FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — When the story of the Patriots 2015 season has been written, it’s very possible Deflategate ends up being the catalyst to the team’s Super Bowl defense, because nobody does retribution and vengeance better than the Patriots — particularly Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.
Nobody has a bigger chip on their shoulders than the Patriots quarterback and head coach.
Those who believe one iota of Belichick droning on about how the team cares nothing about the negative outside perceptions that always seem to hover around the franchise like a bad case of body odor are to be taken as fools.
Those who believe Brady’s dismissive downplaying of the same are to be taken as bigger fools.
There might not be a more fiery, competitive soul in the sport than Brady. Case in point: His carving up of the Steelers’ defense in Thursday night’s 28-21 win in the 2015 NFL opener at Gillette Stadium.
Brady — who until last week was supposed to miss the first four games of the season to serve the suspension NFL commissioner Roger Goodell gave him for his role in Deflategate — was 15-of-17 for 172 yards and two touchdowns by halftime. He finished 25-of-32 for 288 yards and four TDs — three to Rob Gronkowski.
For Brady and the Patriots, Thursday night represented more than the first of 16 regular-season games on the schedule.
It represented a chance to give Goodell, the legal eagles dishing out their flawed advice to the bungling commissioner and the owners around the league who want to see the Patriots taken down, a collective single-finger salute.
The Steelers were merely the first opponent standing in the way of the angry-at-the-world Patriots and the powerful message they were determined to deliver.
Nothing personal, Pittsburgh. Just business.
No team in sports blocks out controversy and distractions better than Belichick, Brady and the Patriots. To the contrary: They turn distractions that would break most teams into motivational mojo. For the Patriots, the external distractions are like spinach to Popeye. They make them stronger.
Tom BradyGetty ImagesLook back to the infamous Spygate controversy that embarrassed the franchise as Exhibit A. In 2008, the year after the Patriots were penalized for their part in Spygate, they ate the NFL for lunch, going undefeated through the regular season and playoffs before a loss to the Giants in the Super Bowl prevented a historic 19-0 slate.
Thursday night had the look of an opening act to a similar Vengeance Tour.
From the moment first Brady appeared on the field in pregame warm-ups to a standing ovation and chants of “Brady, Brady, Brady,’’ the beloved New England quarterback was saluted like a king.
Brady gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead with a 16-yard TD pass to Gronkowski in the first quarter and he made it 14-0 with a 6-yard scoring pass to Gronkowski in the second quarter.
He capped the opening drive of the second half with his third TD pass, a 1-yarder to tight end Scott Chandler for a 21-3 lead.
Brady threw his fourth TD of the game — and third to Gronkowski, after Gronkowski had recovered a Dion Lewis fumble inches from the goal line to preserve a Patriots drive — from a yard out with 9:20 remaining to make it 28-14. The Steelers tacked on a cosmetic touchdown on an 11-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown with two seconds remaining.
“It just shows you how mentally tough [Brady] really is to be dealing with what he’s dealt with and to be able to come out here and lead us like this,’’ said Patriots receiver Julian Edelman, who caught 11 passes for 97 yards.
“Are you surprised?’’ Patriots special-teams captain Matthew Slater said. “I’m not … at all.’’
Brady called it “a pretty special night.’’
The atmosphere at Gillette was equal parts carnival and football game, with some fans wearing “Brady Vindicated’’ T-shirts and others wearing shirts with a picture of Goodell donning a dunce cap.
With 8:29 remaining in the game, at which Goodell was conspicuously absent, jubilant Patriots fans chanted, “Where is Roger?’’
The Patriots plan for the pregame ceremony Thursday night if Brady were still suspended was not to raise the Super Bowl banner as is custom, it was to raise a banner of Brady’s uniform with notation of his three Super Bowl MVP honors on it.
Patriots owner Bob Kraft was insistent a team Super Bowl banner not be raised until Brady was in the building and in uniform to be a part of it.
If Kraft could have pulled it off, you got the feeling he’d have had U.S. District Judge Richard Berman — the man who last week ruled against the NFL and ordered it to lift the Brady ban — in the building Thursday night to raise the Super Bowl banner.
Maybe Kraft can book Berman to raise the banner next year after the Patriots become the first team to repeat as Super Bowl champions since they did it in 2003-2004. That would be more timing-appropriate considering Berman’s ruling might end up saving the Patriots 2015 season (with apologies to Brady’s untested backup, Jimmy Garoppolo).
