Brady was 14 of 21 for 207 yards and two touchdowns against the Steelers in the AFC Championship game. Toying with Pittsburgh's vaunted secondary in subzero (minus-1 windchill) temperatures, Brady elevated his playoff record to a perfect 8-0. A day later, word leaked that he'd been suffering a 103-degree temperature Saturday night and had an IV plugged into his left arm to keep himself hydrated.
As ever, Brady downplayed the medical crisis when he was asked about it for the first time yesterday. Looking rather sickly with a towel wrapped around his neck, he said, "There were a lot of guys who were sick and a lot of guys aren't feeling good and a lot of guys were probably having a tougher time than I was. Guys have been doing that all year. There were a bunch of guys that didn't feel well. I was one of many and probably I felt best out of the group."
When another reporter followed up, asking, "How bad was it?," Brady answered, "I never talk about injuries. I never talk about any of that. It's over with and we're moving on. There's guys in that locker room that play with broken bones and messed up backs and necks. I didn't deal with any of that."
Commenting on his own maladies makes him uncomfortable.
"I think it takes away from what everyone else does and what everyone else plays with," he said. "Everyone else plays with great toughness and never complains. Like a little flu bug is a big deal or something. I think it takes away from what those guys do. Those guys certainly shouldn't have anything taken away from what they do every week."
This is one of the reasons the Patriots win. Certainly there is talent and versatility on the roster. The coach may, in fact, be a legitimate genius. And Bob Kraft has become a model for ownership. But the Patriots also win because of their share-the-glory attitude, which starts at the top. It's easy to keep the locker room harmony when your most celebrated player goes out of his way to credit everybody else.
