I'm looking back at Brady's games from his first two Super Bowl seasons and... he really wasn't even that great. If anyone should be considered "clutch" during those times, it's Adam Vinatieri. Honestly, Tom Brady ranged from OK to good in the games he played during that stretch and he managed the games.
I get Brady has to put the Patriots in position for this to happen, but this is essentially every playoff game during that stretch:
The "Tuck Rule" Game (NE 16 - OAK 13): This game pretty much says enough to me and hammers that point that one play pretty much changes the story. If that's called a fumble, The Raiders advance. The story would be about Gruden, Gannon, and that Raider defense. Instead, it's called an incomplete pass. Vinatieri gets set up to send it to overtime. Patriots win the coin toss, Brady finds a way to go 8-for-8, including converting a 4th down, Vinatieri send them to the AFC Championship game.
Bledsoe's Back (NE 24 - PIT 17): Brady gets injured and Bledsoe finishes the game. Patriots scored on special teams twice (1 KR TD, 1 blocked FG return) and with a Bledsoe score. Kordell Stewart looked bad and the offense couldn't get it together.
Super Bowl 36 (NE 20 - STL 17): This is where the "Brady is clutch" in the 4th quarter really begins. In my opinion, I give a ton more credit to Kurt Warner in this game because the Rams looked bad in the first three quarters and Warner threw a pick six to Ty Law earlier in the game. But, he came roaring back in the 4th and made up the two scores to eventually get the game tied up and it looked like he brought them into overtime for a chance to win.
I give Brady credit. He did have to drive the ball to put them in position to win with Vinatieri with no timeouts an not turn the ball over. For him to do that, especially when he was pretty much non-existent all game (he was under 100 yards passing until that drive), is great. But, that's all he has to do. The game is tied. He doesn't have to force throws or win the game by scoring a touchdown. He just has to get them in field goal range and not turn the ball over. From that point on, it's all Vinatieri. He makes it, they win. He misses... well, they're only in overtime. Vinatieri makes it. Pats win. Brady's legend begins.
This isn't like Eli's situation in his first Super Bowl where he HAS to score on that final drive or else. This isn't like Eli's second Super Bowl where he can either score and go up by 4 to force Brady to score or wind the clock a little more and settle for a field goal (but if the kicker misses, the Giants lose). This isn't like Flacco's situation in the AFC Championship game where you can score and end it (Lee Evans drops the TD pass) or he could settle with great field goal range, but if the kicker misses it, the Ravens lose. Cundiff shanks it. Ravens lose.
In each of those situations, the quarterback HAS TO WIN or the game is over. In this situation, all Brady has to do is NOT LOSE and either outcome produces a win/winning situation. Brady doesn't have to score a touchdown. He doesn't have to win the game. He just has to put them in a winning situation.
Fuck Drew Bennett - AFC Divisional 2003 (NE 17 - TEN 14): I kinda' remember this game because I wanted to see Steve McNair win it all this year and this goes back to my point of Tom Brady not having to win the game. The Patriots have a fairly quiet game offensively and I think they missed a field goal in the second. Right after that, I think Ty Law intercepted a pass and the Patriots scored on offense. The Titans had a field goal of theirs blocked and the game was pretty back and forth and loopy for the first half and the score was 14-14 at some point in the third quarter.
In the middle of the fourth, the Patriots got great field position inside Titans' territory from a punt return and the Patriots didn't really move the ball further so they settled for an Adam Vinatieri field goal. 17-14 Pats.
Steve McNair starts driving the Titans down the field and they got inside the 30 and I was pretty sure they were going to score and end the game. Then they had two consecutive penalties called against them. One of them I'm sure was intentional grounding. The other was probably holding. They were back at midfield. McNair got a completion that brought them back into 40 and it was fourth down. He got pressured because Rodney Harrison came absolutely free and McNair threw the ball like a hanging punt. Drew Bennett had position to make the catch and all he had to do was just catch it. Just secure it. No one else touched the ball but him and it bounced off his hands and the defenders were able to come in time for him to not juggle it in his hands. Brady's legend continues.
Peyton Shits The Bed - AFC Championship 2003 (NE 24 - IND 14): Yeah, I think we all know this game. Not much to say. Title says it all.
Super Bowl 38 (NE 32 - CAR 29) - This was a great Super Bowl and this is actually a performance I thought Brady was great in. Even though the situation at the end was similar to Super Bowl 36, I give Brady much more credit here because he had to trade scores back and forth with Delhomme. Brady was fantastic and he really did more than his part to be in a position to be in a position to win with the score 29-29. Even though Vinatieri scored the winning points, Brady gets 100% praise for this one in my books.
I can analyze the third season, but I don't have the effort for it right now. But, this is what W2B and I are talking about. One play/series can determine an outcome, but we overlook scenarios and create "legends" because of a general statistic. We assume Brady is just a winner because his postseason record was once 10-0 and because he's a 3-Time Super Bowl champion. So, we create this idea that Tom Brady is a god and that when ever he's on the field, the Patriots just can't lose.
The Patriots were unreasonably favored in this past Super Bowl because of it when the Giants had better match-ups. People think "Oh, well it's Tom Brady, there's just no way he'll lose again in the Super Bowl." "He's too determined." "You can't beat Brady twice." What kind of thinking is that?