When you're one of the best quarterbacks of all time and you're lying in a heap on the field with torn knee ligaments,
and there's nobody there to hold your hand and kiss your forehead and tell you everything's going to be okay,
your comeback is going to be anticipated throughout the football world.
Unless you're a fan of the other 31 teams in the league, in which your reaction was a moment of shock, followed by a snicker and a shrug before you continue watching the other teams in the league (no seriously, they exist!).
For Tom Brady, it was, and the quarterback did not disappoint.
You know, if you don't count the significantly decreased stats, the lack of continuity of the offense all season long and the 10-6 record compared to the 16-0 record the last time he played a full season.
Brady was voted the AP Comeback Player of the Year, receiving 19 votes from a panel of 50 sportswriters
A bunch of Chowdaheads, no doubt.
around the country.
Oh. Sorry. Carry on.
He beat out Carnell Williams of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who received 14 votes.
Does he get a Cadillac for winning this stupid award?
Brady, who played just over seven minutes last season,
Known to Pats fans as "the only seven minutes that mattered in the 2008 NFL season."
turned in one of the best seasons of his career, yet he did so with relatively little fanfare.
Tom Brady can't even sneeze with relatively little fanfare. A quick Google search turns up more than 4,190,000 results for Brady. By contrast, a search for Peyton Manning turns up less than three million. Analysts pored over every little thing Brady did this season. They watched his surgically repaired knee like a hawk. If he so much as stepped forward with hesitation, they pounced. That's not "relatively little fanfare."
That's partly due to the 50-touchdown season he completed in 2007, which was the best in NFL history.
In case you had forgotten. Remember when Tom Brady was the best in NFL history? Yeah. That was nice.
This season, despite battling shoulder, rib and finger injuries,
all of which caused him to miss exactly zero minutes of playing time,
Brady posted his second-highest career stats in completion percentage (65.7), yards (4,398) and touchdowns (28).
Brady also had his second-best year in chin-dimplage.
Despite the success, Brady showed plenty of rust. That, combined with ribs that have been reportedly cracked all season,
"OW-AH QUATAHBACK IS MOHR-TAL! FACKIN A!"
resulted in some uncharacteristic mistakes. He threw an interception in the end zone in Miami in a game that the Dolphins ultimately won by a point, and he threw a pick that essentially sealed a Texans victory in Week 17.
In a game that they didn't need to win, in a game where Brady shouldn't have been playing, in a game where Brady's go-to receiver shredded the ligaments in his knee because he was playing in the first place. But continue.
However, despite the bad, there was more than enough good. For starters, he led the Patriots to a 10-6 record and a trip to the postseason -- something last year's 11-5 squad couldn't do.
Yes, that's exactly it. Matt Cassel can't lead the Patriots to the playoffs because he's not Tom Brady. That's how great Brady is. He can win the division with a lesser record! It's Brady Magic!
He also set the NFL record for most touchdown passes in a quarter when he threw five in the second quarter against the Titans. In that game, he threw for 380 yards and six touchdowns. He also had a career day at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 16, when he threw more touchdowns than incompletions. He finished that game 23-of-26 (88 percent) for 267 yards and four touchdowns.
Neither of these teams made the playoffs. In fact, Tennessee was winless at the time. But good to see Belichick and company can dust off the "Eff You" game every once in a while and run up the score for good measure.
Brady spoke this fall about how the season-ending injury in 2008, while incredibly disappointing, was good for him in that it helped him appreciate the opportunity he has to play the game.
"It's a very physical sport, football is," Brady said, according to the AP.
He's dreamy AND insightful? Oh Gisele you sly fox you, you always catch the good ones.
"I had an unfortunate injury, but I think it's really helped me grow in a lot of ways as a person, as a player, as a teammate.
"Before the injury, I used to hurl throwing stars at my teammates if they blew an assignment. But now, I've learned to to be kindler and gentler, so I throw paring knives instead."
It really reinforces how much I enjoy playing the game and how much I love the game. And to have the chance to go out this year and play, it's great."
Williams played just 10 games combined in the previous two seasons, suffering from torn patellar tendons in each of his knees.
But his knees worked, and Brady's knee didn't. SUCK IT UP, PANSY. Maybe you should work on being a little more dreamy. It's a very physical sport, football is.
This year, he played in all 16 games, compiling 821 yards (3.9 YPC) and four touchdowns on the ground while catching 29 passes for 219 yards and another three touchdowns.
And those terrible stats were still enough for 14 votes. That should tell you everything you need to know about this award.
Other players who received votes included Titans quarterback Vince Young,
Last year's injury report: Out (Insanity)
Vikings quarterback Brett Favre,
Who played the entire season last year, then retired for the second time, then un-retired for the second time. The guy has the all-time record of 285 consecutive starts, dating to 1992, and it's an ACTIVE STREAK, and he got votes for Comeback Player of the Year. Wow.
Bengals running back Cedric Benson, Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer and Saints defensive end Anthony Hargrove.
It was hard to compete with Brady, though, as the 32-year-old is one of the biggest stars in the league.
And he's so much more handsome!
On Sunday, he'll take to the field hoping to begin a run that will end with bringing the Patriots back to the game's biggest stage.
And if he somehow leads this decidedly average squad back to the Super Bowl, then THAT will be a comeback.
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