Perfect chance, wrong man for the perfect pass!

Tom Brady, the New England Patriots’ quarterback, was to blame for the loss of the Super Bowl XLVI. Playing almost perfectly was not enough for his team to win the Super Bowl. In the first three quarters, Brady had been amazing, sending 16 straight passes to his teammates and hurling touchdown tosses to Danny Woodhead and Aaron Hernandez. When the last quarter began, Brady became a totally different player.

With four minutes remaining in the last quarter, Wes Welker, New England Patriots’ wide receiver, drops a pass from Brady. Welker was wide open to Brady’s left side, 23 yards down field. Brady’s pass was behind Welker by a few inches and high, but Welker reacted as fast as he could and managed to turn his body around and lay both hands on the ball. Welker’s drop had cost the New England Patriots the game.

If Brady continued with his perfect passes like he had in the first three quarters of the game then the Patriots would be the ones celebrating and jumping with joy right now. Instead, Brady decides to make a pass too weak and a little bit off. “Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez and Deion Branch all failed to grab passes from Brady at key moments down the stretch,” Matt Conner said in a Kansas City News article. You can not blame these guys for the Patriots’ Super Bowl loss though; it wasn’t their fault. Brady was the one making the terrible passes that was nearly impossible to reach.

Brady himself said, “You win as a team, and you lose as a team,” in a San Francisco Chronicles article. He did not think about the fact that he is to blame for the team’s loss. He completed zero passes in the fourth quarter. Brady injured one of his shoulder during the game, but it was not his throwing arm. He should have still been able to pass perfectly like he was the first few quarters; instead he let his team down.

Brady had let his whole team down. Not just that one time when he was not able to make a perfect pass to Welker, but also the plays afterwards. He had cost his team a Super Bowl win.

Who to blame, what to blame

Super Bowl XLVI poster from CHARMERS❀Chasing a Dream•*´¨`♥'s photos

During every Super Bowl there is always a turning point  However, the person getting blamed for causing the turning point is not always at fault. Super Bowl XLVI is the best example of this. It was an intense game with the final score 21-17 in favor of The New York Giants. The turning point was when Wes Welker, New England Patriots wide receiver got open in the fourth quarter, at New York’s 44 yard line, with four minutes left, and dropped a crucial pass.

All of the attention is now on Welker as he dropped the ball at the best opportunity to score. Welker took all blame saying, “When it comes to the biggest moment of my life and I don't come up with it, it's discouraging” It seems like he had butter fingers,” at that moment. However, catching a ball that was thrown behind the himand on the other shoulder is a hard accomplishment to make. To catch a ball that complicated, Welker had to twist around in mid air and catch it. Welker already did the best he can holding it with both hands, but didn’t manage to stay with it going down. Bad throw? Yes it was. Who was the passer? Tom Brady.

This puts all of the pressure on Brady. Was he at fault for throwing terribly? No. He sprained his shoulder in the third quarter when New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck tackled him. This was one argument for most people of why his passes were terrible. Injuring his shoulder allowed him to only complete seven of his 17 pass attempts. Before the tackle, Brady managed to complete 20 out of 24 passes. Brian Hoyer, Patriots backup quarterback describes Brady's fearlossness as, “I don’t know if I’ll ever meet someone as tough as he is.”

Welker and Brady were the two being blamed for the lost of the Patriots. However, Welker doesn't deserve full blame of not being able to capture a bad pass, and Brady doesn't deserve a full blame for throwing a bad pass with a sprain shoulder.