The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: Tom Brady

  • Patriots dynasty a ticking time bomb

    Patriots dynasty a ticking time bomb

    The New England Patriots have established a dynasty unlike any other team in the National Football League over the past 20 years.

    However, all great things must come to and end.

    For the Patriots, the end means kicking down the door.

    We have all seen the numbers: five Super Bowl wins, seven Super Bowl appearances, 12 American Football Conference titles and 15 divisional titles.

    Dominance like this in professional football is unheard of. The Patriots got extremely lucky back in 2001 when Drew Bledsoe’s injury made way for an unknown quarterback from the University of Michigan to step onto the field.

    The NFL was changed forever.

    Tom Brady’s legacy as the best quarterback in football history cannot be mentioned without saying the name Bill Belichick, a strategic genius who always knows the perfect counter to an opponent’s game plan. Bellchick is the peanut butter to Brady’s jelly.

    Brady and Belichick hoarded wins, championships and individual honors together, including Most Valuable Player awards for Brady and Coach of the Year honors for Belichick. If you look closely, though, the Patriots’ recent loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII marks the beginning of the end of the dynasty for a number of reasons.

    Brady is getting old. According to an opinion written in the Boston Globe, quarterbacks usually peak in their 20’s. If this is correct, that was 20 years ago for Tom Brady. So the likelihood of injuries becoming a factor increases exponentially with each passing week.

    Brady has already suffered a major knee injury in 2008 to go along with the normal trauma suffered in the NFL. Seventeen years is a long time to get hit by giant humans trained in the art of sacking quarterbacks. Father Time is still undefeated, no matter how many life-changing TB12 shakes Brady drinks.

    Secondly, it seems that the equilibrium established inside the Patriots organization has been thrown out of whack. An infamously private team, the Patriots have only let two scandals distract them from putting the NFL in a sleeper-hold: Deflategate and Spygate.

    As reported by Seth Wickersham, Belichick and Brady have been in a silent power struggle for who will be the man taking the credit for their unprecedented triumphs.

    The cracks in the relationship show mostly when looking at the Jimmy Garoppolo trade. Brady went over Belichick’s head directly to owner Robert Kraft about trading his successor.

    This means that Belichick didn’t want to let go of Garoppolo and Brady was threatened by this. Kraft choosing to side with Brady shows that the tug of war between the two titans has ended in another victory for number 12. Coach Belichick doesn’t get to share this one.

    Belichick will run to the green pastures of retirement as soon as Brady stops leading the Patriots to big games in the post-season. Marking the end to a true dynasty, one unlikely to be repeated in our lifetime.

  • Tom Brady is the G.O.A.T.

    Tom Brady is the G.O.A.T.

    NFL fans are one week away from the Super Bowl clash between the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles in what will mark the eighth time in 16 years that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will be the starter in the big game.

    It is time to end the debate: Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback in NFL history, and his case is only going to get stronger.

    In the NFL, there are players who play over a decade without ever reaching the Super Bowl, let alone players who spend their entire careers chasing that beloved trophy.

    Brady has been to eight now. At this point, his appearance in the game has become more of an expectation than a surprise.

    The University of Michigan alumnus has accomplished unimaginable things during his time in the NFL: five Super Bowls, four Super Bowl MVPs, two regular season MVPs, 13 Pro Bowl selections and three first-team All-Pro selections.

    Since taking over the starting quarterback job for the Patriots during week two of the 2001 season, Brady has never missed the playoffs (the Pats did not make the playoffs during the 2008 season when Brady suffered a torn ACL during week one).

    In addition, Brady has appeared in each of the past seven AFC championship games and has gone to the Super Bowl in four of those years.

    Up until last year, Brady seemed to be embedded under Joe Montana as the second best quarterback to ever play. But that was before his epic 25-point comeback over Matt Ryan and the Falcons, which was by far the largest comeback in Super Bowl history.

    With his all-time leading fifth Super Bowl victory on the line, Brady’s Patriots were down 28-3 with two minutes and eight seconds left in the third quarter.

