All it took in 2001 was Drew Bledsoe suffering a serious injury at the hands of New York Jets defender Mo Lewis to open a spot as New England Patriots starting quarterback.
Although the narrative is Tom Brady was next in line and obviously the rest is history numerous Super Bowls later, the real story had the Patriots a coin flip away from what could have altered what has happened over the last 14 years or so.
Here's former offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, per SI:
"Oh no, no, no, no," Weis says of that popular tale, the one that has Brady, a Belichick draft pick, waiting in the wings behind owner Robert Kraft's preferred leader, Bledsoe. "[Brady] wasn't better than Bledsoe. In fact he wasn't much better than [Damon Huard]. Bledsoe was clearly the starter. The No. 2 spot, that's where the competition was. We really could have flipped a coin to pick the second guy. We ended up picking Tommy—but it was really close"
Would Damon Huard have had the same success in Weis' system? We'll never know for sure, but it's fair to say Brady has done the best with an injury-ravaged group and often a receiving corps lacking a true No. 1 option.
