Sports are a unique roller coaster ride that we gladly stand in line for week after week. We sit down and buckle up because we never know what is going to happen. That’s the excitement of athletics; anything can happen. Let me give you the run-down every other week, so those of you who have no idea what is happening can at least get a summary from a fanatic like me. You may be thinking, “But she’s a girl… she doesn’t know what is going on.” Yes, I am a girl, and yes, I know what I am talking about.
January 18, 2015 marked the date of the AFC Championship Game between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. Everyone remembers the game because it was a stepping stone for New England on their way to the Super Bowl. The controversy that arose after the game saw Tom Brady and his team being accused of deflating the balls. In other words, the footballs were underinflated, which is cheating.
The nation nicknamed it Deflategate. When the National Football League officially looked into the matter, they found that all 11 of the Patriots’ footballs were underinflated. After over a year of legal proceedings, Tom Brady was suspended from the first four games of this season.
ESPN dedicated a page to countdown to when Brady will be reinstated and back on the field. Patriot fans have been holding out for this day and it finally arrived. Suspension does not mean solely that Brady could not play. According to the NFL suspension rules he could not go anywhere near the team’s facility. This may sound simple, but it prevented Brady from going to Gillette Stadium, going to team meetings and it even prevented him from communicating with any of his teammates or Patriots staff until his suspension was lifted. He was left to stay in shape and practice on his own. A tweet from John Breech gives some insight into how Brady was getting some practice in during these past four weeks
Courtesy: John Breech
In the first two games of the season, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick stacked his team behind Jimmy Garoppolo in his first ever NFL start. He, along with Belichick’s coaching, led the team to a 23-21 win. During week 3 Belichick let rookie Jacoby Brissett start against the Texans. The Patriots shut out Texas 27-0. Although the Patriots have been able to hold their own for the first part of the season with a 3-1 record, everyone has been waiting for this weekend. Tom Brady has accumulated over 58,028 passing yards, 428 touchdowns, 4,953 completions and 47 fourth-quarter comebacks during his time in the NFL.
This past Sunday the New England Patriots played the Cleveland Browns. Some of the predictions for the game were Pats 34 – Browns 17 (Mike Reiss) and Pats 31 – Browns 13 (Pat McManamon). The Patriots kicked off against the Cleveland Browns at 1 pm this past Sunday and Tom Brady was revved up and ready to go. The Pats offense gained more yards in the first half of the game than they did in the entire game two weeks prior when they played the Buffalo Bills. Brady did not play with a chip on his shoulder, but he did show the world he is definitely back in full force with a decisive 33-13 win over the Browns. Welcome back Brady; the football world has missed you.