PITTSBURGH — I will be headed to Acrisure Stadium on Sunday to cover the Bucs against the Steelers for the Post-Gazette, and here is what I plan to bring: A computer, a tablet, my credential ... and a big towel for Steelers fans and even some media members to cry about Tom Brady's cheating past on.
"HE STOLE OUR AFC TITLE GAMES!"
"HINES WARD SAID THEY KNEW WHAT THE STEELERS WERE DOING SO THAT PROVES IT!"
"THE STEELERS WOULD HAVE MORE TROPHIES IF IT WEREN'T FOR BRADY AND BILL CHEATING!"
Please stop, because at this point you are embarrassing yourself. If you are still holding on to all of this whining about Tom Brady cheating the Steelers, you are just a sore loser. Brady has beaten the Steelers fair and square over and over, and he will probably do it again on Sunday.
First off, Tom Brady did not have anything to do with Spygate, which is the scandal that is associated with the Patriots when they beat the Steelers in two AFC title games (2001 and 2004). The scandal Brady was involved in was Deflategate, and that didn't come until the 2014 AFC title game.
Brady owns the Steelers because he is maybe the greatest to ever play and he was very good at dissecting coverages. Brady's greatest weapon has always been his mind and his ability to read and adjust to what defenses are showing him.
Sunday he comes to town, and it is almost assuredly the last time Steelers fans will get to watch him live. I would hope there would be the same kind of appreciation for Brady that was shown to Cardinals stars Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols by Pirates fans at PNC Park in their final visit a few weeks back.
Actually, those are good comparisons, too, because Molina and Pujols, like Brady, killed the local team. I mean, when Pujols hit his 700th home run last month, a lot of people quipped that "it only feels like 650 of them came against the Pirates."
Brady's record against the Steelers is 12-3. He is 3-0 in the playoffs against the Steelers. He has thrown for 4,450 yards, 34 touchdowns and five interceptions in those 15 games. And many of those games came after the Spygate years, so clearly he didn't need help and didn't need to cheat to beat the Steelers.
Brady's strength is in the quick passing game, and he is a master of making adjustments at the line and taking what the defense gives him. He has been playing chess while the Steelers defensive staff has tried to play checkers, and his strength exploits the weaknesses in their defense.
Molina and Pujols were appreciated by Pirates fans at PNC Park and Brady should receive that kind of welcome Sunday. He is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of talent, and what he has accomplished will never be duplicated. He has had an extraordinary career and has set numerous records.
He also left New England and proved he didn't need Belichick or anything else to win a Super Bowl. He did it in Tampa, and that should be the one that ends any talk of him having tarnished titles or needing an asterisk around his seven Super Bowl rings.
Give me a break with that. He won four Super Bowls AFTER Deflategate. He has been to 10 Super Bowls and he has a 35-12 record in the playoffs. He has earned the right to be called the GOAT without an asterisk. I do think there are arguments to be made for other all-time greats, but for me, the Super Bowl with Tampa put him over the top.
On Sunday, I would hope Steelers fans appreciate Brady when he runs out of the tunnel because he is a living legend who deserves celebrated, not jeered, in his last trip to Pittsburgh as an NFL quarterback. It is rare to get a chance to say goodbye properly for an all-time great still playing at a high level at the end of his career.
Remember that Brady and any Patriots cheating didn't do in the 2001 Steelers, as it was special teams gaffes and a very ineffective Kordell Stewart that gave that game away. The 2004 loss was a result of a defense that was ill prepared and overmatched — not because the Patriots cheated.
If you are still clinging to the ridiculous idea that Brady's ownership of the Steelers is a fraud, I can't help you and you need to get over it. Brady is an all-time great, he plays the game the right way and he should be celebrated as such by Steelers fans given how much they appreciate legendary football players.
