Anticlimactic choice

Pats made the obvious call in going with Brady

And the winner of Ankle-gate is ... Tom Brady. Big surprise, huh?

Let's be honest, the only way Brady wasn't going to be named New England's starting quarterback in Sunday's Super Bowl was if his left foot fell off at practice on Wednesday afternoon at Tulane University.

It didn't. Case closed.

Don't kid yourself. Brady's left ankle sprain won't be anywhere near 100 percent when he takes the field against St. Louis in the Superdome. But if you believe in dancing with the girl who brung ya -- like Bill Belichick does -- then Brady and the Patriots head coach were almost guaranteed to be partners until the very end this week.

Once Brady showed he could move around at all in the pocket, and thereby protect himself, it was a slam dunk that Belichick was going to opt for Brady over veteran Drew Bledsoe.

For at least a couple reasons. First, the Patriots wouldn't even be in the Super Bowl without Brady. New England was 13-3 in games he started this season, and he sparked the magic that propelled the Patriots to their first Super Bowl in five years. Belichick didn't want to fool with that karma now if he could do anything to avoid it. He trusts his second-year quarterback and the two have open lines of communication not shared by Belichick and Bledsoe.

Second, while Bledsoe deserves credit for his calm, cool performance in the AFC title game in Pittsburgh on Sunday, he doesn't deserve too much credit. While he was superb on his first drive, going 3-of-3 for 36 yards and a touchdown, Bledsoe was a pedestrian 7-of-18 for 66 yards in the second half.

Even more important, he made some questionable decisions and throws -- remember the over-the-head, blind hook-shot pass while falling down to earn a grounding penalty? -- that reminded you why Bledsoe's play wasn't always so veteran-like in times past. In preparing for what might be his head coaching career's only shot at a Super Bowl title, Belichick really didn't want to put the ball in the hands of a quarterback who has played less than 32 minutes since Sept. 23.

Clearly, all signs pointed to Brady this week. He was listed as probable rather than questionable on the injury report. Belichick said Brady could have re-entered the Steelers game if it had been necessary, and repeatedly termed the injury as a turned ankle. Somehow that doesn't even sound as serious as a sprain.

The irony, of course, is that after all the attention the quarterback decision has received since Sunday, Brady could start and play three snaps before re-injuring his ankle, and it would be Bledsoe's game to win. Maybe Belichick knows that, and would much rather prefer having Bledsoe come off the bench as a reliever, rather than carry around the burden of starting this week.

But for now, it's Brady, and then Bledsoe. In that order.

Don Banks covers pro football for CNNSI.com.

 

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