I am going to break new ground and do something I have never done before around here the last decade.
I am going to blame the New England Patriots woes in 2009 on Tom Brady.
Of course, there is a disclaimer.
He has lots of company on the Blame Pie. From the disappointing pass rush, to the inconsistent phony-baloney running game, to the recent Bad News Bears imitation in the defensive secondary, to the nondescript play of their "star" linebacker Jerod Mayo and, finally, to the lack of a bona fide tight end.
But we can't avoid the obvious anymore. The difference between the Patriots being a Super Bowl contender and a wild card team has been the performance of the greatest Patriot of them all: Brady.
Every single New England loss — and there are five of them after yesterday's 22-21 collapse in the Miami heat — has Brady's signature on it.
The Patriots had chances to put away the Broncos, Colts and Dolphins in the second half.
Looking back at those three losses, including yesterday, each of those games appeared to be in the bag as early as the first half. Brady and the offense looked that good.
And the game in New Orleans literally turned on a dime, or really a bad Brady interception, on the first play of their second drive in the first quarter with the Patriots ahead 7-3.
There are the other aforementioned problems. But let's be honest: most were problems in August, too.
We still had Brady and his offense. They were going to make up for everything. They were going to beat the opposition by outscoring them.
With Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and a pretty good and healthy offensive line, the 2009 Patriots, much like the 2007 version, were built to score points.
Running the football would be a luxury, which it is. And Bill Belichick's defense, while it might not be good, it would be good enough to win, and it has been.
Everything has pretty much unfolded as expected.
Except Brady.
Brady is having a very good year statistically, if not a great season, and is on par with his Super Bowl championship years in 2003 and 2004.
He has completed two of every three pass attempts. His quarterback ranking (96.5) has him eighth overall. He is second to Peyton Manning in yards thrown (299 per game). He has thrown one interception every 54 pass attempts, putting him in the top six in the league.
Belichick bore the brunt of the Patriots' debilitating loss to the Colts for his decision to go for it on fourth-and-2 play from the Patriots' 28-yard line. But Brady's fourth-down pass to Kevin Faulk was a head-scratcher.
Why did he throw it to Faulk, who ran only a 21รขÑ2 yard route from the line of scrimmage rather than Welker, who was wide open and well past the first down marker only a few yards away from Faulk?
If the Patriots beat the Colts that night, which for most of the game appeared inevitable, we aren't talking about settling for a measly wild card spot. We are talking Super Bowl.
Simply put, Brady hasn't come through when we most expected it. His second halves, particularly away from Gillette Stadium, have been Mark Sanchez-like.
Brady had Sam Aiken wide open down the right sideline with 8:30 remaining and the score 21-19. It was a free touchdown. Instead it went over Aiken, who almost made the second greatest reception of his career (his third-quarter catch, which turned into an 81-yard TD was the best play of this season for the Patriots) by diving.
On the series before in the fourth quarter, Brady tried to force a pass to Moss on second-and-goal play from the 5-yard line. It was intercepted.
Are there problems with the play calling? Maybe. Brady has called an inordinate amount of timeouts because the play clock has run down. He seems to be rushing too many plays as the clock hits "0."
But isn't that the easy way out?
Brady is and always has been the leader of this offense. He is a vital participant in the game-plan preparation. And he has the power to veto a call if he sees it differently at the line of scrimmage.
As I noted in my opening line, this is new territory for us. It is not easy to put the blame on one of the greatest quarterbacks who has ever lived.
But the facts are the facts. And Brady has had many chances to lead this team to a 14-2 record, but strangely he hasn't come through.
E-mail Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.
John Wall talks about the loss to the Heat-2/10
Collins takes the blame for the Sixers' final possession
Sixers vs. Clippers highlights
Sixers defensive effort not enough vs. Clippers
Post game plus crew on the Sixers loss
Rose and Zumoff recap the Sixers last second loss
Penn vs. Harvard highlights
Stefon Diggs chooses Maryland, Randy Edsall comments-2/10
Cal Ripken says the Orioles will go as far as their pitching-2/10
Sandusky makes a statement
Collegiate Corner: Philly College Hoops - 2/9
Ovechkin: "I don't think we deserved to lose today."
Brayden Schenn scores a goal against his brother Luke
What is ailing the Flyers?
Briere on facing the Maple Leafs
Flyers on Bobrovsky starting and work ethic
Schenn and Hartnell help the Flyers snap their skid
Iguodala is selected to his first All-Star Game
What is the injury situation with Hawes?
Brayden Schenn on trade rumors surrounding his brother, Luke Schenn
Julien: 'did it the hard way'
McAdam's Spring Training primer
Doc: Team's effort is 'un-Celtic'
Pierce stresses mental toughness
Globe 10.0 Who was the best free agent in Boston?
Maria Menounos dons a Giants-colored bikini after losing Super Bowl bet-2/7
Thomas' moratorium: 'I'm out, peace'
Gasol: 'Not pleasant' being part of trade rumor
Blakely: Gasol-for-Rondo trade unlikely
Brady-ing is Latest Internet Meme
Globe 10.0: Is Paul Pierce the Celtics greatest scorer?
Ranking Pierce among Celtics greats
Garnett's tale of first meeting Paul Pierce
Pierce's loyalty touted after big night
Hurt Locker: Patriots react to Super Bowl loss
Brown: 'Eli Manning is better than Tom Brady'
Local fans crushed by Patriots loss in Super Bowl XLVI
Marcus Johansson Caps lone goal in loss to Bruins-2/5
Matt Hendricks throws down with the Bruins' Adam McQuaid--2/5
Vinatieri, Law, Brown recount Super Bowl XXXVI
