DALLAS — Tom Brady tore up the NFL with his precision passing and dynamic guidance of the New England Patriots’ offense.
That was in 2007, when he ran away with The Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year award.
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Ditto for 2010.
Brady won the honor Tuesday for the second time in four seasons. The record-setting quarterback, who had a string of 355 passes without being intercepted, received 21 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league. He easily beat Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick, who got 11 votes.
“To me it comes down to the mental toughness and determination of the players and coaches,” Brady said.
A unanimous choice for the All-Pro team, Brady threw for 36 touchdowns while being picked off just four times.
When he won the award in 2007, Brady set an NFL mark with 50 touchdowns passes as New England went undefeated in the regular season.
Oddly, the Patriots did not win the championship in either of those seasons, but have won it three other times.
Brady doesn’t sense much difference in the guy who took New England to a 16-0 mark back then and a league-best 14-2 this season.
“I feel our team really grew together over the course of the season. It was a privilege to be a part of this team,” he said. “My only disappointment is that we couldn’t take advantage of our opportunity in the playoffs, but hopefully we learn from that and use it as motivation toward accomplishing our goals for next season.”
What Brady is doing isn’t much different: He’s winning, and he’s piling up dominant stats.
Brady led the NFL with a 111 passer rating. His 65.9 completion percentage was second to Philip Rivers of San Diego – by .1. Nobody came close to his touchdown to interception differential: nearest was Matt Cassel at plus-20.
When not crediting everyone else, from Coach Bill Belichick to his teammates to wife Giselle, Brady explains his success as a matter of experience.
“I’ve been here for a while, so I’ve seen our offense evolve,” the 11-year veteran said. “We do some different things now than we’ve done in the past. Ultimately we’re still trying to do the same thing, which is be productive and win games.”
Brady is the only quarterback and the only active player to win the award twice.
Also receiving votes were Houston running back Arian Foster with seven; Rivers with five; Atlanta receiver Roddy White, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and Philadelphia receiver DeSean Jackson with two each.
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