With Brady out, are the Patriots doomed?
Alan Bass
Issue date: 9/18/08 Section: Sports
In light of Tom Brady's devastating knee injury, there is now a question going around: Is a top-flight goalie more important to a hockey team's ongoing success than a quarterback to a football squad?
In order to answer this question, I feel that we must look back at recent history, both in hockey and in football.
1990-1991 NFL Season: The New York Giants looked to be on a hot run to the playoffs, until starting quarterback Phil Simms broke his foot on Dec. 15, 1990, setting off a raging debate on whether or not the Giants' season was over. In comes backup quarterback Jeff Hostetler. Hostetler leads the Giants to Super Bowl XXV, defeating the Buffalo Bills to win their second ever Super Bowl Championship. The New York Giants win the Super Bowl with a backup quarterback.
2001-2002 NFL Season: In an example that we all can remember, because anyone writing on Bleacher Report is old enough to remember this brilliant season where we discovered one of the best quarterbacks of all-time (in my humble opinion).
The New England Patriots were an okay team, looking to squeeze into the postseason, and perhaps capture their first Super Bowl Championship. Starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe injures himself in the first week, and now comes in this pathetic, former 199th overall draft pick. Some crappy kid named Tom Brady.
The Patriots are doomed, right? They go on to a 9-7 season and win their first of three Super Bowls, and Tom Brady is finally discovered as an NFL superstar.
Now we look at the NHL. Based on modern history (modern history in my mind is any time after 1970), there is NO team that won the Stanley Cup by riding their backup goalie for the entire season and the playoffs. Note: I am not counting the 2008 Detroit Red Wings, because even though Chris Osgood was a backup, he is still a great goalie.
There were teams that won the Stanley Cup with unproven goalies (at the time), such as the Carolina Hurricanes with Cam Ward in 2006, or the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 (Nikolai Khabibulin was not very known at that time, yet). However, these goalies came up big when they needed to.
In order to answer this question, I feel that we must look back at recent history, both in hockey and in football.
1990-1991 NFL Season: The New York Giants looked to be on a hot run to the playoffs, until starting quarterback Phil Simms broke his foot on Dec. 15, 1990, setting off a raging debate on whether or not the Giants' season was over. In comes backup quarterback Jeff Hostetler. Hostetler leads the Giants to Super Bowl XXV, defeating the Buffalo Bills to win their second ever Super Bowl Championship. The New York Giants win the Super Bowl with a backup quarterback.
2001-2002 NFL Season: In an example that we all can remember, because anyone writing on Bleacher Report is old enough to remember this brilliant season where we discovered one of the best quarterbacks of all-time (in my humble opinion).
The New England Patriots were an okay team, looking to squeeze into the postseason, and perhaps capture their first Super Bowl Championship. Starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe injures himself in the first week, and now comes in this pathetic, former 199th overall draft pick. Some crappy kid named Tom Brady.
The Patriots are doomed, right? They go on to a 9-7 season and win their first of three Super Bowls, and Tom Brady is finally discovered as an NFL superstar.
Now we look at the NHL. Based on modern history (modern history in my mind is any time after 1970), there is NO team that won the Stanley Cup by riding their backup goalie for the entire season and the playoffs. Note: I am not counting the 2008 Detroit Red Wings, because even though Chris Osgood was a backup, he is still a great goalie.
There were teams that won the Stanley Cup with unproven goalies (at the time), such as the Carolina Hurricanes with Cam Ward in 2006, or the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 (Nikolai Khabibulin was not very known at that time, yet). However, these goalies came up big when they needed to.