Tuesday, January 29, 2002
Brady or Bledsoe? Belichick will wait
Patriots coach mum on his decision
By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEW ORLEANS — New England coach Bill Belichick will wait until after Wednesday's practice to announce whether Tom Brady or Drew Bledsoe will start at quarterback, extending the Super Bowl's first quarterback controversy for two more days.
“I'm not in a position to do it now,” Belichick said Monday, just minutes after the Patriots arrived in New Orleans to prepare for Sunday's Super Bowl game against the St. Louis Rams. “If I could tell you something and say I'm 100 percent, I would tell you.”
Brady, who is 13-3 as a starter, suffered a high ankle sprain in the second quarter of the Patriots' AFC Championship Game victory Sunday at Pittsburgh. Bledsoe threw for 102 yards and a touchdown in relief of Brady.
Bledsoe was 0-2 as a starter before suffering internal injuries against the Jets. By the time he was activated seven games later, Brady had gone 5-2 and won the job.
Belichick said Brady could have gone back into the title game Sunday but declined to discuss the injury in any detail.
“He has a sprained ankle,” he said. “We're not even 24 hours after the game. It's too early to comment on those things.”
Asked if Brady had had an MRI, Belichick said, “Not that I'm aware of.”
Belichick appears to be leaning toward the second-year quarterback from Michigan for the Super Bowl. At one point during his news conference, Belichick said, “I didn't say I would make (his decision) Wednesday. I said I'd announce it Wednesday.”
By delaying his announcement, Belichick will be able to see how Brady is moving around Wednesday during the week's first practice. Belichick also will avoid upsetting Bledsoe by not having to reverse his announcement if Brady isn't healthy enough to play.
Neither Brady nor Bledsoe was available to the media Monday. The Patriots arrived back in Boston at 11 p.m. Sunday. They arrived here at 2 p.m. New Orleans time Monday, leaving behind assistant coaches to finish the game plan for the heavily favored Rams.
Patriots players who spoke to reporters Monday at the Fairmont Hotel were wide receiver Troy Brown, defensive backs Ty Law and Lawyer Milloy, guard Mike Compton and linebacker Tedy Bruschi, who said, “I talked to Tom on the bus. He said he's feeling good. It's a little swollen.”
Said Brown: “I don't get involved in those decisions. Players play and coaches coach. (Belichick) does what he thinks gives us the best chance to win, and we go out and play. It's never been a distraction. It wasn't a distraction when he named Brady. It's not going to be a distraction now.”
Brown, who was drafted by the Patriots the same year as Bledsoe, 1993, also said he wasn't surprised how well Bledsoe played when called upon Sunday.
It's clear Patriots offensive players appreciate the skills of both quarterbacks. But there's a sense among them that Brady is the one who lit the fuse that burned into their surprising ride to the Super Bowl.
Brady threw for 2,843 yards and 18 touchdowns in 14 starts.
The 1968 Baltimore Colts headed into Super Bowl III with the closest thing the Super Bowl had previously seen to a quarterback controversy.
The Colts had the NFL's last two MVPs on their roster, quarterbacks Johnny Unitas (1967) and Earl Morrall ('68). Morrall started against the Jets but threw three first-half interceptions. Uni tas, who had missed much of the season with a sore throwing elbow, replaced Morrall in the second half but was ineffective.
In 1990, the New York Giants lost Phil Simms to injury late in the season. Jeff Hostetler replaced Simms, who wasn't healthy enough to play in the postseason, and led the Giants to the Super Bowl XXV victory over Buffalo. Belichick was the Giants' defensive coordinator that year.
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Brady or Bledsoe? Belichick will wait
