“Tom Terrific–Tom  Brady”====================

It was a great ride, one that had such a strange start, and then a thrilling rise to stardom, then a strange finish to Tom Brady’s career.

The Greatest of All Time at the most important position in the National Football League.  Quarterback.

He was driven, completely invested, demanding of himself and teammates and coaches.

Brady may be ahead of the curve  in terms of intellect-knowing football, how to conquer defenses.  He was linked to one of the smartest defensive minds of all time, in Bill Belichick.

The stats are staggering, the 7-Super Bowl rings, the 5-Super Bowl MVP honors, the 3-MVP awards.  The NFL records of wins, yards, touchdowns and more.

He leads the league in virtually every category passing the football over his electric 22-year career in New England and Tampa Bay.

But it wasn’t easy for him to get where he wound up.  He was lightly recruited out of Northern California, by of all people, then Michigan assistant coach Brady Hoke, now at San Diego State.  Hoke said he was a bad athlete, but could really spin the ball.  No one could project his football IQ to be in another galaxy..

He went to Michigan, sat for 2-years, then wound up playing because of injuries and put together  pedestrian stats at a school that ran the ball.

He was ignored in the NFL, going only 199th, in the 6th round to New England.

Mike Riley, then Chargers head coach, pleaded with Bobby Beathard to draft him, but he did not.  San Diego’s loss.  Lots of New England wins over the next 20-years.

Brady is the rare exception of a quarterback.  Self made.  Fiery.  Smart.  A workout psych.l  He had a strong arm, was amazingly accurate.  He was lucky too, having just 1-major injury in 22-years of hits.

He wound up with two tours of duty with Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels, a bright light thinking man, whose IQ is probably equal to the quarterback he was coaching ‘hard’ every minute of everyday.

Add in playing for Belichick’s defensive dynasties over the years, and you understand how good they could be.  A + B = C.   Offensive-defensive-Super Bowls.

Was he pushy, yes.  But he became a magnet for aging players, who wanted a chance to win a Super Bowl, so thus troublemakers like Randy Moss and Corey Dillon showed up and played well with Brady leading their huddle.

Age and the salary cap led to him leaving New England and winding up with another mad scientist coach in Tampa Bay’s Bruce Arians.  In two years, at age 43-and-44, Tom Braddy threw for 9500-yards and 74-TDs in his two falls on the Suncoast.

The outpouring of accolades will be sure to come as he heads off to his next career.

It was strange though, he wrote a 947-word instagram announcing his retirement, all of it saying thanks to Tampa Bay.  Not one word in that farewell statement about New England.

Hours later he wrote just 9-words of thanks to the Patriots Nation.

Owner Robert Kraft was effusive in his praise of the quarterback, the player, the person.  Not a word from Bill Belichick yet, though in his stylle, typical ‘cold as ice’ about all things emotion, but strange still.

He leaves with all those records, the rings, the adulation, and 453M he made in salary and endorsements.

Not bad for someone no one paid attention to, didn’t want to draft with a throwaway draft pick, and proceeded to watch him establish records of accomplishments no one will ever-ever break.

In an NFL that has given us the likes of Joe Montana and Johnny Unitas, Dan Marino-Brett Favre-Peyton Manning, this guy wearing number #12-surpassed them all.

Tom Terrific.  Only way to describe what we just saw from Tom Brady.

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