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What if Drew Bledsoe didn't get injured in 2001?
If Drew Bledsoe avoids injury in 2001, do Tom Brady and Bill Belichick elevate to legend status? Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

By Sam Quinn

My football life was ruined forever on Sept. 23, 2001. Drew Bledsoe dropped back to pass. Drew Bledsoe scrambled out of the pocket. Drew Bledsoe attempted to gain a few yards on the ground. Drew Bledsoe got slammed to the ground by Mo Lewis. Drew Bledsoe had internal bleeding and would miss several weeks. Tom Brady entered the game for New England. Tom Brady still hasn’t left.

It was the single most significant moment of the 21st century in the NFL. It changed the entire landscape of the NFL, turned the moribund Patriots into a dynasty, and has affected the outcome of every single season since. It’s impossible to imagine an NFL without Brady now, but in 2001 his appearance was completely out of left field. He came because of a horrible, random accident. He stayed because he was one of the finest quarterbacks in NFL history. But the fact remains, if Bledsoe never got hurt, the Brady era would have never happened.

So, what if Drew Bledsoe didn’t get hurt in 2001?

Bledsoe’s style isn’t a good fit for the cautious 2001 Patriots. His low completion percentage stalls drives before they really start, his added interceptions give the opposition free possessions, and he robs the Patriots of all the magic that made them great with Brady. They go 7–9 in 2001, but Bledsoe’s cumbersome contract makes it impossible to really improve the roster.

Things begin to simmer beneath the surface in 2002. After a 2–4 start and Bledsoe’s continued decline, Bill Belichick starts to seriously consider benching him in favor of Brady. Owner Robert Kraft, however, not keen on giving ANY coach too much room to buy groceries, tells Belichick to stick with Bledsoe. The result is a mess. Bledsoe and Brady both start games down the stretch, both struggle under the inconsistent conditions, New England goes 6–10, and Belichick is fired at the end of the season.

Luckily for Belichick, his old mentor Bill Parcells accepted the head coaching job in Dallas and happily brings him on his defensive coordinator. Behind Belichick’s defense, Dallas goes 10–6 and makes the playoffs, losing in the first round to Carolina but showing the league that the Cowboys are back. The problem? Quincy Carter is barely a passable starting quarterback. Parcells and Belichick know that they can’t move forward with Carter, so they scout the rest of the league for a new quarterback to replace him.

Eventually, Belichick sets his sights on his former quarterback in New England: Tom Brady. The Patriots spend the 2003 season (coached by Lovie Smith) flip-flopping between Brady and Bledsoe once again and ultimately decide to make a choice in the offseason and stick to it. Kraft favors Bledsoe, and negotiates with Parcells on a deal for Brady before Smith ultimately convinces him to give Brady a full season. Bledsoe is dealt to Jon Gruden in Tampa, and Brady gets the fair shake as a starter Belichick knew he deserved. The Cowboys end up settling for Vinny Testaverde.

The 2004 season is a disaster all around. Lovie’s overly conservative philosophy and Brady’s lack of weapons (and years of inconsistent reps and shaken confidence) ruin any chance the offense had, and despite a strong defense New England goes 7–9. Dallas goes 6–10 with Testaverde and fans slowly begin calling for impressive young backup Tony Romo. Bledsoe bombs in Tampa and retires at the end of the year.

Despite Brady’s relative youth, the Patriots decide to be proactive with their quarterback situation and move up in the draft to select Miami of Ohio quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Brady goes into the 2005 season as a lame duck, starting only five games before being benched for Roethlisberger. Dallas, on the other hand, has immediate success with Romo. He’s given the starting job early in the preseason and spends the year making big plays. Though he makes a lot of young mistakes early on, Parcells and later, Belichick (who takes over as head coach in 2007), mold Romo into one of the league’s best quarterbacks.

Dallas ends up winning a Super Bowl with Romo. Belichick never becomes the greatest coach of all time, but he does finally get the respect he deserves as one of the best football minds of the 21st century. Brady, meanwhile, jumps around the league a bit before retiring in 2010, never finding another team willing to give him a true chance to be a starting quarterback.

This article first appeared on The Sports Post and was syndicated with permission.

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