This is not a Patriots blog. In fact, this is the opposite of a Patriots blog. To the point where I have seriously considered buying a Bernard Pollard #49 Chiefs jersey because of the scene pictured to your left. You see, on opening day in 2008, Bernard Pollard rushed in on a safety blitz against Tom Brady. He didn't get the sack, but he changed the NFL that day. Pictured is Tom Brady's anterior cruciate ligament snapping in half. Just a few months after hilariously failing to achieve a 19-0 season, the Patriots' key cog would be removed from the machine.
The football world held their breath, waiting for any word out of New England on Mr. Perfect Pretty-Boy's leg. The games went on that day, and towards the start of the 4:00 games, announcers and analysts gave NFL fans those three terrifying letters: A-C-L. We knew what ACL tears meant. It meant your season was over. If it happened late in the year, you might even miss some of training camp (like Heath Miller currently is).
By that evening, it felt like the rest of the AFC was in shock. Fans didn't know what to root for or against. The Patriots are a popular team to hate, but without Tom Terrific under center, would we root for the unproven backup, Matt Cassel? Would we see it as the test of whether Brady or the coaches really drive that bus? Would Roger Goodell personally firebomb Bernard Pollard's house?
Then it hit us. It hit all of us like a ton of bricks. The AFC was up for grabs. No matter how good the Patriots' machine is (and it's good enough to make Matt Cassel look like a starter), that season would most likely see a different team represent the American Conference on the game's greatest stage.
The race was on. Brett Favre came to New York and led the Jets into contention down the stretch. Chad Pennington, shunned by his former team, drove the division rival and defending worst-team-in-the-league Miami Dolphins into the race. The scorned quarterback and the Dolphins' game-changing wildcat offense guided them to a division championship over the Jets. Matt Cassel and the Patriots, despite finishing 11-5, were on the outside looking in (the Colts and Ravens claimed the wildcard seeds with records of 12-4 and 11-5, respectively.
Looking back, it was a bizarre season (the Titans were 13-3! The Cardinals played in the Superbowl!) and ultimately, it was the Pittsburgh Steelers who took advantage of the vacated throne.
But that's all in the past. Today, Tom Brady got bumped in practice and sprained his knee; the same knee that made Bernard Pollard famous on that fateful September afternoon. The Score has a video up from practice. You can hear the cloud of negativity that falls over the crowd. His MRI was negative and it probably won't affect him when the season starts (though you can bet he'll be listed as "questionable" on every Patriots injury report this season), but this is just a reminder of how quickly everything can change in the NFL. If Brady goes down again, it shapes up to be a dogfight between the Steelers, Ravens, and Broncos for AFC supremacy.
Now, I'm not one to wish injuries on players (I did on Chris Henry in 2009, whoops), but if there had to be a player in the league who just happened to find himself out for the season with an injury… Tom Brady isn't a bad pick. Hey, the last time it happened, the Steelers were the last team standing at season's end.
