So when the coach pulled Tom Brady in favor of Brian Hoyer in the second quarter, only to insert Brady at quarterback in the second half, many were left to wonder what was going on. When Brady was again pulled with less than two minutes remaining and the Patriots trailing by a touchdown, just about everyone was further confused.
On Monday, Brady tried to explain the situation.
"Coach had talked throughout the week that Brian was gonna get some experience this game," Brady said on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan Show. "That was good experience for him in the second quarter and at the end of the game. [It was] just kind of one of those situations where he wanted to see how he did in there."
That much seemed obvious from afar, but when Brady was taken out of the game for the last time after he took a heavy hit from Pro Bowler Mario Williams, it seemed just as obvious that Belichick ultimately decided that he wanted to keep his quarterback from getting hurt. Brady said that wasn't the case.
"Different guys rotated throughout the day on offense and defense," Brady said on WEEI. "Everyone got a lot of good experience in there.
"I think if there was a real strong conviction for us to go out there and win that game at that point, we would have," he added. "But [the playoff picture and seeding] was so undecided anyway. … I think if we were selling out, I would have been in there."
Brady's explanation works — to an extent. The idea that Belichick and the coaching staff wanted to see how Hoyer responded to game situations is logical, but rotation is rarely seen at the quarterback position. When you're out, typically, you're out.
An alternate theory is that Belichick, after seeing Wes Welker suffer a season-ending injury in the opening series, had some concern that he'd lose Brady as well. Certainly, when the television cameras caught Belichick on the phone with the training staff, it was as concerned a face as the coach has shown in his 10 seasons in New England. Obviously, Belichick was worried about Welker, and he may have reacted accordingly.
If that was the case and Brady was just covering for his head coach, it's only fair. Belichick has rarely, if ever, spoken out against any of his players, no matter what the situation. For that matter, even Brady has held his tongue when talking about underpeforming teammates — evidenced this year by his mostly inoccuous comments about Joey Galloway, who was, in a word, terrible.
Ultimately, that represents a culture in Foxborough that is the reason that other franchises look to the Patriots as a model. In the game of football, mistakes are made by coaches and players. That much is unavoidable. But the response to any errors or lapses of judgment is what defines a successful team.
It's hard to say the Patriots are favorites to go deep into the playoffs, but the winning culture is still very much alive and well.
