There was a time when Tom Brady's statistics were indistinguishable from the likes of Marc Bulger and Trent Green, let alone Peyton Manning and Brett Favre. This was years before an MVP season with 50 touchdown passes. If you saw an accolade for Brady back then, it was probably related to the New England Patriots winning games, independent of his performance.
New England carved out a dynasty built on defense, timely special teams and gutting out close wins against teams deemed to have more talent. Before shifting gears to an offense-heavy approach in 2007, the Patriots' unparalleled success in close games established a reputation for Brady as the most clutch quarterback in the league.
Fast-forward to the present day, and the Seattle Seahawks and Russell Wilson have the chance to sail the same waters the Patriots did as the last team to repeat as Super Bowl champion. Every decade has had a different dynasty in the NFL, so it is only fitting that Super Bowl XLIX features the Seahawks trying to take down the old guard that basically wrote the blueprint for them.
Wilson is an odd character in the sense that he actually desires moments such as overtime. He is one of the very few quarterbacks who talks about being clutch as a goal and as part of being a really good quarterback. Before last postseason started, Wilson relayed that point about his next opponent. "You think about the Tom Bradys of the world, and that's what makes him one of the best quarterbacks of all time, just because he's been clutch in the playoffs."
While that might sound naive, those close playoff wins were actually the foundation for Brady's rise to stardom. Wilson is headed down a Brady-like path, but if we analyze the other parts of his game, Wilson actually looks like a better version of a young Brady.
Let's take a deeper look at why.
Following the early Tom Brady blueprint
Two of the most common traits in dynasties are a young quarterback and a large amount of talent procured in a short period of time. Having the quarterback play on his smaller rookie salary is a major luxury in building the rest of the roster, which the 2001-04 Patriots and current Seahawks have enjoyed in the salary-cap era. Seattle has copied a few more ideas from the Patriots.
Start with head coaches like Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll who were seeking a second (or, in Carroll's case, third) shot at glory in this league. Enter the quarterback who passed up a pro baseball career after some success in a Big Ten football program, only to wait his turn on draft day.