It started with a blowout win over the Colts and continues to this day. Tom E. Curran concludes his oral history of Tom Brady’s ascension to all-time great.
Many Super Bowl celebrations have occurred after the assembly of a dominant defense. Even when elite defenses did not produce a title, they have often defined an era for a franchise.
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A bit of cheating, yes, but these two are interlocked and have similar Jaguars origin stories. A former Cowboys Round 2 pick, Smith caught on with the Jags in 1995 on a low-end deal. McCardell, an ex-Browns auxiliary wideout, joined him a year later. No Jaguar receiving tandem has approached their work, and their first four seasons together produced six 1,000-yard campaigns between them and four Jacksonville playoff berths. Both landed higher-paying extensions, but the Jags capitalized on the exclusive negotiating rights that came with signing the duo in the mid- 90s. The partnership lasted six years.
Sam Robinson is a Kansas City, Mo.-based writer who mostly writes about the NFL. He has covered sports for nearly 10 years. Boxing, the Royals and Pandora stations featuring female rock protagonists are some of his go-tos. Occasionally interesting tweets @SRobinson25.
Jan 25, 2021
The Buccaneers’ idea to sign Tom Brady all along was about a whole lot more than just putting a quarterback on the team. GM Jason Licht needed all of five words to explain that to me four days after No. 12 put pen to paper and committed to moving more than a thousand miles south.
“The standard has just risen,” he said.
The hope, Licht continued, was that Brady would bring something, and leave that something behind even after he was done playing. That the bar in Tampa would be raised, and Brady’s ways would rub off on his new teammates. That all the talent the Bucs had would be taken to another level because Brady’s way a relentless, unbending drive to win every little part of every day would become their way.