BSJ Oral History: Tom Brady's first NFL start, 16 years ago this week

FOXBOROUGH -- Before there were banners, rings or even Gillette Stadium, there was 0-2.

It’s not hyperbolic to suggest that three games into the 2001 season, the Patriots were in trouble. They had lost their starting quarterback. They had lost their first two games to open the season. And they were set to face the Colts and Peyton Manning, a team that had scored 87 points in their first two games that year.

But 16 years ago this week, second-year quarterback Tom Brady — who had already made it known to some of his teammates he should have already been No. 1 quarterback — made the first start of his NFL career. It was one of the handful of moments that helped jumpstart that amazing season, and set the stage for the current New England dynasty. What follows is an oral history of that week leading up to that memorable game, as well as some memories of the contest from those who were on the scene.

Of course, Brady saw significant snaps for the first time in his career the week before, after Drew Bledsoe was knocked out of the game the week before against the Jets. Brady nearly engineered a late comeback, only to fall just short as time ran out.

Levan Reid, journalist: “After the game when Bledsoe got hurt, everybody was saying, ‘Man, I hope this isn’t going to be ‘The Brady Bunch.’ That’s what the headline was going to read if that was going to happen. But I remember doing the Sunday night show — I think it was Ty Law who came in — and he said, ‘Look, Brady is going to be fine.’ He told us at the time that Brady and (Bill) Belichick had been doing these Tuesday or Wednesday meetings, even though he was the backup, where they were getting together when they were going over different things because the quarterback coach (Dick Rehbein) had passed away. ‘Brady’s going to be fine.’ That’s what Ty said.”

Defensive end Willie McGinest: ”We felt then, 'We'll be all right with this kid,' when he first got in there against the Jets, just by the way he came in and finished that game strong.”

Running back Kevin Faulk: “The Monday after the loss to the Jets, Bill stood in front of the team and said, ‘Hey guys, our quarterback is injured, we’re going to go with Tom. But the expectations from me and the coaching staff aren’t going to change. The goal will remain the same.”

Offensive lineman Damien Woody: “We were just coming off a 5-11 season, and here we are, sitting at 0-2. It was like, ‘Man, if we get to 0-3, this could get ugly.’ But if Bill or anyone else was really nervous about the situation, they didn’t show it. The bottom line was that Bill wasn’t going to let the situation become an excuse for other guys who might not go out there and perform. ‘We’re not going to tall about the guys who are injured. We’re going to focus on the guys who are out there playing.’”

In his first press conference that week — held that same Monday as Belichick’s talk to the team — Brady walked in, dropped his book bag and grabbed the podium with two hands. Sporting a backward baseball cap, he said with a smile, “Who wants to shoot?” He was relaxed and poised; when he was asked if there was any fear about nerves, he reminded reporters he played in front of crowds of roughly 100,000 as a collegian at Michigan.

Brady, 9/24/01: “Over the last seven or eight months, I have really worked hard to put myself in a position where if I am called upon to go in there and play I am very capable of doing that. Whatever the situation is next Sunday, like I said, I am going to be ready to go. Certainly Indy is a great team and we will be ready for them.”

Faulk: “I can remember a lot of older guys on the roster talking about how they had to rally around this guy. ‘We’re 0-2, but we can make a name for ourselves this week if we play well.’ I remember more than a couple of guys saying, ‘All he has to do is to manage the game. We can’t lose this game for him as a team.’ Because even though it was only his second year, you knew and understood what kind of kid he was. What type of player he was. He was a smart guy, even back then, and he would do whatever it took to protect the game.”

Woody: “It was just like, as an offensive line, let’s make sure we do everything within our power to put him in the best possible position to succeed. Belichick is always all about ‘Do Your Job.’ What we had to do was make sure we did our job to the point where he didn’t have that load on his shoulders. We wanted to set the tone in that game. And the focus that whole week in practice was really laser sharp for a few reasons. You had 0-3 staring you in the face. You have a new quarterback who was starting for the first time. But even with all that, we had been on the cusp of breaking through over the last year-plus. We don’t have to do anything really big. Just the little fundamental things.”

One thing everyone pretty much knew? There was not going to be a quarterback controversy between Brady and Damon Huard.

Reid: “That week, we went in to talk to Damon Huard, and we asked him if he was upset he didn’t have the job of starter. He said ‘Look, I lost this job long before this week. I lost this job in training camp. I got there a couple of days late, and there was this guy, 12, on the field, and he was ordering everyone around. That’s when I knew I should stick to being the No. 3 guy.’”

Woody: “Basically, the team had to make a decision — if we don’t want to be 0-3, we have to buy into this guy Brady as the starter.”

