In America, the winner takes all.

Chapter 460 Cinderella Season

Foxborough, Massachusetts, home of the New England Patriots.

In the second round of the 01-02 season, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick sent out a group of main players to face the New York Jets who came from afar.

The first to be hit was the team's star player, quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who had just renewed his contract with the team in March. The Patriots were full of confidence this season, but the first week of games gave the team a heavy blow. They lost to the not-so-strong Cincinnati Bengals on the road, and the Patriots' defense exposed big problems in the first game.

Then came the "9/11" attacks that shocked the world. NFL games were forced to be suspended for a week. Just before today's game started, the two teams held a short memorial ceremony.

When the game officially started, the fans cheered for the Patriots as usual. At this time, Tom Brady, wearing the No. 12 jersey, was looking for the VIP box opposite. Last night, he received a message from an old friend who was in the stadium at the moment and said he came to watch the game.

But I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint him... Brady thought.

He is not the main player of the team at the moment, and he is not even a substitute for the main player. He can only be regarded as a "substitute for a substitute". Now the core of the team is Drew Bledsoe, and Coach Dallas will definitely let him play the whole game. At the pre-match press conference, Coach Dallas said that he will do his best to win this game.

After some visual searching, Tom Brady actually found Ethan's exact location. Although it was across the entire stadium, Tom Brady's eagle-like vision still allowed him to see Ethan's expression, as well as the two beautiful female models whose names he could not remember standing on his left and right.

Tom Brady was used to this. This guy was simply one of the most philandering men in the United States. What puzzled Tom was why Ethan, who was temporarily suspended, did not take advantage of this period to "enjoy the vacation" but came to watch the game. He asked Ethan a similar question last night, and the answer he got left him even more confused.

"I am here to witness the most powerful dark horse event in history." Ethan replied at the time.

Ethan is so optimistic about Drew Bledsoe? Is he that good? Tom Brady turned his head and locked his eyes on his quarterback.

Drew Bledsoe, wearing the No. 11 jersey, was seen holding the football and circling the side after a fake pass, preparing to complete a running breakthrough from the right side of the field.

Seeing that he had just dodged the block of the defensive end, he had to collide head-on with another linebacker...

"boom!"

The violent sound could be heard clearly even in a noisy venue, and it sounded like bones breaking.

Tom Brady's expression changed and he stood up immediately. Then he saw his quarterback lying on the ground. He heard head coach Billy complaining, "Fucking shit! How could he get injured at this time?"

The next second, teammates on the field, on the bench, and the team doctor all rushed forward. Tom stood where he was. At this moment, he could see the slow-motion footage of the intense collision playing on the big screen.

Jets linebacker Mo Lewis stood there straight, his body slightly sideways, showing his shoulders.

Drew Bledsoe had no time to dodge and was forced to collide head-on with his shoulder. Because the incident happened suddenly, Drew could not make any evasive moves and his chest made direct contact with his opponent's shoulder.

It can be clearly seen through the slow-motion footage that Drew Bledsoe is like a dummy in a car crash test, with his limbs thrown up by inertia in an instant, which means that the intensity of the collision is very high.

Looks like he's going to have to retire!
An idea occurred to Tom.

Sure enough, within a minute, Drew Bledsoe was seen being carried onto a stretcher, then placed on a golf cart, and finally taken off the court. During the entire process, no reaction was seen from Drew Bledsoe.

"Drew is in big trouble now. He may not be able to play in the next few games." The teammate who had just observed the quarterback's situation closely patted Tom on the shoulder and gave him a special look.

The meaning is clear: here’s your chance!
Tom first looked at the team's backup quarterback, Damon Harder, who graduated from the famous football school University of Washington and just joined the Patriots this season.

Why would someone with less experience be the second quarterback? Tom was puzzled by Coach Chick's choice. In fact, Coach Chick often made unpredictable arrangements.

Back on the field, Tom saw the coach walking towards Damon Hard and whispering something to him, seemingly arranging the tactics for the next game.

"When will this end?" Tom Brady turned around and walked towards his seat on the bench in a somewhat dejected manner.

