Super Bowl Champions 2001
New England Patriots

2001 Super Bowl Champions New England Patriots

BOSTON-The New England Patriots were dismissed as mediocre, called lucky when they moved through the playoffs, and seen as sacrificial lambs in the Super Bowl. ADVERTISEMENT
On Tuesday, the Patriots were simply Super Bowl champions to the estimated 1.2 million fans who packed the streets of Boston and City Hall Plaza.
The players took the chance to revel in their 20-17 win over the heavily favored St. Louis Rams and insisted there was nothing improbable about it, even though they were underdogs in their last two postseason games.
``We kept our mouths shut and got the job done when nobody gave us a chance in hell of doing it,'' said wide receiver Troy Brown, as he held the Super Bowl trophy aloft.
``City of Boston, it's been a long time coming, huh?'' defensive back Lawyer Milloy told the crowd packed shoulder-to-shoulder in City Hall Plaza.
``They labeled us underdogs, they gave us no respect. We've got our respect now, right?'' he said, before leading the crowd in a chant of ``We're No. 1!''
Coach Bill Belichick remembered the season's start six months ago at training camp, when few thought they had a shot at a title.
``It's been a long voyage and a long journey,'' he said. ``We took the last step of the way Sunday night, and I feel like our journey's complete now.''
The last time Boston sports fans had a chance to celebrate a title at City Hall was 1986, when Larry Bird and the Celtics won the NBA championship. The city was so desperate for a winner it held a rally for Colorado's Stanley Cup title last year because former Bruin Ray Bourque finally got his ring.
``We're so used to being miserable,'' said John Snoonian, 33, a chemist from Ayer. ``We're used to getting that close, then having it fall off the table. This is much, much better.''
Success seemed unlikely for the Patriots at the start of the year. After struggling to a 5-11 record in 2000, they began this season 1-3 and lost their starting quarterback, Drew Bledsoe, to injury.
But backup Tom Brady replaced him and eventually led the team to nine straight wins, including the Super Bowl.
Brady, the Super Bowl MVP, didn't speak at the rally, though he did slap hands with fans and sign footballs that were tossed on stage. He also got at least two marriage proposals from women holding signs, and performed an unchoreographed victory dance with owner Bob Kraft after being urged on by cornerback Ty Law.
Bledsoe did not attend, to the disappointment of fans who chanted for him at least twice during the rally. Bledsoe came in for Brady after he was injured against Pittsburgh in the AFC championship and led the Patriots to a win.
The celebration started a half-mile away at Copley Square with a caravan that carried the players, coaches, owner and their families through a sea of supporters to City Hall.
Fans stacked several rows deep cheered and chanted while waving American flags, Patriots banners and homemade signs. Police officers on horses, motorcycles and on foot escorted the vehicles.
The players waved took photographs of each other and crowd, and some players cupped their hands to their ears as they rode slowly through the parade route to prompt louder cheers.
Kicker Adam Vinatieri, who hit a 48-yard field goal as time expired to give the Patriots a 20-17 victory, was loudly cheered along the entire route.
At the rally, Vinatieri told the crowd about a team mantra, ``Don't talk to me,'' that the Patriots adopted for confronting doubters.
He then urged the crowd to repeat it as he enumerated the team's many accomplishments.
The fans at City Hall roared at the slightest provocation, and stayed generally good-natured despite the freezing weather. Police said they made 10 arrests for minor infractions, including disorderly conduct.
Jeff Andrew, 15, of Westwood, and several of his friends attended the rally topless to showcase the letters P-A-T-R-I-O-T-S painted across their chests.
``I'm not feeling any pain, I``m too numb,'' Andrew said. ``I'll do anything for the Pats. We're hardcore fans.''
Above the plaza and along the parade route, fans peered from rooftops with binoculars and through high-rise office windows. Church bells rang and people showered the route with confetti.
Nonessential state employees were given an extra hour break to attend the festivities. Acting Gov. Jane Swift, U.S. Sen. John Kerry and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino attended the rally.
Laurie Jerome, 40, of Westwood, said she and her husband Michael, 37, returned from New Orleans at 1:30 a.m. and still turned out for the celebration. Dressed in a red, white and blue feather boa, Mardi Gras beads and a Patriots jacket, Laurie said fans related to the Patriots because they weren't flashy, just effective.
``They're hardworking blue-collar slobs like the rest of us,'' she said. ``That's why it's so exciting.''
Associated Press writers Ron DePasquale and John McElhenny contributed to this report.
 

