Bill Belichick and Tom Brady will make their fifth Super Bowl appearance together on Sunday, which is an NFL record for a head coach and quarterback combo. Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees have overshadowed Brady’s 2011 season, but Brady’s season was just as impressive.
Rob Gronkowski had a record-setting season for a tight end in 2011.
Brady threw for the second-most yards in a single season in NFL history with 5,235 yards this year. He also finished with 39 passing touchdowns and he led the league in passing plays over 20 yards.
Brady’s incredible season couldn’t have come without the help of his playmakers on offense. Receiver Wes Welker had a career year in terms of receptions, yards and touchdowns. He led the NFL with 122 catches and had the second-most yards with 1,569. Tight end Rob Gronkowski broke NFL records this year by having the most yards and touchdowns in a single season by any tight end in NFL history (90-1,327-17).
Brady’s other tight end, Aaron Hernandez, had an impressive season as well. Hernandez fell just a little short of 1,000 receiving yards on the season with 910 and he finished with seven touchdowns. In the post-season he’s been used in different positions and has 70 rushing yards out of the backfield.
Hernandez isn’t the only player that has multiple uses on this football team. Receiver Julian Edelman is a true two-way player for the Patriots. In the AFC Championship Game against the Ravens, Edelman played 27 snaps on offense and 27 on defense. He also plays on special teams and does punt returns.
The only downside of this football team is their defense. The Patriots allow over 411 yards per game, which was the second-worst in the NFL during the regular season. The only positive about their defense is that they bend and don’t break. What I mean by that is they allowed a lot of yards, but they stepped it up in the red zone and held teams to field goals.