"Tom Brady, wait a minute!"

Just as I turned around, I heard the coach's voice.

He called me?!
Tom turned around immediately and saw the coach patting Damon Hard's arm. It didn't seem like he was explaining tactics, but rather... comforting him!
"Kid, my head is a mess now, and I believe yours is too. Now we have to rearrange everything." Coach Chicken took the tactical board from the offensive coordinator and arranged several impromptu offensive tactics for Tom as quickly as possible in the remaining time.

I don’t know if it was because the noise at the scene was too loud, or Coach Xiaoji’s tactics were too complicated, or Tom was just a little nervous, but in short, he didn’t listen to most of these tactics at all.

He asked me to take over for Drew Bledsoe and play the whole game? God, I didn't even play that many minutes last season combined. Tom Brady muttered in his heart.

"You don't have no confidence, do you?" Coach Xiaoji narrowed his eyes and asked at the last moment.

"Of course I have confidence! I've been waiting for this day! I've been waiting since the day I picked up a football!" Tom Brady clenched his fists and then put his fists together.

Other teammates also cheered Tom on by patting his helmet and body!
"Go on, Tom, and beat the crap out of them!"

"Let Mo Lewis have a taste of our power!"

"The Jets have to pay!"

The team members talked at once.

At this time, the Patriots staff took the initiative to put on gloves for Tom, the offensive coordinator stood in front of Tom and continued to remind him of the tactical details, and a third group of staff gave him water...

Is this the treatment for a quarterback? Brady felt a little bit happy, but more of it was fear.

Everything was ready. With the introduction of the host, Tom, the quarterback, officially stepped onto the field, and cheers began to circulate in the Patriots' home stadium.

This is what Ethan... experienced.

Tom closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes again, his eyes were full of fighting spirit.

An hour later, the whistle sounded, signaling the end of the game!

Damn it! Tom thumped the ground.

Instead of winning as expected, he failed to even help the team score a touchdown.

3-10, the Patriots ended the second regular season game of the season with an embarrassing score, lost two games in a row and ranked last in the AFC East Division. "I'm sorry, I didn't do my best." On the bus back, Tom covered his cheeks with his hands and apologized to his teammates.

"No, you've done a great job. We can all see that the Jets' defense is very tenacious. Even if Drew Bledsoe wasn't injured, we probably wouldn't have won."

"Your pass success rate is pretty good."

The teammates around him all started to comfort him.

At this time, Tom looked in front of him where the coach was. He was whispering something to the second quarterback sitting next to him.

Will he be eliminated? Tom Brady is well aware of the pressure that team coaches face in terms of performance. There are not too many coaches who are temporarily fired during the season. If he wants to blame someone, he can only blame himself for not seizing the opportunity.

In the remaining days, Tom found that things were not as hopeless as he thought, but they were not much better.

Coach Xiao Chick seemed to want to bet on both sides, having the quarterback coach spend the same amount of time on both of them. During daily group training, the two of them also arranged tactics separately and even attended tactical meetings together.

Just as the Chickens coach said to reporters: "The team is not sure who will start in the next game."

To confuse the opponent? Tom thinks so, after all, the opponent in the next game is the Indianapolis Colts led by Peyton Manning, who is the strongest new generation quarterback besides Ethan.

The more important reason is that Coach Xiaoji is not sure who is the more suitable candidate...

It was not until the night before the game that Coach Xiaoji called the two into the hotel room and announced the final decision.

"Tom played well in the last game, so he has to start in the next game."

Only then did Tom breathe a sigh of relief.

After his competitors left, he even joked with Coach Chicken.

"This is the wisest decision you have made so far this season. You know, Damon Hard was still worried yesterday that the defensive team would shave his head after he came on the court. He is a wimp. If you let him play the whole game, we will definitely lose miserably." Tom said excitedly, but he forgot that it was not a wise choice to speak ill of his direct competitor behind his back to the coach.

But Coach Xiaoji obviously didn't care about that. He raised his hand and patted Tom's chest: "Before you look down on your opponent, take a look at what else you need to improve. You only made 10 of 5 passes in the last game. If Ethan was on the court, the result would not be like this. Tomorrow your pass success rate must be over 5%, otherwise I will let someone else start."