Super Bowl champion Patriots honored with parade
February 5, 2002

BOSTON -- Braving freezing temperatures, a crowd of over 100,000 gathered at a victory parade on Tuesday to honor the Super Bowl XXXVI champion New England Patriots.
The parade started in Copley Square and finished in City Hall Plaza where Boston Mayor Thomas Menino introduced Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
"Today we are all world champions," said Kraft, who purchased the team in 1994. "We are all Patriots and today the New England region is world champions."
Kraft turned the microphone over to coach Bill Belichick.
"We began this journey a long time ago in training camp," Belichick said. "Its been a long voyage and a long journey and we took the last step Sunday night and I feel our journey is complete now."
Even in victory, championship-starved New England sports fans could not forget about an opponent from another sport that contributed to past Boston failures.
Several players spoke at the rally, including linebacker Larry Izzo, who told the fans they were the greatest in the world and led a chant of "Yankees (stink)" that drew a loud response.
New England's title is the first for a Boston sports team since the Celtics took the NBA title in 1986.
Cornerback Ty Law reenacted his 47-yard interception return on the stage and followed with a celebratory dance. Law also called quarterback and Tom Brady to the stage and asked him to "do a Super Bowl MVP dance."
Adam Vinatieri, who booted a 48-yard field goal on the final play of the game to lift the Patriots a 20-17 victory, also thanked the fans.
By frustrating the only NFL team to score more than 500 points in three consecutive seasons and forcing three turnovers, the Patriots (14-5) pulled off the second-greatest upset in Super Bowl history.
The New York Jets were 18-point underdogs when they rocked the football world with a 16-7 victory over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

Patriots Win Patriotic Super Bowl

NEW ORLEANS-New England stunned heavily favored St. Louis 20-17 when Adam Vinatieri kicked a 48-yard game-winning field goal as time expired Sunday in a Super Bowl with an ultra-patriotic red, white and blue theme.
The winning kick set off raucous celebrations by the Patriots and capped a spectacular worst-to-first turnaround by a team that finished last in the AFC East in 2000.
``The fans of New England have been waiting 42 years for this day,'' said Patriots owner Bob Kraft after accepting the Vince Lombardi trophy. ``We are all patriots and tonight the Patriots are world champions.''
``Every player and every coach works a lifetime for this. It's a tremendous thrill,'' said New England coach Bill Belichick, whose team made life miserable for the feared Rams offense all night.
``If you want a guy making the play at the end of the game, Adam Vinatieri is the one,'' Belichick said.
The pre-game extravaganza, awash in the colors of the Patriots, was filled with classic American symbols, lots of flag waving, the singing of patriotic songs and even a reading of The Declaration of Independence.
When the New England players took the field they seemed to just blend in and there was almost a feeling that it was destined to be their night, against all the odds.
Despite being 14-point underdogs, the Patriots thoroughly outplayed the Rams for three quarters.
But NFL Most Valuable Player Kurt Warner, who was also the Super Bowl MVP two years ago, engineered two fourth-quarter scoring drives to tie the game at 17-17 with just 90 seconds left and set the stage for the big finale.
That's when New England's second-year quarterback Tom Brady took over and did his best Warner impression.
Starting from the New England 17-yard line, Brady promptly completed five passes in seven plays to move his team to the St. Louis 30 with seven seconds left, setting up Vinatieri's game-winning kick.
``It was just awesome. Everybody got it done,'' Brady said of the final drive.
``We shocked the world but we didn't shock ourselves,'' said Vinatieri, who also kicked the winning field goal in overtime in New England's playoff win over Oakland.
Brady, 24, became the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl as the Patriots captured their first championship in the third trip to the big game in franchise history.
Brady, who threw a touchdown pass with 36 seconds left in the first half to give New England a 14-3 halftime lead, was named Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXXVI as the Pats finished a dream season on a nine-game winning streak, including upsets of Pittsburgh and St. Louis, the top-ranked team in each conference, a week apart.
 

