Say what you want about Tom Brady’s skill set or athleticism at this point in his career, but one thing that hasn’t waned is his competitiveness.
Brady’s skill set is still pretty darn good and he proved Sunday he’s still got some athleticism left, but both of those things still pale in comparison to his desire to succeed. The New England Patriots quarterback showed how bad he wanted it in the second half when he scampered out of the pocket and lowered his shoulder against a Miami Dolphins safety on a big run.
In addition to the emotionally charged 17-yard pickup, Brady also rallied the troops with more of his signature yelling and screaming on the sideline — even as the Patriots started to pull away.
“I wanted more points. That’s what I wanted,” he said Monday morning on WEEI radio. “We had a bad first half, and we kind of exploded there in the second half. I really wanted to drive the nail in the coffin. I think we were all pretty disappointed by the first half and wanted to have a great second half. We had a good third quarter, and I really wanted us to finish strong with a great fourth quarter. We tried, we made some plays, got down there somewhat close and then couldn’t convert on the third down, which I would have loved to have done.
“Every time we take the field we’re trying to score. I don’t think we ever take the pedal off the metal until there’s no time left in the game. Especially against a team that beat us before and we’ve always had tough games against. And they’re a good defense, so it was good to put up 41 on them.”
The kicking and screaming apparently worked. Brady and the Patriots outscored the Dolphins 27-0 in the second half on the way to a 41-13 win and yet another AFC East title for New England.
