FanPost

A Tribute to 199: Tom Brady's 199th Game

Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

This Sunday, at 1 p.m. ET, our New England Patriots play the Buffalo Bills for 1st place in the AFC East. As important as that game is for the Patriots season, there is something far more significant happening for the Patriots franchise quarterback. Barring some catastrophe in the next few days, Tom Brady will be playing in his 199th career regular season game. Since Tom Brady was the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, I think that is cause for celebration. This fanpost will not be like my usual work. I hope that what you find below is fun and informative, but what will make this great is if you all share your favorite Tom Brady memories and moments in the comments. Without further ado, here is my tribute to 199.

Before Tom Brady was a super model marrying, record-breaking, and Super Bowl winning quarterback, he was just a normal guy. There wasn't anything unique about him. Even his build looked more like a normal guy than that of a prototype quarterback.

6 quarterbacks were picked ahead of the 6th round draft pick. The Brady 6 does a terrific job describing Brady's origins and the circumstances surrounding the Patriots selection of him. Nobody could have predicted that he would be The Greatest Draft Steal In NFL History. What Tom Brady lacked in physical tools he made up for in a sickening work ethic. When Drew Bledsoe went down with an injury in week 2 of the 2001 season, Tom Brady took over and he never looked back

The guy that ran this infamous 40 yards dash...

...suddenly was juking All Pro linebackers.

He was making big time throws...

...and breaking records.

He always played with a chip on his shoulder and constantly tried to prove to coaches and teammates his versatility. Just look at the tackling form on these two plays!

His versatility wasn't limited to beautiful form on tackles. He also worked hard at being a valuable back-up punter.

If that wasn't enough, he tried to show that he could be our goal line running back on occasion.

Just look at him leap over that pile! What a graceful athlete.

Despite all that Brady proved he could do, he had his detractors. The anti-Brady crowd had their cases. I mean, seriously, how could we justify rooting for this guy?

He is clearly crazy.

He acts like people want to High 5 him.

He picks fights with guys that can kill him.

And worst of all, his receivers throw better passes than he does!

Tom Brady has his redeeming qualities as well.

He mastered the falcon kick.

His dance moves make Shakira jealous.

He likes water slides.

He is an animal lover.

Most of all, he created a new way to High 5 his teammates.


He is the only 199th pick to ever garner a 1st-Team All Pro Selection, of which he has two. He is one of two 199th picks to ever make a Pro Bowl, of which he has nine. He is the only 199th pick to ever start double digit seasons, with this being his 13th career season as the Patriots starting quarterback. After this Sunday's game, he will be the first 199th pick in history to ever play 199 games. He is without a doubt the greatest 199th pick of all time.

Here are some notable 199 moments of Tom Brady's career.

Tom Brady's 199th career passing yard came on a 28 yard pass to Kevin Faulk. This pass came on 4th and 3 in Tom Brady's first career start, a blowout win over the Indianapolis Colts, 44-13.

Tom Brady's 199th career attempt came on a 4 yard completion to Troy Brown on 3rd and 5 against the Atlanta Falcons. The Patriots won that game 24-10.

Tom Brady's 199th career completion came on a 2 yard pass on 3rd and 4 to Troy Brown against the New York Jets. This was the Patriots first game against the Jets since they injured Drew Bledsoe. The Patriots won 17-16.

Tom Brady's 199th career touchdown pass was a game-winner to Ben Watson in the 2009 season opener. The Patriots trailed 24-13 with 5:32 remaining in Brady's first game back since his 2008 injury. The touchdown was delivered with 55 seconds remaining and the Patriots won 25-24.

Tom Brady's 199th career playoff passing yard came on an 8 yard pass to Troy Brown on 1st and 10 in the fourth quarter of Brady's first playoff game against the Oakland Raiders. The Patriots trailed 13-3, but ended up winning 16-13.

Tom Brady's 199th career playoff attempt came on a 5 yard completion to Troy Brown on 2nd and 10 in the 3rd quarter of the Super Bowl against the Carolina Panthers. The Patriots won this game 32-29, and at the time it was Brady's most dominant playoff performance of his career.

Tom Brady's 199th career playoff completion was an 8 yard completion to Ben Watson against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Patriots won the game 28-3, and the win moved the Patriots to an unprecedented 10-0 record in the playoffs with Brady at quarterback.

Unlike those past games, this Sunday potentially fields the greatest statistical mind-blow of Brady's career. This is something that made me lose my mind when I discovered it last night, and it took everything in my power to prevent myself from posting it everywhere I could on the blog.

Only 5 players have caught 199 or more passes from Tom Brady. Those players are the following (updated through week 5 of 2014):

Player Catches Yards Touchdowns
Wes Welker 563 6300 34
Deion Branch 328 4297 24
Troy Brown 325 3374 15
Kevin Faulk 310 2652 10
Rob Gronkowski 241 3438 45


Are you surprised to not see Randy Moss on this list? I was too. Moss only caught 192 passes from Brady in his career. I was seriously bummed that Brady didn't have 6 players that caught 199 passes. 6th round and 6 players. 199th pick and 199 receptions. How cool would that have been? But before you get bummed, there is still hope! It turns out that the Patriots currently have a player on their team that is 3 receptions away from the magic number, and he played quarterback in college.

"Jules is like one of my younger brothers. We always have fun together. I said, ‘You spike it.’ And he tossed it back to me and he said, ‘You spike it.’ And I threw it back to him, and then he threw it back to me. That was awesome."

-Tom Brady

That's right, Julian Edelman has caught 196 passes from Tom Brady. With just 3 receptions this Sunday, Julian Edelman will become Brady's 6th receiver to catch 199 passes. Tom Brady, the 6th round and 199th pick in the 2000 draft, could complete 199 passes to the 6th player of his career, in his 199th career regular season game. That, to me, is awesome, and I hope it happens.

All right, I'm done. Now it is your turn! Please feel free to share your favorite moments, memories, and anything more you can think of regarding Tom Brady!

The views expressed in these FanPosts are not necessarily those of the writers or SB Nation.