The New England Patriots’ documentary on Apple TV+ has been an interesting glimpse behind the scenes at a two-decade run of unparalleled greatness in the NFL. However, the filmmakers behind The Dynasty didn’t shy away from shining a light on some of the flaws and, ahem, unwholesome elements that went into the Pats’ epic run of six Super Bowl victories.
For as much deserved sh*t as the Patriots get for Spygate, the whole Deflategate saga was categorically proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be the most overblown, overrated and over-discussed storylines in NFL history. A total nothing-burger that Tom Brady got suspended four games for.
That opinion I hold has the benefit of hindsight, though. There was a lot of confusion about Deflategate when it initially happened, and because of the aforementioned Spygate scandal, where the Patriots were busted taping other teams’ practices to gain a competitive advantage, it was a case of “here we go again, New England is cheating again” type of thing. To me, neither Spygate nor Deflategate held enough water to discredit what the Pats accomplished.
At the time, however, Brady took it hard. Superstar cornerback Darrelle Revis revealed what Brady said to the team while professing his innocence in Deflategate, as reported by WEEI’s Mike Kadlick:
“When the Deflategate happened, Tom was the headliner of the whole situation. He addressed us as a team. You can tell he was distraught. He said, ‘This is something I wouldn’t do. I would not ruin this season for us. The allegations are false.’
He was actually bawling his eyes out in front of us.”
Brady is the ultimate competitor, and more than a few times throughout his GOAT career, he let his emotions spill over to tears when talking about his family, sliding to the sixth round of the draft, and many other subjects in between. There isn’t, like, a shock factor here over the fact that Brady cried, nor is it an attempt to shame him. It just goes to show how much of a toll that whole situation took on him. For a guy who prides himself on integrity, hard work and playing the game the right way, his whole legacy was being questioned over something that turned out to be so damn trivial.
Once he served that four-game suspension, though, Brady was ready to get after it. You don’t want to piss this man off, or give him any added motivational fuel that could add to the boulder-sized chip he carries on his shoulder. Roger Goodell did precisely that.
We know what happened next. Brady came out firing in the 12 regular-season starts he did make, throwing for 28 TDs to only two INTs and averaging over 296 yards per game through the air. Double middle fingers to the entire rest of the NFL indeed. Then, he led the Patriots all the way to the Super Bowl again. After all that, Brady had the fortitude to will his team back from a 28-3 deficit and stun the Atlanta Falcons in one of the greatest football games that will ever be played.
Another great anecdote from The Dynasty came when ex-Pats executive Scott Pioli, who was the Falcons’ assistant GM during that infamous Super Bowl collapse (or all-time Brady comeback, depending on your perspective), he referred to Brady as “Freddy Krueger” when all the Atlanta brass was prematurely celebrating a Lombardi Trophy.
Will transcribe the most relevant bit below:
“As I’m sitting there someone slaps me on the back and says, ‘C’mon Scott lighten up, you’ve gotta enjoy this moment!’ And I just erupted.
I whipped around and I said, ‘You effin’ people don’t get it. That guy No. 12 across the field, is Freddy effin’ Kruger. He’s comin’ back, and he’s gonna get a bunch of us. I just hope he doesn’t get us all.'”
Yup. Pioli was right. Brady got ’em. It’s wild because Atlanta’s offensive coordinator at the time, Kyle Shanahan, caught so much blame for the Falcons’ loss. He’s since gone on to lose two Super Bowls to Patrick Mahomes as the 49ers head coach. What about new Commanders head coach Dan Quinn, who was serving the same role for Atlanta at the time? Wasn’t he in charge of the defense? Couldn’t he have done something more to stop Brady and Co?
Amazing to think how the Patriots and Brady altered the trajectories of so many players, coaches and franchises across the NFL during their run. So many opponents didn’t have a chance, and they knew it. Even when some got the Pats on the mat, they made like Freddy Kreuger and roared back. TB12 deserves a lot of credit for that. Quite confident in saying it had jack sh*t to do with slightly deflated footballs.
Hey Tom, come back and play, please. The NFL would love to have you. Put another deep dent in this new Chiefs dynasty before it’s too late. I see you training for the 40-yard dash and running faster than you did in 2000. Get those emotions going. Suit up. More LFGs on Sunday to get the crowd hyped. DO IT.
Relive the magic:
