Tom Brady Posts On 20th Anniversary Of Being 199th Pick: 'Nope I Haven't Forgot'
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- April 16 is the most important date in Patriots history. Without question.
It was on April 16, 1952 that Steve and Jeannette Belichick welcomed their only child, William, to the world.
And it was on April 16, 2000, that William Stephen Belichick made the choice at No. 199 overall to select one Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. in the NFL Draft.
No two people have ever influenced a football franchise quite like those two men did from 2000-19.
Of course, when the Patriots made that pick, it wasn't exactly major news. A sixth-round selection of a quarterback for a team that employed Drew Bledsoe didn't really register on most fans' minds. But as the great Bob Neumeier said at the start of the video playing above, "These later-round picks can make a difference if your scouting department is sharp and you can get a little lucky."
The Patriots certainly got lucky that no other team in the first 198 spots of that draft liked what they saw out of Brady during his career at Michigan. Really, Brady should have gotten more shine, after leading the Wolverines to an Orange Bowl victory over Alabama and a Citrus Bowl win over Arkansas the year before. Brady's college stats (61.5 percent completion rate, 4,644 yards, 30 TDs, 17 INTs in his junior and senior seasons) weren't eye-popping, but his physical frame and performance for a big-time program in a big-time conference should have been enough to convince teams that he was better than, say, Spergon Wynn.
Alas, fate worked out for the Patriots that day, and the rest is history. Unprecedented history, to be precise.
This is fun to watch, knowing what we know now:
"Accurate. Throws a very catchable ball. He really knows when to take a little off as well. That's the key. And he stands in that pocket, very tough. He'll take a hit. The question is going to be mobility. He only runs a 5.25 40, and of course when you have those edge pass rushers, you have to avoid the initial defensive end, the initial pass rusher. Can he do that at the pro level? Going to New England -- Drew Bledsoe, his forte certainly isn't mobility. It's dropping back and throwing the football. Brady can do that and certainly New England's offense is already designed for Bledsoe. Now comes Brady. Can he overcome that lack of mobility?"
Mel Kiper Jr., take a bow. That's a rather perfect assessment of Brady, who ended up answering with a resounding "yes" on that mobility question.
And on Thursday, Brady hopped on to his Instagram page to let the world know that he hasn't forgotten that he was the seventh quarterback selected in that draft.
Brady of course reflected on this draft in "The Brady Six," an NFL Films documentary that aired in 2011.
That documentary aired when Brady was merely a three-time Super Bowl champion, long before his late-career run that made him a six-time Super Bowl champion.
While the miscues of every other NFL team (and the Patriots, for five rounds) are plainly obvious, we'll nevertheless do this, just for fun.
Tom Brady, Career Stats
219-64 record, 283 starts
63.8 percent completion rate
74,571 passing yards
541 TDs, 179 INTs
97.0 passer ratingCombined Career Stats Of Chad Pennington, Giovanni Carmazzi, Chris Redman, Tee Martin, Marc Bulger, And Spergon Wynn**
89-102 record, 191 starts
62.8 percent completion rate (3,963-for-6,310)
44,470 yards†
246 TDs, 179 INTs†
85.0 passer ratingTom Brady Postseason Stats
30-11 record, 41 starts
63.0 percent completion rate (6,377-for-9,988)
11,388 passing yards
73 TDs, 35 INTs
89.8 passer rating
Six Super Bowl wins, four Super Bowl MVPsCombined Career Postseason Stats Of Pennington, Carmazzi, Redman, Martin, Bulger, And Wynn†
3-6 record, 9 starts
60.8 percent completion rate (200-for-329)
2,362 passing yards
12 TDs, 13 INTs
0 Super Bowls, 0 Super Bowl MVPs**Giovanni Carmazzi, the 65th overall pick by Brady's hometown 49ers, compiled no stats during his brief NFL career. Tee Martin (the 163rd overall pick) started zero games and threw just 16 passes in his NFL career, completing six of them. Spergon Wynn (No. 183 overall) started just three games, throwing one touchdown and seven interceptions.
† Chad Pennington and Marc Bulger account for 91 percent of these passing yards and touchdown numbers. Pennington and Bulger account for 100 percent of the playoff stats.
So there. If anybody ever argues with you that other NFL teams did not make a major goof when they passed on Tom Brady or opted for Tee Martin over Tom Brady, you now have the statistics to defeat them in your argument. Armed with those stats, you can probably win your fight.
Brady, as you've likely heard by now, is still continuing his mythical NFL quest, only he'll now be doing it for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He already outlasted every other quarterback drafted in 2000, with only Pennington (2010), Bulger (2010) and Redman (2011) lasting more than a few years in the league. Yet he remains determined -- even in his 40s, even after accomplishing literally everything there is to accomplish in the sport -- to "prove people wrong." What that means at this point in time is anybody's guess, but that long, long wait on draft weekend in 2000 has clearly driven him and even still drives him to this day.
Whatever Brady accomplishes or doesn't accomplish during the Tampa era of his career, there will never be any doubt that he and Belichick changed the Patriots franchise ever when they joined forces on April 16, 2000, a day that changed Patriots and NFL history forever.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
