Patriots ‘The Dynasty’ Recap: Episode 8, Brady’s ‘Score to Settle’
For an athlete, competition can be both a blessing and a curse.
With the specter of a four-game suspension hanging like the Sword of Damocles above his head, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady entered 2016 training camp with a touch of rivalry and a lot of motivation.
Serving as the central theme for Episode 8 of AppleTV+’s “The Dynasty,” entitled “Score to Settle,” Brady’s motivation to once again prove his doubters wrong proves to be perhaps his greatest career stimulus.
Ironically, the quarterback’s success in doing so is also portrayed as the proverbial beginning of the end of Brady’s union with head coach Bill Belichick.
Cred: Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
The eighth installment of the 10-part docuseries opens with former Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest announcing the selection of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the 2014 draft. Through the generous use of cinematic foreshadowing, director Matthew Hamachek sets the Pats drafting of Garoppolo as the advent of Belichick’s post-Brady succession plan.
“We all know Tom’s [Brady] age and contract situation,” Belichick is shown telling reporters in his post 2014 draft press conference … We did what we believe was best for the team.”
Belichick’s purported desire to move on from Brady was echoed by team owner Robert Kraft, who recalled the legendary coach using empirical evidence to prove his case.
“I remember BIll (Belichick) used to show me different statistics,” Kraft explained. “Tommy’s throws over 20 yards were ranked near the lowest in the league. And Bill said we have to be ready to move on.”
Fueled by a desire to retain his territory, Brady is next shown during 2016 training camp, splitting reps with Garoppolo in an attempt to prepare the latter for his first four starts of the season. Despite the team’s loyalty to Brady, there are glimpses of their growing support of Garoppolo. As former special teams ace Matthew Slater recalled, helping to develop the young quarterback seemed like the “Patriot” thing to do.
“I remember how our team just rallied around Jimmy,” Slater said after Garoppolo impressively led the Pats to a Week 1 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. “The enthusiasm. It was almost like we had won a playoff game, but it was Week 1.”
In contrast to Garoppolo’s newfound prosperity, the scrutiny surrounding Brady was beginning to intensify. In a now infamous diatribe, ESPN’s Max Kellerman declared the then four-time Super Bowl champion “about to fall off a cliff.” As New England marched through their first four games sans their Deflategate-suspended MVP, Brady’s spot as the Patriots starter suddenly seemed tenable.
In an effort to parallel his previous struggles, the episode segues to Brady’s return to the University Michigan to serve as honorary captain for a Wolverines game during his suspension. In doing so, the former Patriots sixth-round Draft steal recalled his time as Michigan quarterback. Embroiled in a tight battle for the starting job with Drew Henson, then-Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr vowed to ‘go with the hot hand’ rather than make a choice.
Brady’s stint with the Wolverines helped forge the resolve which continued to motivate him throughout his career. His college roommate, Jay Flannelly, recalls a field-day style “meet and greet” at Michigan Stadium in which Brady’s fan base was severely outnumbered by that of Henson.
“I remember sitting with him that day,” Flannelly said. “Drew’s [Henson] crowd was a steady stream, while Tom signed maybe five autographs.”
“They talk about it … and I saw it that day. The Tom Brady look of death,” Flannelly said. “He wasn’t going to be second any more.”
Returning to 2016, Brady once again directed said “look” to his doubters. Whether it was the media, his opponents, or Belichick himself, Brady unleashed a fury on the NFL to re-establish his claim as the NFL’s best player.
Set to the backdrop of Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do,” a montage of highlights showed the dominance with which Brady led the Patriots to win 12 of 13 games — en route to a berth in Super Bowl LI against the Atlanta Falcons.
It was a season which Brady defined using the initials “FEA.”
“FEA,” you may ask?
“(Bleep) ‘em all baby!” Brady said emphatically. “They [everyone but Patriots fans] are rooting against us anyway.”
Despite an early Atlanta onslaught to begin Super Bowl LI, Brady and the Patriots refused to admit defeat. Having seen the strength of Brady’s resolve in the past, Scott Pioli (now serving as the Falcons’ assistant general manager) expressed caution to his prematurely celebrating colleagues.
“You people don’t get it,” Pioli expressed. “That guy … number 12 across the field … is Freddy (bleeping) Krueger.”
Brady and the Patriots erased a 28-3 third-quarter deficit to cap the greatest and most improbable comeback in Super Bowl history. In essence, he fulfilled Pioli’s prophecy by turning Atlanta’s dream into a nightmare.
For Brady, Super Bowl LI may have been his greatest individual display of determination. Statistically, he was as impressive as ever. Brady completed 43 of 62 passes for 466 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 15 yards. In the process, he set single-game Super Bowl records for completions, attempts, and passing yards.
Aside from his performance, as well as the near-mythic proportions of the comeback itself, the true measure of Brady’s resolve was much more personal. In fact, it came after the game had been won. It was when an emotional and tearful Brady embraced his mother, who gallantly fought her battle to share that moment with her son.
Though New England’s comeback victory was truly a team effort, Brady’s heroics understandably took center stage. As such, it seemed to be the catalyst for an impending power struggle between the NFL’s greatest player and coach for supremacy over its most successful franchise.
“Brady and Belichick are the two titanic figures of this franchise, but they are two alphas,” recalled journalist Howard Bryant. “A collision was inevitable.”
The episode ends, setting up the “collision” for the next episode.
The "collision” between Brady and Belichick is the primary subject of Episode 9, entitled "Breaking Point," which is now available on AppleTV+.
