I better keep the introduction to this week's quiz relatively brief or else I'll get all teary-eyed.
There will never be another Tom Brady in New England. Ever. Sure, after his time here has passed, there will be other good quarterbacks. There may even be some great ones. But unless the Patriots somehow manage to select another Hall of Famer in the late rounds of a draft and he goes on to miraculously lead this team to a Super Bowl Victory and launch another Patriots dynasty, there simply won't ever be another player like Tom Brady to put on a New England Patriots jersey. He's a once in a lifetime player with a once in a lifetime story, and I for one am extremely grateful that I've had the joy of watching him play for my team these past 10 plus years.
I had a lot of trouble selecting today's trivia questions, to be honest. I knew I wanted an entire quiz dedicated solely to Tommy B, but there are just so many fun facts and interesting snippets of information about him that I didn't really know where to start. Do I focus on specific seasons? Specific records? Personal accolades? Women he's dated? Hairstyles he's had? Reasons he and Giselle have yet to accept my invitation to join my girlfriend and me for a couples' weekend in the Adirondacks? There's just too much info on the man out there to really do this quiz justice.
I may have to make this a two-parter and come back with another Tommy B Trivia Tuesday later on in the summer, but for now, we'll all just have to be happy with this one. Some of the questions are easy, some are a little more difficult, and some I had to triple check the validity of because I just couldn't believe the answer. Regardless, these are all things that every good Patriots fan should know about our franchise's greatest legend.
1. When is Tommy B's birthday?
A. June 5, 1978
B. August 5, 1979
C. August 3, 1977
D. September 18, 1977
2. Which of the following quarterbacks was NOT ahead of Brady on the depth chart at some point in his life?
A. Drew Henson
B. Drew Bledsoe
C. Tim Rattay
D. Brian Griese
3. We all know that Brady was pick #199 in the draft; what's easy to forget was that it was actually a compensatory pick that the Patriots didn't even have coming into the offseason. Which of the following players was NOT lost to free agency in 1999 that helped give the Pats that fabled 6th rounder?
A. Max Lane
B. Tom Tupa
C. Mark Wheeler
D. Todd Collins
4. Which of the following players was NOT drafted before Tom Brady?
A. Shane Lechler
B. Brian Jennings
C. Chad Pennington
D. Adalius Thomas
5. Who caught Tom Brady's first ever NFL pass?
A. Curtis Jackson
B. Jermaine Wiggins
C. Patrick Pass
D. Rod Rutledge
6. True or False: Tom Brady won his first official start for the Patriots.
A. True
B. False
7. Which team handed Brady his first official loss as a starter?
A. Miami Dolphins
B. Buffalo Bills
C. New York Jets
D. Indianapolis Colts
8. Which of the following players went to the same college as Tom Brady?
A. Ted Johnson
B. Ty Law
C. Tedy Bruschi
D. Kevin Faulk
9. Who caught Tom Brady's only touchdown pass in Super Bowl XXXVI?
A. Troy Brown
B. Jermaine Wiggins
C. Antowain Smith
D. David Patten
10. During his record setting 2007 campaign, in how many games did Brady have at least three touchdown passes?
A. 9
B. 10
C. 11
D. 12
11. Excluding 2008, when was the last season Tom Brady did not start all 16 games for New England?
A. 1999
B. 2000
C. 2001
D. 2002
12. How many 300 yard passing games did Brady have for the Patriots in 2010?
A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5
13. True or False: Except for 2008, Brady has passed for more than 3,000 in each of his seasons with the Patriots.
A. True
B. False
14. Which of the following is NOT an NFL record currently held by Tom Brady?
A. Fewest starts required to achieve 100 wins
B. Highest single-season quarterback rating
C. Most TD passes in a single month
D. Most completions in a Super Bowl
15. True or False: Alec Shane once sat next to Tom Brady on a cross country flight from LA to Boston.
A. True
B. False
Come back later on the afternoon for the answers!