CLEVELAND — Tom Brady emerged from the Patriots locker room in full uniform at 12:08 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
A group of 20-plus reporters had been waiting — some for more than an hour — with phones charged for a picture to tweet or Snapchat. Brady was back from a four-game suspension for his role in Deflategate. It’s not official until it’s on social media, right?
WEEK 5: Pats-Browns highlights | NFL scoreboard
Brady strolled past those reporters with his head down while being escorted out the FirstEnergy Stadium tunnel in Cleveland. A cheer — that’s right, a cheer in an opposing stadium — rang out in the light.
"Brady! Brady! Brady!"
Brady was back. Where was he looking?
"There's no point in looking back at anything whether we've won Super Bowls or lost championship games or the last four weeks," Brady said after the game. "None of that matters. I just go out and do the best I can do."
So it’s difficult to assign the best role for Brady after watching a 33-13 dismantling of the Browns. We don’t know how to label Brady now.
Is he the hero; the four-time Super Bowl-winning Tom Terrific? Is he the villain; a liar, cheater, cell-phone-destroying Bill Belichick-apprentice for the dreaded Patriots? Or is Brady the anti-hero; the one player who can turn the attention away from the NFL’s PR disaster, which includes the national anthem protests, questionable officiating and poor television ratings? Brady puts everybody back in a familiar-and-comfortable place.
You love Brady. You hate Brady. You can’t take your eyes off Brady. When Brady took the field, more than a few Patriots fans helped drown out the boo-birds.
"Brady! Brady! Brady!”
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That’s why you love Brady the hero. He sure as hell isn’t rusty. Brady promptly led the Patriots on a TD drive in eight plays. Then another TD. Then another TD. New England had a 23-7 lead by halftime; a half in which Brady hit 18 of 25 passes for 271 yards and two scores.
He can still step up in the pocket and launch a 63-yard streak to Chris Hogan. He’s lights out on third down. The double-tight setup with Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett is frightening. Brady finished 28 of 40 passing for 406 yards with all three TDs going to Bennett. That earned the standard praise from Belichick.
"He prepares hard every week," Belichick said. "I think he prepared hard this week. He plays hard every week."
Tom Brady and Martellus Bennett (Getty Images)
That’s why you hate Brady the villain. Belichick and Brady always spin it back to the team; like it’s that simple. How could you not pull for the winless Browns a little bit here? Cody Kessler answered that first TD drive to tie the score early, but he left with a chest injury. Terrelle Pryor couldn’t save them. Charlie Whitehurst couldn’t save them. You can cheer a Cleveland goal-line stand, sack or cosmetic TD pass. Rally round the Brownies; with a pocket full of Clipboard Jesus.
To no avail. New England was 3-1 without Brady. With Brady, this team could slip into 2007 Spygate Patriots mode. You saw that when Bennett high-stepped into the end zone from the 5-yard line on Brady’s first TD pass. The only thing this game lacked was the F-you touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Be honest. Part of you wanted that to happen so you could love or hate Brady even more. Watch Brady scramble for a first-down on third-and-4, take a shot in the back from Cleveland’s Emmanuel Ogbah. Then, watch Brady give a clumsy half-dab a go afterward. That drew a cheer, too.
"He's always playing high, he's always playing intense," Gronkowski said. “He did a great job out there today."
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Can you embrace Brady the anti-hero? That’s where we’re headed. Think of it in terms of watching an endearing sports movie villain. It’s like Shooter McGavin winning the Gold Jacket instead of Happy Gilmore. It’s Adam Banks scoring the game-winning goal for the Hawks against the Mighty Ducks. It’s Johnny Lawrence sweeping Daniel LaRusso’s leg to win the All-Valley championship. Is Brady the good guy we should love to hate or the bad guy we should hate to love?
This is Brady sticking it to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the rest of the league for a suspension stemming from a deflated football. You want the Patriots to revert into the 2007 Spygate Patriots. There are more than a few fans — or maybe sadists — who can get behind that line of thinking.
The NFL could, too. That would deflect the attention away from the player protests and poor officiating, drive the ratings back up and put the focus back on the field.
Brady got a standing ovation walking off the field in a half-empty stadium with 6:02 left in the game. New England fans over-ran the stadium, and a much-louder cheer will ring out in the light in the home opener against the Bengals next week.
"Brady! Brady! Brady!"
"It was pretty awesome," Brady said. “We've got amazing fans and so much support for a long time. We've been at rallies where there are millions of people and training camps where there are 27,000 people at practice."
More than 50 reporters crammed into a tight visitor’s interview room afterward to get a glimpse of Brady. He came in with his suit buttoned halfway and smiling with each question. The answers were rehearsed and polite as usual.
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Is he playing with vengeance?
"This isn't time for me to reflect,” Brady said. "I'm just happy we won today. I'm happy when we win anytime we play. We've got to a job to do."
So what he did miss those last weeks?
"Everything," he said. “I mean everything. It’s a great game.”
Not all the time, but that’s why Brady’s return comes at the exactly the right time.
We’ll love him. We’ll hate him. More eyes will be on him. Hero, villain or anti-hero: Who cares? Everybody — especially the NFL — should agree on one thing.
It’s great to have him back.
