The Hit That Changed The Patriots Franchise

Drew Bledsoe hit by Mo Lewis

During the 6th round of the 2000 NFL draft when the New England Patriots pick was coming up no one Pats fan cared or probably new anything about this skinny qurterback out of Michigan.  Especially when the Patriots had there franchise QB in Drew Bledsoe under center.  Considering that Brady was pick 199 people looked at it and probably laughed saying ok cool this is our backup QB for the next 4 years or so.  Little day Pats fans know that on week 2 of the 2001 season Mo Lewis, linebacker of the New York Jets at old Foxborough Stadium in New England absolutley clobbered Drew Bledsoe out of bounds and made him so dillusion that he was just instantly out of it the second he got hit.  Lewis just didn't nail Bledsoe as many fans in the upper sections of the stadium that night said they could hear the hit, but he hit him upright which is not a fun place to be hit.  Bledsoe right away was dealing with some internal bleeding.

That night was the beginning of the career of Tom Brady.  Brady that season in 2001 lead the Pats to a Super Bowl victory in big upset form over the St. Louis Rams when Adam Vinetairi hit a game winning field goal down in the New Orleans Superdome.  Brady's great 2 minute drive lead to that field goal and won him MVP of that game.  In 2003 Brady won another Super Bowl MVP with the same result in an Adam V game winning field goal against the Carolina Panthers at Reliant Stadium in Houston, TX.  And the last time the Patriots won a Super Bowl was against the Philadelhia Eagles in Jacksonville, FL back in 2004.  Brady and the Patriots lost their 17-0 perfect record in the last two minutes back in 2007 against the underdog New York Giants at the University of Phoenix Stadium, in Phoenix, AZ.  Brady has also won two MVP awards in 2007, and 2010.  He will go down as one of if not the greatest QB of all time.  And don't forget that Drew Bledsoe's career did not end after that hit as he bounced back and had 5 more NFL season after the 2001 season.  He played 3 seasons with the Buffalo Bills and 2 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys all after his illustrious 9 seasons with the Patriots after being drafted in 1993.

Tom Brady winning first Super Bowl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNzd9Xd0who
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX9r6n-OOR4