Belichick and Brady: Two Men, the Patriots, and How They Revolutionized Football

Viac o knihe

New York Times bestselling sportswriter Michael Holley takes readers behind the scenes of the relationship that transformed the patriots from a middling franchise to the envy of the NFL. No head coach-quarterback pair has been more successful in NFL history than Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, who have won five Super Bowls, seven AFC championships, and fourteen division titles. But their Hall of Fame destiny didn't always seem certain. Belichick, a genius as a defensive coordinator, had been a five-year flop as head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Upon his controversial arrival in Foxboro, though, he quickly began to remake the team at every level-scouts, coaches, and players. Brady, meanwhile, was buried down in the 2000 NFL draft, the 199th overall pick, a skinny kid who many scouts thought would never succeed at a professional level. What they didn't realize was that, like Belichick, he lived for football, and he knew the playbook as well as Drew Bledsoe, the franchise quarterback. When Bledsoe was injured in 2001, Brady took the job, and vowed to never give it back. The handsome Brady became a star, wearing hand-tailored suits, appearing in movies, and marrying a supermodel. Belichick, with his trademark cut-off hoodies, was the opposite of a fashion plate. Together, the odd couple somehow rose above controversies and tragedies that have chased them as their legends have grown. With Belichick's deft and brilliant strategy in the draft year-in and year-out and Brady's exacting decision-making on the field, they cultivated in the Patriots an atmosphere of success and won a stunning 75 percent of their games together. Belichick and Brady have set the bar high for excellence in a league designed for parity, but have rarely been understood. Until now. Based on dozens of interviews with former and current players, coaches, and executives, Belichick and Brady is an eye-opening look at the minds, motives, and wild ambitions of two men who have left indelible marks on the game of football. Book jacket