Brady, Belichick Off To Sixth Super Bowl
BOSTON (CBS) -- Bill Belichick had just one thing to say to fans of the New England Patriots following their AFC Championship win on Sunday.
"We're on to Seattle," the head coach proclaimed as he held up the Lamar Hunt trophy for all to see.
It was three-and-a-half short months ago that Belichick had to tell reporters that he and his team was "on to Cincinnati" following a terrible 41-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night football. What followed was a week of talk about a New England downfall, and the Patriots no longer a Super Bowl contender.
The Patriots, though, were indeed "on to Cincinnati." And after they beat up on the Bengals to the tune of 43-17, they turned their attention on the rest of the NFL and all of those who said they were no longer an elite team.
Now Belichick, who passed Tom Landry for the most postseason wins by a coach with his 21st victory on Sunday, and Patriots quarterback Tom Brady are off to yet another Super Bowl together after beating up on the Colts, 45-7, in the AFC Championship game.
After his brief comment to the crowd, Belichick handed the trophy and microphone off to Brady.
"I know we had some ups and downs this year, but right now we're up baby," Brady told the soaked Gillette Stadium crowd. "And we're going to try to stay up for one more game!"
Brady and Belichick will soon be heading to Glendale, Arizona for their sixth Super Bowl together. The duo has three rings from their amazing run from 2001-2004, when they won three Super Bowls in four years, but will get another shot (their third) at that elusive fourth ring in two weeks.
When told of his history-making accomplishment from Sunday -- his soon-to-be sixth Super Bowl start -- the quarterback didn't have too much to say, staying as humble as ever.
"I haven't had much time to reflect. I think we're right in the middle of it. It was a great team win," Brady said after tossing three touchdowns against the Colts. "We needed it from all three phases and to make it to this point is a great accomplishment for our team. Hopefully our best is yet to come."
Brady's teammates were a little more open to gushing about their quarterback's career milestone.
"He's going to his sixth Super Bowl, man? That's unbelievable," said a wide-eyed Rob Gronkowski. "It's just an honor to play with him. He's going to his sixth Super Bowl – it speaks to the respect everyone has of Tom and just speaks for the level of play he has."
"Tom Brady is Tom Brady," said receiver Julian Edelman, who hauled in nine of Brady's passes against the Colts. "He was a sixth-round draft pick; a lot of people passed up on him. He's a Super Bowl Champion [and] Super Bowl MVP. He's been in a bunch of Super Bowls and he could care less about all of that. He just cares about winning the next game. That's our leader and that's why you have a guy like that leading us.
"He's an unbelievable person and I truly love that man," Edelman said with a laugh. "I do. It's great to have him apart of this team."
As Belichick usually does, he said there's no one else in the NFL he'd rather have under center than Tom Brady.
"All one guy can do is do his job and Tom does his job as well as anybody. I'm so thankful that he's our quarterback," said Belichick. "There's nobody I'd rather have."
Standing in Brady and Belichick's way, as the head coach proclaimed, is the defending champion Seattle Seahawks. Seattle needed a furious comeback and overtime on Sunday to bounce the Green Bay Packers in the NFC title game, but they got the best of Aaron Rodgers and company and will head to their second straight title bout.
Belichick will now face off against Pete Carroll, whom he replaced as Patriots head coach in 2000. Brady will face off against one of the best defenses in the NFL.
This all comes as the two try to further cement their legacy, together, in NFL history. The duo is already in rarefied air, with Belichick tying Don Shula for the most conference titles (six) as a head coach, and Brady will soon tie Mike Lodish for the most Super Bowl appearances by a player.
But what has been missing over the last 10 years has been a win at the end of the season. While both are hovering at the top of any "Greatest Of All-Time" discussion, a fourth Super Bowl title would likely cement each of them at the top of those lists.
But ask either of them and they're not doing any of this to show up on top of a list, or even for themselves. When it all comes down to it for Brady and Belichick, it's all about winning, and doing so as a team.
"It's about our team; it's a journey. I think being able to accomplish winning the final game of the year is what you play for," said Brady. "So when you don't do that, you always feel like you come up short. There are 32 teams that started; there are two remaining. We're trying to be the one that finishes off the season the way you want to, like we wanted to from the start of the year. It's a great challenge. We're going to play a great team. That's why they're in it too. They've overcome a lot of adversity too. They're really well coached, but we have two weeks to prepare. We'll be ready to go."
