Tom Brady the Buffalo Bill: A Hypothetical Look at Two Very Different Franchises

With football season upon us, now would be a great time to present a blog from a friend of ours, Pat Lane.

Pat is a huge fan of the New England Patriots, and a smart one at that. He knows the team inside and out, their history and is well educated on all things NFL.

Pat was kind enough to send us a guest post on a look back at two NFL franchises that went in different directions, the Patriots and their division rival and week one opponent, the Buffalo Bills.


Tom Brady the Buffalo Bill: A Hypothetical Look at Two Very Different Franchises
By Guest Blogger Pat Lane

With 1:50 left in a snowy game in Foxboro on January 19th 2002, one franchise was changed forever.

Everyone knows that the New England Patriots benefited greatly from the “Tuck Rule,” but is there a team besides the Oakland Raiders that missed a great opportunity?  

Sitting in my usual seat in the north end zone, I watched Brady drop back to pass, saw Woodson coming from behind, and then  witnessed Greg Biekert fall on the ball just before Jermaine Wiggins could get there. The unbelievable run that the Patriots were on at the time was finally over.  

Then someone amazing happened and the call was reversed. It was an unreal moment, but as we approach the first game of the season, I started to think about what would have happened if the play had never been reversed, and how both teams playing this Sunday may be drastically different if it did not.

Before we talk about what would have happened if it did not happen, let’s look at some possible scenarios as to why it would not have happened. First, there is the obvious one that Walt Coleman could have decided that it was a fumble, in which case the Tuck Rule would not have been enforced. This seems unlikely because he (Coleman) has come out and said that it was an “obvious” call.  

What if this play happened before the two minute warning? The Patriots were out of timeouts and would not have been able to challenge the play, and since it was called a fumble on the field, the Raiders would have been able to kill the rest of the clock, and send the Patriots packing.  

What if the music crew had not blasted “In The Air Tonight” by Phil Collins while Coleman was reviewing the play? I may not be able to prove that it made a difference, but something started happening when that song came on, I felt it, and I would be willing to bet that anyone there that night would tell you the same thing.  

So what if any of these three things happened on the night of January 19^th?  Clearly the Patriots would not have won their first Super Bowl against the Rams, but would there have been bigger consequences?

The quarterback controversy had been brewing since Drew Bledsoe had come back to the team from the vicious hit that Mo Lewis inflicted in Week 2. I know that is hard to believe now, but people were split on who should start the Super Bowl after Brady went down in the AFC Championship and Bledsoe led them to a victory.  

So what if Bill had chosen wrong? What if he decided that he was going to go with the proven veteran over the young kid? What if the Patriots traded Brady to the  Buffalo Bills instead of Bledsoe?  

I think that we can agree that both franchises would be very different now. Would Brady have led the Bills to the playoffs, something that Bledsoe, or any other quarterback has not been able to do since? Would Bledsoe have been able to lead the Patriots to wins in Super Bowls 38 and 39? Would the Patriots have won a Super Bowl at all? 

When E.J. Manuel starts on Sunday, he will be the seventh starting quarterback for the Bills since 2002. The team has drafted three quarterbacks in the first three rounds and the other two, J.P. Losman and Trent Edwards, did not pan out.  

Let's look at the Patriots. They have actually drafted more quarterbacks, six, since 2002, then the Bills, who have drafted four. And before you think they did not spend any high picks on them, they used a fourth in ‘02, a third in ’08, and a third in ’11. Their most productive was Matt Cassel, taken in the seventh round, and he is no Tom Brady.

There is no telling what would have happened if Brady was in that deal instead of Bledsoe. Maybe he would have never succeeded under Gregg Williams. Maybe Bledsoe would have been great, and Belichick would have molded him to his system, and then found a competent replacement for him when he retired.  Maybe the fortunes of these two franchises would be flipped, with the Bills being perennial winners of the AFC East, and the Patriots going through four coaches and never having more than eight wins.  

All I know is that, as a Patriots fan, I am happy we never had to find out.