Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando
A few members of the Giants thought the unthinkable after their upset victory over New England in Super Bowl XLII. They thought they imposed their will on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Giants receiver Amani Toomer was the first to raise the subject during the postgame interview session.
"That sack with a couple seconds left, Brady looked like he just turned it down," Toomer said. "He didn't want it any more."
Brady took a beating, no question. The Giants sacked him five times. They hit him hard enough to knock him down nine times, according to the stat sheet (QB hits are an unofficial stat).
"I don't know if he did get rattled," linebacker Antonio Pierce said, "but he had grass stains."
Brady threw the ball 48 times, his second-highest total for attempts all season, counting playoffs. He attempted 54 passes during a narrow victory over Philadelphia in Week 12, a matchup the Eagles lost when their quarterback got careless with the football late in the game.
In Super Bowl XLII, Brady played well while leading the go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, but that drive was an exception.
According to Pierce, Brady became frustrated.
"He was yelling at the linemen and I think that worked into our favor."
ESPN.com recently put together an extensive package on all-time great quarterbacks. A panel of seasoned experts ranked Brady among the very best.
In researching the project, I also spoke with a current AFC assistant coach. The coach did not contribute directly to the story, but he did serve as a consultant as I sought to produce a thoroughly researched story. This coach ranked Brady as the greatest quarterback in NFL history, but when asked to identify something he would change about the three-time Super Bowl champ, the coach spoke about the Brady's temper:
"The No. 1 thing that bothers me about him is how he reacts to adversity. He gets angry when something bad happens. There is almost that part of him that, it's not being a jerk, it's not the side of Tom Brady we don't know. It's not that at all. You've seen him do interviews. He's a good person. It's just his temper. Some people say they love that competitiveness in him. I like the part that is competitive, but not the part that looks like he is blaming everyone else or he is going to be pissed because the guy did not catch it. It's a temper thing. I would try to manage it better if I were him." -- AFC assistant coach when asked how Brady might be able to improve
We should not go overboard in analyzing Brady following one losing performance. Some Giants players spoke highly of Brady, suggesting he wasn't rattled at all. Any quarterback is going to have a hard time when defenders are in his face. Brady wasn't the most mobile guy even before suffering that ankle injury during the AFC title game.
Defensive tackle Justin Tuck, who was in Brady's face all evening, said he never saw any indication that Brady had lost the will to fight.
"You never see that," Tuck said. "I saw the look that meant, 'I wish they would slow down a little bit.' But that guy is a true competitor. There's no quit in him. An he's the type of guy who definitely continues to fight."