    Brady, the former sixth-round pick, responded by turning in possibly his best performance ever by throwing for 466 yards (a Super Bowl record) and two touchdowns to shock the Falcons in overtime.

    Last year’s game may have cemented Brady to be above the rest, but this year’s matchup with Philadelphia is shaping up to be a phenominal encore.

    This season’s Eagles is perhaps the best team that Brady has faced in the Super Bowl so far, as they are the only team to face him with a top-five offense and defense.

    While New England is a five-point favorite, many experts are predicting an Eagles upset due to their high-scoring offensive attack, led by quarterback Nick Foles, and the Eagles’ stout defense.

    If the past is any indication, Brady will overcome this upcoming obstacle and win his sixth Super Bowl ring, which will end all discussions about who the greatest of all time is.

    At this point, it’s not even a race, Brady is just running on his own.

  • Like a fine wine, Brady passes Manning in the record books

    When will people stop doubting New England Patriots QB Tom Brady after one bad performance? It’s time to take the man at his word. If he can’t play well, he will retire.

    After last weeks abysmal game, talk of Brady’s retirement stirred up once again, but after shredding the Saints defense in week 2 the talk should stop. Brady threw for his third largest yard total of his career (447) in the regular season while adding three touchdowns and zero interceptions for the 52nd time in his career, passing up Peyton Manning for the all-time record.

    The Saints defense was riddled with holes, and the Patriots took advantage of every opportunity. Saints QB Drew Brees was unable to keep pace with the ageless wonder Brady, despite leading his team to over 420 total yards.

    Raiders win 45-20 over Jets

    Hyphey Mode was on full display Sunday as Raiders running back, Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch showed his dance moves on the Oakland sidelines, pumping up the crowd during their team’s 25-point romping of the Jets.

    Lynch showed he still has some gas left in his tank, rushing for 45-yards and a score. Raiders QB Derek Carr connected with his favorite target, wide-out Michael Crabtree for three touchdowns. The Raiders look like one of the favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl this year.

    Chiefs win 27-20 over Eagles

    Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt had only 7 yards at the halfway mark of Sunday’s game, but he exploded for a 53-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, which gave the Chiefs control of the game. The Chiefs D had 6 sacks with three from DE Chris Jones.

    New Eagles kicker, Jake Elliot, missed a 30-yard field goal in the first half and QB Carson Wentz threw a game changing interception in the fourth quarter. The AFC West will be fun to watch with three teams in serious contention for a championship.

    Seahawks win 12-9 over 49ers

    After a weak showing by the Seattle offense in week 1, the 49ers were supposed to be an easy bounce back opponent. They were anything but, sacking QB Russell Wilson three times and holding Seattle’s offense out of the end zone until Wilson’s game winning touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter.

    49ers RB Carlos Hyde, was a rare bright spot for San Francisco. He gained 124 yards on 15 rushes for 8.3 yards per carry against Seattle’s elite defensive front.

    Dolphins win over Chargers 19-17

    The San Diego ― I mean Los Angeles Chargers ― have to be the unluckiest franchise in all of sports. Just six days since last week’s blocked kick, after being iced by Broncos coach Vance Joseph, Chargers kicker Younghoe Koo got another chance Sunday. After watching the 44-yard game winning field goal sail right, Charger fans have to be asking themselves “Why me?”

    The loss dropped the Chargers to 4-11 in one score games since the start of the 2016 season and 7-20 in such games since 2015. San Diego Charger fans that left the team have to be laughing to themselves a little bit.

    Dolphins QB Jay Cutler had a positive debut for his new team, throwing for over 200 yards and a score. The story was the workload of RB Jay Ajayi. He carried the ball a season high (for all running backs) 28 times for 128 yards. The Dolphins look like the only real competition in the AFC East for the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots.

    Week 2 Final Scores

    Texans 13 Bengals 9

    Ravens 24 Browns 10

    Steelers 26 Vikings 9

    Titans 37 Jaguars 16

    Cardinals 16 Colts 13

    Panthers 9 Bills 3

    Redskins 27 Rams 20

    Broncos 42 Cowboys 17

    Falcons 34 Packers 23

    Lions 24 Giants 10