Patriots stun Rams to win SB XXXVI
February 4, 2002

NEW ORLEANS-- The New England Patriots' bad memories of the Superdome were erased with one kick from Adam Vinatieri.
Vinatieri booted a 48-yard field goal on the final play of the game to lift the Patriots to a 20-17 victory over the heavily-favored St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.
The Superdome had been a house of horrors for the Patriots, who made their only two Super Bowl appearances in New Orleans and were humbled each time. New England was pounded by the Chicago Bears, 46-10, in Super Bowl XX and lost to Green Bay, 35-21, in Super Bowl XXXI.
But the Crescent City will now be remembered as the site of the biggest win in franchise history and one of the greatest upsets the NFL has ever seen.
"We shocked the world," safety Lawyer Milloy said. "This is for our fans."
Patriots coach Bill Belichick nearly canceled the "Greatest Show on Turf," but two-time NFL MVP Kurt Warner rallied his team from a 17-3 deficit with two fourth-quarter scoring drives, including the game-tying 26-yard touchdown to Ricky Proehl with 1:30 left in the fourth quarter.
Momentum had turned in favor of the Rams and New England fans, who are no stranger to heartbreaking defeats, seemed to be headed to another.
But quarterback Tom Brady capped off his dream season by completing 5-of-8 passes for 53 yards to set the stage for Vinatieri's winning kick.
Two weeks ago, Vinatieri kept New England's season alive when he kicked a 45-yard field goal through the snow in the final minute and then drilled the winner in overtime in a divisional playoff win over Oakland.
"He's really a clutch kicker," Belichick said. "None tougher than the one against Oakland in four inches of snow. But this one, it was an easy kick. It was a chip shot."
By frustrating the only NFL team to score more than 500 points in three consecutive seasons and forcing three turnovers, the Patriots (14-5) pulled off the second greatest upset in Super Bowl history and gave the franchise its first-ever title.
The New York Jets were 18-point underdogs when they rocked the football world with a 16-7 victory over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.
With Warner and Offensive Player of the Year Marshall Faulk, the Rams were listed as 14-point favorites. But Warner threw two costly interceptions, one of which was returned 47 yards for a touchdown by cornerback Ty Law that made it 7-3.
Brady completed just 16-of-27 passes for 145 yards and was named the game's Most Valuable Player, an award that was as improbable as his season.
A 2000 sixth-round draft pick, Brady replaced injured starter Drew Bledsoe in Week Two and led the Patriots to an 11-3 record and the AFC East title. But he was given the Super Bowl start only after proving during the week that his sprained left ankle suffered in the AFC championship game against Pittsburgh was healed.
New England's defense set up the team's second touchdown when reserve safety Antwan Harris drilled Proehl after a 15-yard catch and Terrell Buckley recovered the bouncing ball and returned it 15 yards to the St. Louis 40 with 1:20 remaining in the half.
Brady later lofted an eight-yard touchdown pass to David Patten in the right corner of the end zone with 31 seconds left in the half for a 14-3 lead.
The Super Bowl was expected to be a coronation for the Rams, who appeared poised to win their second Super Bowl title in three years.
Rams coach Mike Martz snapped when asked if his team overlooked the Patriots.
"Oh, please, that's insulting to me," Martz said. "This is the Super Bowl. I don't understand that question."
The Rams' fortunes again turned on the last play of the game. Two years ago, Mike Jones tackled Kevin Dyson to preserve a 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans. This year it went the other way, thanks to Vinatieri.
Warner completed 28-of-44 passes for 365 yards, but threw two interceptions. Faulk gained 76 yards on 17 carries.
"The offense basically gave up the first 17 points on turnovers," Warner said. "Our defense played well enough to be world champions. And that's what hurts the most, that I let some of the guys down."
 

DREAM COME TRUE

``It's a dream come true,'' said Brady. ``Whenever we've had our backs against the wall all year we responded.''
The game-winning kick avoided what would have been the first overtime in Super Bowl history.
New England almost avoided the last-second drama, but a 96- yard touchdown return by Patriots safety Tebucky Jones off a Warner fumble was called back by a holding penalty.
Two plays later, Warner scored on a two-yard run to give St. Louis its first touchdown with 9:33 to play.
Warner got the ball back near midfield with just under two minutes left and finally put together the kind of lightning-fast scoring drive that had been his team's trademark over the past three seasons.
An 18-yard pass to Az Hakim and an 11-yard strike to Yo Murphy took the Rams to the 26.
Then, the New England secondary suffered one of its few lapses of the game and Warner found a wide open Ricky Proehl on the left sideline at about the 15-yard line. Proehl cut back to the middle at the 10, sidestepped two defenders, and dived into the end zone for the tying score.
Up until that point, a ferocious New England defense had played a tremendous, physical game, keeping the much-vaunted St. Louis attack, billed as ``the greatest show on Earth,'' from getting in gear.
The first three New England scores all came off St. Louis turnovers, including a second-quarter interception returned 47 yards for a touchdown by cornerback Ty Law that put the Patriots in front for the first time at 7-3.
``That was the momentum right there,'' said Law. ``That started it off. We rode it from there.''
Brady's touchdown pass to a leaping David Patten in the corner of the end zone followed a recovery of a fumble by Proehl when he could not hold the ball after being hit by Antwan Harris.
Vinatieri's 37-yard field goal with 1:22 left in the third quarter made it 17-3 and followed an Otis Smith interception of a Warner pass.
``I made some mistakes and it's tough to swallow,'' said Warner. ``It was our mistakes that really did us in today.''
Perhaps, but it was also an outstanding example of in-your-face team defense and controlled error-free offense by the Patriots.
``Nobody gave us a chance in hell to win this game,'' said New England running back Antowain Smith, who ran for 92 yards, outgaining Rams superstar Marshall Faulk.
``We've been underdogs all year long,'' he said. ``I guess next week we'll be the favorites.''

NEW ORLEANS

The winning kick set off raucous celebrations by the Patriots and capped a spectacular worst-to-first turnaround by a team that finished last in the AFC East in 2000 with a woeful 5-11 record.
``We shocked the world but we didn't shock ourselves,'' said Vinatieri, who also kicked a winning field goal in overtime of New England's
playoff win over Oakland.

Patriots Win Super Bowl on Vinatieri Field Goal

NEW ORLEANS- Adam Vinatieri kicked a 48-yard field goal as time ran out to give the New England Patriots a stunning 20-17 victory over the heavily favored St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI on Sunday.
Despite being 14-point underdogs, the Patriots had thoroughly outplayed the Rams for three quarters.
But NFL Most Valuable Player Kurt Warner engineered two fourth-quarter scoring drives to tie the game at 17-17 with just 90 seconds left.
That's when New England's second-year quarterback Tom Brady took over and did his best Warner impression as he completed four passes in five plays to move his team to the St. Louis 30-yard line with seven seconds left, and to set up Vinatieri's game-winning kick.
Brady, 24, became the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl as the Patriots captured their first championship in the third trip to the big game in franchise history.

