Thomas Brady was born on Aug. 3, 1977 in San Mateo, Calif. ... Blue Chip Illustrated and Prep Football Report All-American selection at Serra High in San Mateo, Calif. ... Added all-state and All-Far West honors as the team’s Most Valuable Player ... Earned two letters in both football and baseball ... Completed 236 of 447 passes (52.8%) for 3,702 yards and 31 touchdowns during his high school career ... Drafted in the 18th round of the 1995 Major League Baseball draft as a catcher by the Montreal Expos ... Majored in organizational studies at Michigan. Career Highlights Led the NFL with 28 touchdown passes. His 28 touchdowns established a career high and tied for the second most in Patriots history for a single season. Set or tied single-game career highs in attempts, completions, yards, completion percentage and touchdowns. Named AFC Offensive Player of the Week twice: following the season opener against Pittsburgh (9/9) and at Buffalo (11/3) Registered a passer rating of over 100.0 in three straight games to begin the season, the first time a Patriots quarterback opened a season with three straight ratings over 100.0. Brady’s three straight games with a rating over 100.0 marks the first time a Patriots quarterback has done that since Drew Bledsoe in 1996. Threw for at least two touchdown passes in each of the season’s first five games, the first Patriot to accomplish that feat and the first Patriot to throw for at least two touchdowns in five straight games in a single season since Butch Songin (10/23/60-11/18/60). Set a single-game franchise record by completing 84.6 percent of his passes at Buffalo (11/3, min. 20 attempts). Completed a streak of throwing for at least one touchdown in 11 straight games (12/22/01—11/17/02), tying the third longest streak in Patriots history. His .667 career winning percentage ranks third among all active quarterbacks. His six ratings of over 100.0 are the most by a Patriots quarterback in a single season since Bledsoe recorded seven in 1996. Brady completed 264 of 413 passes (63.9%) for 2,843 yards, 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while starting 14 of 15 games during the 2001 season. Brady (24 years, 184 days old) was voted MVP of Super Bowl XXXVI and was the third-youngest player to earn the honor (Marcus Allen, 23 years and 301 days at Super Bowl XVIII and Lynn Swann, 23 years, 316 days at Super Bowl X). Brady was voted to the 2001 Pro Bowl and became just the second Patriots quarterback to receive the honor (Drew Bledsoe, 1994, 1996 and 1997). He also became just the fifth quarterback to be voted to the Pro Bowl in his first year as a starter since 1970, joining Dan Marino (1983), Brett Favre (1992), Kurt Warner (1999) and Daunte Culpepper (2000). Brady passed for 572 yards, while completing 60 of 97 attempts (61.9%) for one touchdown and one interception during the 2001 postseason. Brady passed for 53 yards on the Patriots game-winning drive in Super Bowl XXXVI, completing five-of-eight passes. Two of his pass attempts were spiked to kill the game clock. With just 1:21 remaining, he moved the Patriots into field goal position without the benefit of timeouts. Brady completed 63.9% of his passes during the 2001 season and achieved the highest completion percentage in the 42-year history of the Patriots franchise. He surpassed Tony Eason’s mark of 61.6 (448-276) from 1986. Brady completed over 70 percent of his passes in four consecutive games during the 2001 season and joined an exclusive club of quarterbacks who accomplished the feat; he joined Joe Montana (8 games, 1989), Troy Aikman (4, 1995), Steve Young (4, 1993) and Sammy Baugh (4, 1945). Brady completed the first 162 passes of his career without an interception. It was the longest streak to start a career in NFL history and ranks third for most attempts without an interception in Patriots franchise history. Brady was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week following his performance in the Patriots 29-26 overtime victory vs. San Diego (10/14/01). He set season-highs with 54 attempts, 33 completions and 364 yards against the Chargers. Brady was named Miller Lite Player of the Week and AFC Player of the Week following his performance in the Patriots 34-17 victory over the New Orleans Saints (11/25/01). He notched a season-high four touchdowns while completing 19 of 26 passes for 268 yards.
