Brady the Bear

By Jeff Feyerer

With the 170th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears select … quarterback Tom Brady.

Yeah, a lot of teams can say they had a shot to draft Tom Brady.

I mean, the 49ers thought Giovanni Carmazzi from Hofstra was their quarterback of the future. Right. How’d that work out? Oh, that’s right. You’re drafting first in April.

But at the time of the 2000 NFL Draft, the Bears quarterback position was in a state of flux and drafting a developmental backup like Brady should have been a priority.

Cade McNown, their No. 1 pick in 1999, was supposed to be the future, but appeared to suffer from a mild case of Ryan Leaf syndrome. Loads of talent. No maturity.

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Behind him were two journeymen, Jim Miller and Shane Matthews, who spent more time on the injured list than they did on the playing field.

After the drafting of Brian Urlacher in 2000, the Bears defense improved from 30th to 16th.

But the offense was not as fortunate.

The Bears got worse in every statistical category, and McNown wrote himself a check his butt couldn’t cash as he was promptly booted from Chicago.

Apparently, the Bears staff felt Matthews and Miller could get the job done in 2001.

Who was their psychic?

The Bears finished 13-3 as they produced one of the biggest “Where the hell did that come from?” seasons in NFL history.

Every time you turned around something more spectacular happened.

Urlacher was redecorating the opposition’s bone structure.

Mike Brown was plucking a ball out of the air and heading toward the locker room.

Keith Traylor was running with an interception like there was a cheeseburger in the end zone and a bomb in his hands.

But people tend to forget how bad the offense actually was in 2001.

During the season, the only thing moving the ball was rookie sensation Anthony Thomas and a little bit of divine intervention.

Lord knows the patented John Shoop bubble screen wasn’t going anywhere.

Consistency and efficiency escaped the grasp of the offense and the right arms of Miller and Matthews.

So how does Brady fit into this equation?

If Brady could replace Drew Bledsoe, a legend in New England, when he got hurt, he surely could take the place of one of the Bears’ pieces of china when they hit the deck numerous times throughout 2001.

Miller and Matthews were nearing 30 and giving a younger guy a shot should never be out of the realm of possibility.

More importantly, the Bears were the Patriots of the NFC.

Both had top of the line defenses. Both were 5-11 in 2000. Both offenses relied on efficiency and field position. Both were No. 2 seeds in the 2001-2002 playoffs.

And both caught lucky breaks the entire season.

The Bears pulled miraculous victories out of their bodily crevices against the 49ers and Browns.

The Patriots won eight of their last nine regular season games just to get to the postseason.

But Jan. 19 and the Divisional Playoff proved to be a “Tale of Two Cities.”

For the Bears, it was the worst of times as their luck ran out against the Eagles, and Donovan McNabb decided to “cut the meat” of the Chicago defense.

For the Patriots, it was the best of times. Adam Vinatieri knocked a game-winning field goal home in the driving snow after New England made a new best friend, “The Tuck Rule.”

The rest is history.

Ah, but how about Brady in the orange and blue?

It’s hard to say if Brady’s development would have been stunted outside of Charlie Weis’ offense and tutelage of Bledsoe, or even if the ball would have bounced the same way for the Monsters of the Midway.

There may have been a Super Bowl ring, subsequent playoff appearances, a job for Dick Jauron and maybe even a touchdown catch or two for David Terrell (Who am I kidding?).

One thing is for certain.

The Bears offense would have been more efficient, giving them a better chance to compete in the 2001 postseason.

Instead, Brady and his Patriots now sit atop the throne of the latest NFL dynasty and the Bears are left to wallow in the pain of the NFC North basement.

Brady as a Bear and a Super Bowl celebration would have been nice, but just remember one thing.

Things could be worse.

They could be the 49ers.