Tom Brady Admits Tuck Rule Play Might Have Been A Fumble
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady has built himself a rather successful career. A multitude of Super Bowl trophies, Super Bowl MVP trophies, regular-season MVP trophies, and just about every record and accolade for quarterbacking all belong to him. Nice little run he's been on there.
But of course, it was all established, really, on a very controversial play in the snow against the Oakland Raiders in January of 2002. The Tuck Rule has spawned multiple documentaries, endless banter, and two decades of tears and rage from fans of the Raiders and haters of the Patriots.
And now, after all this time, it's produced ... a viral video attempt from Brady.
The quarterback partook in what appears to be a social media trend of saying something honest to the world. With a prompt from Justin Bieber, Brady participated by admitting that the incomplete pass he released in the snow just might have been something other than an incomplete pass.
"Tuck Rule game, against the Raiders," Brady said before jokingly looking over his shuolder to make sure he was alone. "Might have been a fumble."
Brady's tweet said, "Everyone keep this on the down low please." His Instagram caption said, "Keep this between us bro," while tagging the Biebs.
Hardy har har.
It's not exactly new ground for Brady to cover, as he sat down with Charles Woodson for an ESPN documentary on the play within the past couple of years. That film aired in February, and during his debates with Woodson, he didn't necessarily argue the specifics of the fumble itself but rather the language of the rule. And by the language of the rule -- which was officially removed from the NFL rule book in 2013 -- the play was correctly called as an incomplete pass.
Brady also stated during that production that if the play had been ruled a fumble, he believes he would have been Drew Bledsoe's backup entering the 2002 season. Instead, he was the Super Bowl MVP, on his way to an absurd seven Super Bowl victories and the greatest career anyone's ever experienced at the most important position in professional sports.
Having that kind of reality probably makes it rather easy to goof around about any alternate realities regarding fumbles and incomplete passes.