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady grew up in northern California watching Joe Montana lead the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowl titles.
Now, at the tender age of 24, Brady has joined the elite group of quarterbacks who have won the Super Bowl and captured the game's Most Valuable Player Award after leading the Patriots to a thrilling 20-17 upset of the St. Louis Rams.
Given the remarkable poise under pressure he displayed on Sunday's game-winning drive, Brady did a fairly credible Montana impression. He even has the cleft chin.
``When you grow up and you watch a winning team like that and you watch guys like Joe Montana and Steve Young, who really are two of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play...it really manifested itself in me,'' said a bleary-eyed Brady at a Monday news conference at which he collected his MVP trophy.
``That's when I realized that I wanted to be a football player, going to all those games growing up, and I'm glad I chose this as what I wanted to do.''
Brady even got a jump on Montana by becoming the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl and the second youngest player to be named MVP of the NFL's big show.
After watching the Rams storm back to tie the game with 90 seconds left in regulation, Brady completed five passes in one minute and 14 seconds, moving his team 53 yards to set up Adam Vinatieri's 48-yard game-winning field goal as time expired.
``It was quite a drive,'' said Brady. ``You get the ball with a minute and a half left and coach came over and said, 'We're going to try to go for the win here'.''
 

TREMENDOUS FAITH

That was just another example of the tremendous faith coach Bill Belichick has shown in his young second-year quarterback since Brady took over the offense from injured three-time Pro Bowl selection Drew Bledsoe in the second week of the season.
This for a player who threw all of three passes as New England's fourth-string quarterback in his rookie year.
``I'm not sure I've seen any player improve as much as Tom. His improvement has been so dramatic in the last year and it's mainly a credit to his hard work,'' said Belichick.
The Patriots coach had the guts to bench golden boy Bledsoe -- who earlier this year signed a 10-year, $103 million contract extension -- when he returned healthy in November.
Even though the team was winning with Brady, it was not a decision a lot of coaches would have made.
Bledsoe has 20 pages devoted to him in the Patriots 2001 media guide, while Brady doesn't even have one full page all to himself. That's bound to change next season.
``Tom made tremendous strides in the off-season. When he came to training camp right away everybody, not just the coaches but his team mates, right away saw the dramatic improvement that Tom had made,'' Belichick recalled.
``All the accolades and all the success that he's had this year and all he's meant to our team, nobody deserves them more because nobody worked harder than Tom Brady,'' added the coach.
 

WINNING SMILE

``It's been an incredible ride,'' said Brady, flashing a winning smile that is bound to start the commercial endorsements flowing.
``The emotional ride as far as I'm concerned, it's been straight up,'' said Brady, who led the team on a nine-game winning streak that culminated with Sunday's NFL championship.
``There hasn't been a downer yet, except this morning at about 6:30 when the alarm went off,'' he joked. ``Other than that, it's been pretty awesome.''
After the game, Brady shared an emotional moment with Bledsoe, who never handled his demotion or not starting the biggest of games with anything but class.
``He said he was proud of me,'' Brady recalled. ``And I'm proud of him. I'm fortunate to be on a team with guys like Drew or we wouldn't have won the Super Bowl.''
Demonstrating the work ethic that so captivated his hard-nosed coach, Brady is not about to rest on his laurels even as he enjoys the ultimate goal his sport has to offer.
He said he planned to watch tapes of himself to ``really evaluate what I need to do to take my game to another level.
``There's so much room for improvement I don't even know where to start,'' he said.
``There's never going to be any complacency with me. I'm looking to the next challenge at this point. I'm going to enjoy this one for a little bit and then it's on to something better, like another (championship) ring.''
With all the post-game celebrations and media obligations, Brady said he hadn't really had a chance to let what he had just accomplished sink in.
``There might be some time sitting on the beach this week where I can think about it with a pina colada

