Tom Brady's football career has come full circle.
It seems like just a dozen years ago that Brady was a wet-behind-the-ears first time starting quarterback for a veteran-laden Patriots' team that eventually won their first NFL championship just months after the vicarious quarterback took over for an injured Drew Bledsoe.
That team rallied around the young Brady, coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis showing an immense amount of patience with him as he struggled through his first few starts - so much so that by the time Bledsoe was fully healed and ready to return, Belichick had already decided to stick with his young fiery quarterback as his best long-term option, relegating the veteran Bledsoe to back up status.
Many don't remember that he was inconsistent and at times downright putrid in his first couple of games behind a veteran line with veteran receivers. Many of us have forgotten that he was in charge of an offense whose sole weakness was - well - him. Many of us have forgotten, and Brady apparently has as well, how patient and understanding the players and coaching staff were with him.
Just as an adult will forget that they were once a child when dealing with the difficulties of raising one, both Brady and many Patriots' fans have apparently forgotten his less than auspicious beginnings as the quarterback for the New England Patriots.
That said, don't the rookie receivers for the Patriots deserve the same benefit of the doubt?
The man that many consider one of the best signal callers of all time suffered through his first two starts in the NFL with passer ratings of 79.6 and 58.7 before finding his groove, something that would never have happened had the veterans responded to his struggling the way that Brady did in his nationally televised meltdown on Thursday night...
...the amount of energy it takes to throw that type of Earl Weaver-esque tantrum is immense and caused Brady to look shockingly old and haggard towards the end of the Patriots' 13-10 victory over their nemesis New York Jets, and even more so in his post-game presser.
In fairness, lots of folks lost their tempers last night, particularly towards the end of the game when a cheap shot from Jets' center Nick Mangold on Patriots' cornerback Aqib Talib after Talib had intercepted a Geno Smith pass and eventually went out of bounds almost erupted into a full blown melee, and saw penalty flags flying and folks being ejected.
All of Brady's frustration on Thursday night seemed to take him out of his game, at a time when patience would have proven prudent. He lost his head and never really looked in sync with his receivers - except with Edelman at times - and while it is true that his pass catchers dropped some nicely thrown balls, he should stop to remember that he airmailed a couple of balls himself.
Looking back on the game an argument could be made that had Brady not overthrown his receivers on two separate occasions and had Aaron Dobson not dropped a long pass down the sidelines and had Kenbrell Thompkins been able to control a nice laser from Brady just before the half, the game would have been a blowout...
...and that's important to remember - first that the Patriots' still managed to win the game, but also with a little time and patience those miscues could be touchdowns.
To his credit, Brady acknowledged that "I think I have to do a better job with my body language," adding, "I definitely can improve that. I wouldn't say it's a real strong point of mine right now."
So...he knows. The next step is to remember a fresh-faced kid coming out of the University of Michigan who was afforded the patience of a group of veterans and of a coach known for benching players for grievous mistakes - and that's a good lesson for us fans as well.
That patience led to a dynasty and the making of the greatest quarterback of all time. Who's to say it can't happen again? Only this time with a group of rookie receivers and a quarterback who gave them the same chance that he got.
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