Brady, 9/24/01: “You certainly hope (your teammates) respect you when you get in the huddle. Like I said, I approach things one way, and that is with everything I have got. If guys see that and they want to follow you, great. And if they don’t, then maybe you have to re-evaluate your leadership style. I certainly hope that — I don’t hope — either you have got it or you don’t.”

One of those older guys Faulk referenced was linebacker Bryan Cox. Cox was an energy guy, a veteran who brought an edge to New England. A relatively late addition, his presence stunned some folks on the roster, especially when he upended things among the linebackers.

Linebacker Matt Chatham: “We already had our linebacker room, or so we thought. Cox and Roman Phifer were two guys who were signed relatively late. But the thing that struck me about Cox — and I kind of gravitated toward this — was that he was kind of out there. The first time we all noticed that was in a preseason game in Tampa Bay. During warmups, he stood up in front of the stretch lines and danced to ‘In The Air Tonight.’ This was a new dude who had already done a lot in the league, and he was standing there in front of the stretch line as a knighted captain who a lot of people in our linebacker room didn’t know yet. But for some reason, when that song came on and the drum solo part came up — and that’s a hair-standing-up-on-the-back-of-your-neck thing at that part if the song — he does the air drum solo. It was wild. I don’t ever remember being that excited for a preseason game. I remember being like, ‘This dude is a nut, but I like it. This is going to work.’”

But after an 0-2 start and the injury to Bledsoe, some were dubious, especially when you consider the opponent. But in the days leading up to the game, Cox delivered an outrageous, R-rated assessment to some reporters about his feelings toward the Indy and Manning. The PG version? He wasn't the sort of guy to compliment the other quarterback just because he was playing well. He also added — among other things — that the Colts “put their pants on just like we put our pants on. We can compete. We can play. We can win. I’m looking to knock Peyton’s head off.” In hindsight, his outrageousness with the media took some of the heat off Brady. Asked about those statements at last year’s Super Bowl, Cox just smiled.

Cox: “The only thing I remember about it was that Peyton Manning and the Colts were coming in, the highest-scoring offense in the league at the time. And I was just going to make sure we were going to do our jobs on defense and played as hard as we could.”

McGinest: “Our job was to make sure that we had a chance to win that game on defense and that it didn't get out of control because Tom wasn't playing against Peyton, we were. Peyton is always a tough challenge for a defense."

It was a slightly cloudy and overcast afternoon. The game got off to a rocky start for Brady, as he was sacked on his first play. In the first quarter, with the game still in the balance, Indy receiver Jerome Pathon came over the middle on a crossing route. He was clocked by Cox. It would not only go down as a game-changing moment, but a seminal moment for that team. The defense was not to be trifled with.

Cox: “That lick came (out) to be a really good one.”

Chatham: “That hit really showed an intimidation factor that was present on that defense. Not just Cox, but Willie and Lawyer (Milloy) and (Tedy) Bruschi, all flying around and making plays. Tebucky (Jones) was one of the biggest safeties in the league. Otis (Smith) was a big cornerback. There was a real aggressiveness about that group. And that hit was part of it — I think that edge we had with guys like Bryan, that continued throughout the year. It was a pretty dramatic moment.”

Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis: “That established a new era of toughness on this team that probably had been lacking prior to that hit.

After he was sacked on the first play, Brady settled in nicely, and while his numbers weren’t overwhelming, he executed the game plan really well. He went 13-of-23 for 168 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions, but got an impressive performance from Antowain Smith, who ended with 177 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile, Smith and Law returned interceptions for touchdowns.

Woody: “We feel like we needed to exert our physicality — that was the big thing to me because we had the inexperience at the quarterback position. We had to set the tempo up front, and with the run game. That was just a big-time emphasis for us. We wanted to control the clock, the time of possession, and to control the line. We wanted to put him in positions to succeed. And boy, did we get after people with Antowain Smith. We were just tossing people around left and right up front. A really, really fun game.”

Reid: “We talk about game management with Alex Smith? Brady was the original game manager that afternoon.”

After the game, Brady was quick to credit Drew Bledsoe.

Brady: “The one thing he told me was, ‘Tom, the most important thing for you to do today is to go out there and smile and have fun. You’re as prepared as you could be. I have a ton of confidence in you and just got out there and having fun. Let everything else take care of itself.’ That’s kind of the way it worked out.”

The rest, as they say, is history. The Patriots won, 44-13. There was no 0-3. And Brady would go on to become an NFL legend. That afternoon, Brady was given the game ball by Belichick, and the quarterback ended up shipping it to his since-deceased quarterbacking guru, Tom Martinez, who passed away in 2012. The ball has the inscription: “Coach Martinez, Thanks. The first of many. 9/30/01 — Patriots 44, Colts 13 — Tom Brady #12.”