouble. He did recall the tailgate parties and getting the chance to throw the football in the parking lot at Candlestick Park.
"I was so young I don't remember much," Brady said. "I remember the catch, you know, when I was there in '81. That might have been the first remembrance."
He was only four years old at the time, which would mean that Brady has one of the best memories ever. Regardless, there was definitely an influence, Brady said.
"Watching (the 49ers) when I was growing up, you really take a liking to football, because you watch them play, and you enjoy their competitiveness and spirit and the wins," Brady said.
Now Brady has all those same qualities - and the wins.
The finish to Sunday's Super Bowl was vintage Brady - or Montana. He kept his poise, made the big plays and won on the game's biggest stage.
After the Panthers had tied the game at 29-29 with 1:08 to go, the Patriots caught a break when John Kasay's kickoff went out of bounds. That allowed Brady enough time to work down the field to get into position for a game-winning field goal.
He hit Troy Brown for 13 yards, and then made another nice throw to Brown for another 20 yards. Brown was there again for a 13-yard catch with 44 seconds to go.
Another short pass to tight end Daniel Graham set the Patriots up for one more play before Adam Vinatieri kicked the game-winner. On Brady's final pass, he hit Deion Branch for 17 yards to the Panthers' 23.
Even though Brady's postseason record is perfect, he's not satisfied. When he was at Michigan during his college career he asked a longtime trainer who had been there for 40 years what championship ring was his favorite.
"And I remember him telling me 'the next one,'" Brady said.
"I'm 26 years old, and (Sunday) was great, but it really wasn't perfect. So there's always things to improve on .... There's still a lot of room to grow, and there's a lot of progress to be made."
So Brady wants to improve. That's a scary though for the rest of the NFL.
• John Dell can be reached at 727-4081 or at jdell@wsjournal.com