Although he was excited, Tom slept very soundly that night. After lunch the next day, he and his teammates adapted to the away game.

The game started on time that night. Compared with the previous game, this game was obviously more eye-catching. When shaking hands, Tom and Payton looked into each other's eyes...

About an hour and a half later, the Patriots players on the bench all rushed onto the field at the moment the game ended, and together with the staff, they threw Tom high into the air. In sharp contrast to him was the dejected Peyton Manning.

The score on the scoreboard was particularly eye-catching - 44 to 13.

The Patriots defeated their opponents by a large margin in an incredible way on the road. Tom Brady's performance in this game was like the "Golden Arm" Joe Montana. His passes were fast and accurate, like a cruise missile, and he could always find the receivers accurately.

The Colts' defense did underestimate the opponent at first, but they soon discovered that even with their full concentration, Tom could always find their weaknesses.

"After the third touchdown, I started to get more excited. That group of people underestimated their opponents. I felt like they didn't even run at full speed, so their movements were slow." Tom excitedly talked about his thoughts on the field.

While the teammates were amazed, Coach Xiaoji, who was standing not far away, smiled knowingly.

In the regular season that followed, a dark horse named Tom Brady entered the public eye in a special way. Although he lost to the Denver Broncos and St. Louis Rams after the big win, Tom helped the team win in the remaining games.

The Dolphins and Jets, two opponents that had defeated the Patriots, were also easily defeated by Tom in the later rounds.

Near the end of the regular season, Tom Brady led the Patriots to a 10-2 record as a quarterback, with a winning percentage exceeding that of Ethan O'Connor in his heyday.

On the other hand, the Angels had a tough season. First, they lost three games in a row due to Ethan's suspension. Even when Ethan returned to the field, his condition was far worse than last year. They stumbled all the way and finally made it to the playoffs relying on the win-loss record...

That day, Tom finished the last regular season game of the season. When he returned to the sidelines, he kissed the female staff member who handed him the towel.

His appearance was outstanding, and he was very successful on the court, so he quickly accumulated a group of fans. Within the team, he was also very popular with the female staff, and they had several romantic encounters.

"Tom, the regular season is over. How about going to the old place to have some fun tonight? That club is holding an event today. I heard that some models are also invited to attend..." The teammate lowered his voice when he spoke at the end.

Obviously, his teammates now look up to him, and Drew Bledsoe, who is absent due to injury, has been forgotten.

That night, Tom Brady played with his teammates at a local club until late at night as usual. When he came out of the bar, he was hugged by two young girls in tight skirts. The parking boy drove his luxury car to the door, and paparazzi took pictures of Tom when he got in the car. Tom Brady has become a superstar in the local area...

"You know, when I bought the car, I specifically bought a large model just for moments like this."

After parking the car in a deserted area, Tom turned off the engine and stepped to the back seat.

Amidst the merriment, the three of them took off their clothes.

"Tom, can you beat Ethan this season?" the lying girl asked subconsciously.

"Defeat Ethan?" The smile on Tom's face disappeared in an instant. He had never thought about this question before.

The originally pleasant night became awkward with this question. Tom ended the matter hastily and left the two men on the street. The next day, at the team meeting, Coach Chicken raised a similar question.

"Tom, you have to be prepared to face the Angels. Although the Angels are not in good shape, Ethan O'Connor has always been good at performing miracles." Coach Chicken reminded.

Even the team's owner arrived in the middle of the meeting.

"Tom, your performance has impressed everyone. If you can lead the team to a breakthrough, the team will give you a contract that will satisfy you next season." said the Jew Robert Kraft.

It seems that he is very conscientious, but in fact, in the years that followed, he had repeatedly asked Tom to ensure the depth of the team's lineup by taking the initiative to reduce his salary.

"The Angels were moved to the National League this season, right?" Tom asked.

The teams from the National League and the American League will only meet in one game, and the name of that game is called the Super Bowl!
(End of this chapter)