Brady manages to keep wit after crushing hit
FOXBOROUGH -- Sure, the foundation of the Patriots' once-impressive 17-point lead was showing cracks, but there was the thick-as-cement confidence that Tom Brady would hold things together against the Seattle Seahawks yesterday at Gillette Stadium.
If, that is, he could come to grips with his helmet, which was in pieces near midfield.
No problem there, either.
"Somebody [gave it to me]. And the ear pad, too. I figured out how to put it back [together]," said Brady. "So it wasn't that messed up."
Yes, sir. He does it all, even down to equipment repair, a situation that was made necessary on the first play of the fourth quarter. Faced with third and 7 at the Seattle 48, Brady couldn't find an open receiver so he took off. Nearing the first-down marker, Brady elected not to slide and you may have been able to hear 68,756 people gasp at once because Seahawk defenders Chike Okeafor and Michael Boulware were locked in and they produced a QB sandwich with a collision that could be felt far away, which is where the quarterback's helmet went.
Just what was Brady thinking?
"For me, that is like once a season, so I figured I would try to get as many yards as I could," said Brady. "But [Boulware] hit me, hit me good."
Having lost the ball, as well as his helmet, Brady was spared further pain when the Patriot defense held, but on the next series, another rare hiccup occurred for the Patriots quarterback. He had all the time in the world to find an open receiver on third and 6 at his 32, and threw a strike -- to Boulware at the Patriots' 45.
This time, the Seahawks took the turnover and turned it into a touchdown and 2-point conversion to cut New England's lead to 20-17.
There was speculation that the interception was a byproduct of the collision, that Brady was shaken up, but denials came from various ends of the locker room.
"I was fine," said Brady. "There is not much in that head to rattle around."
"I checked with him and I thought he was OK," said coach Bill Belichick.
If there was any doubt about his physical status, Brady negated it on the possession following Seattle's only touchdown. Protecting a 3-point lead with just more than 11 minutes to play, Brady and the Patriots hardly played it safe as they chewed up 4:22 of the clock with a 12-play drive that showcased the air game.
A pass to Daniel Graham picked up 11 yards. After an incompletion, Brady then dumped to Kevin Faulk, who gained 14. After two more incompletions, Brady rifled another laser to Graham for 24 more, putting the Patriots on Seattle's 31. Brady was only 4 for 9 for 61 yards on the drive, but it led to Adam Vinatieri's third field goal, increased the lead to 23-17, and served notice that he was OK after the crushing hit.
He ended the game 19 for 30 for 231 yards, but Brady concedes it could have all come undone by that one rush.
"You know, I knew I fumbled it," he said. "I didn't realize my helmet was off until, obviously, you kind of get up and you are like, `Where is my helmet?' "
On the sideline, even teammates who are used to such violence cringed a bit, given the fact it was their quarterback whose helmet was popping loose.
"You don't like to see his helmet get loose," said linebacker Mike Vrabel.
But what they were glad to see is that Brady's composure didn't come undone because with the game on the line late in the fourth quarter, he found Bethel Johnson downfield for a 48-yard gain that led to a clinching touchdown run of 9 yards by Corey Dillon.
"We had a couple of good drives there at the end of the game, which is really something that this team hasn't been very good at the last couple of years," said Brady. "The way we did it today, I was really proud."
And like his helmet, he was in one piece.