BRADY RECORD

Brady, 24, became the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl as the Patriots captured their first championship in the third trip to the big game in franchise history.
``The fans of New England have been waiting 42 years for this day,'' said Patriots owner Bob Kraft after accepting the Vince Lombardi trophy.
Brady, who threw a touchdown pass with 36 seconds left in the first half to give New England a 14-3 halftime lead, was named Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXXVI as the Pats finished a dream season on a nine-game winning streak, including upsets of Pittsburgh and St. Louis, the top-ranked team in each conference.
``It's a dream come true,'' said Brady. ``Whenever we've had our backs against the wall all year we responded.''
The game-winning kick avoided what would have been the first overtime in Super Bowl history.
New England nearly avoided the last-second drama, but an apparent 96-yard touchdown return by Patriots safety Tebucky Jones off a Warner fumble was called back by a holding penalty.
Two plays later, Warner scored on a two-yard run to give St. Louis its first touchdown with 9:33 to play.
The New England defense played a tremendous game, keeping the much-vaunted St. Louis attack, billed as ``the greatest show on Earth,'' from getting in gear until the fourth quarter.
The first three New England scores all came off St. Louis turnovers, including a second quarter interception returned 47 yards for a touchdown by cornerback Ty Law that put the Patriots in front for the first time.
``I made some mistakes and it's tough to swallow,'' said Warner. ``It was our mistakes that really did us in today.''
 

Patriots aggressive on winning drive

NEW ORLEANS- A team that overcame so much wouldn't let more long odds stop them. The New England Patriots had 1:21 and no timeouts left. The ball was at their 17-yard line and the score was tied at 17. The safe approach would have been to run out the clock and take their chances in overtime.
Instead, they went for the win Sunday and got it, 20-17 over the St. Louis Rams on Adam Vinatieri's last-play, 48-yard field goal.
``You're playing for the Super Bowl championship against a team with a high-powered offense and a good defense,'' offensive coordinator Charlie Weis said. ``You just can't play not to lose.''
If the game went into overtime, the Rams might have gotten the ball first. And they had just scored touchdowns on two of their previous three possessions.
``Our goal was to move the ball down the field to get into field-goal range,'' quarterback Tom Brady said. ``I was planning to go out there and win the game.''
He completed five of eight passes on the drive for 53 yards. Two of the incompletions were spikes to stop the clock. The other was thrown out of bounds when he was under pressure.
``The routes made the difference, but Brady made the throws,'' St. Louis linebacker London Fletcher said.
The first three completions went to J.R. Redmond for 5, 8 and 11 yards. That gave the Patriots a first down at their 41-yard line with 33 seconds left. Brady's success persuaded coach Bill Belichick to keep pushing.
``We were going to get into our two-minute offense and give it a shot there, and if we got the ball up the field, we'd stay with it,'' he said. ``We felt we could run a couple of plays and, at the worst, have to run out the clock if we weren't able to pick up any yardage in the early part of the drive.''
The biggest play was a 23-yard completion to Troy Brown to the Rams 36, and he went out of bounds with 21 seconds to go.
``It's called 64-Max All End,'' Brady said. ``Max tells the offensive linemen that we need more time. I dropped back, the offensive line did a heck of a job protecting me, and all three receivers ran routes at different depths.''
Vinatieri had made kicks from 57 yards in warmups and would have had about a 53-yard try. But the Patriots had time to get closer.
Brady threw a 6-yard pass to Jermaine Wiggins, putting the ball at the 30. Then Brady spiked the ball to stop the clock with 7 seconds to go.
That's when Vinatieri won the game, ending a season that began with two losses after the Patriots finished last in the AFC East with a 5-11 record a year ago. They also dealt with the death of quarterbacks coach Dick Rehbein and the suspensions of wide receiver Terry Glenn.
Sunday wasn't the first time Brady directed a final drive to win a game.
``We were in that situation in the Oakland game,'' running back Antowain Smith said, ``so I had confidence that we could go out there and get that done.''
Two weeks earlier in a 16-13 overtime playoff win over Oakland, Brady drove the Patriots in the snow to set up Vinatieri's 45-yard, game-tying field goal with 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter. In overtime, the Raiders never got the ball as Brady completed all eight of his passes to set up Vinatieri's 23-yard field goal.
In the Super Bowl, the Patriots didn't have to score at the end of regulation since they weren't behind.
But why play it safe?
``We still had time on the clock,'' cornerback Otis Smith said. ``Why would we do that?''
Why indeed?
``We seized the opportunity that we had,'' Brady said. ``We were in the Super Bowl with the opportunity to be world champions. We went out
and put it together.''