How We Decide Read Free

and still looks like a rail at 211. Lacks great physical stature and strength. Can get pushed down more easily than you'd like." The report devoted only a few words to Brady's positive attribute: "decision-making."
    Belichick was one of the few coaches who had grasped Brady's potential. "Our vision wasn't that Tom was our franchise quarterback," Belichick said later, "but that Tom had been in situations—both in playing-time and game-management situations, tight games against good competition—and he'd handled all of them pretty well." Brady, in other words, had poise. He didn't choke under pressure. When the game was on the line, he found the open man.
    Now Brady is in the spotlight, standing all by himself in the shotgun formation. His decision-making skills are about to be put to the test. He yells an audible to his tight end, then turns and yells at his wide receivers. The ball is snapped. Brady drops back, looks upfield, and understands instantly that the Rams have fallen into a tight zone coverage. They know the Patriots are going to pass; the cornerbacks are looking for an interception. Brady's primary target is covered, so he looks to his next target; he's also covered. Brady avoids the outstretched arm of a Ram defensive lineman, steps forward, and makes a short pass to his third target, the running back J. R. Redmond. It's a gain of five.
    The next two plays unfold in the same way. Brady reads the Ram defense and calls out a series of coded commands: "White twenty! Ninety-six is the Mike! Omaha go!" These instructions tell the offensive linemen which linebackers to block and also serve as guides for the wide receivers, whose pass routes depend on the formation of the defense. After the play begins, Brady settles into the pocket, checks off his targets, and wisely settles for the safest option, which is a short pass in the flat. He doesn't force the ball into tight coverage. He's taking what the defense is giving him. The chains are moved, but the Patriots are running out of time.
    It's now first and ten on the New England 41-yard line. Twenty-nine seconds remain in the game. Brady knows that he's got two, maybe three plays left. He has to move the ball another thirty yards just to get into field-goal range. The commentators sound like they're preparing for overtime, but the Patriots still think they can score. Brady settles into the shotgun. His eyes pan across the defense. He sees the linebackers edging a little closer to the line of scrimmage. Brady yells out the snap count, sends a man in motion, and then the ball is in his hands. He drops back and notices that only three defensive linemen are rushing him. The fourth is trying to cut off the short pass. Brady looks to his right. The receiver is covered. He looks to his left. Nobody's open. He looks at the center of the field. Troy Brown, a Patriots' wide receiver, is trying to find a plane of unoccupied space, a gap between the linebackers and the cornerbacks. Brady watches him clear the defenders and then fires a bullet fourteen yards down-field. Brown catches the ball in stride and runs for another nine yards before being pushed out-of-bounds. The ball is now thirty-six yards from the end zone, which is just within field-goal range. The Rams fans have gone silent.
    With twelve seconds remaining, the Patriots' special-teams unit is brought onto the field. Adam Vinatieri steps into the forty-eight-yard kick. The ball sails straight between the pylons. The clock says triple zero. The Patriots have just won the Super Bowl. It's the greatest upset in NFL history.
1
    The quick decisions made by a quarterback on a football field provide a window into the inner workings of the brain. In the space of a few frenetic seconds, before a linebacker crushes him into the ground, an NFL quarterback has to make a series of hard choices. The pocket is collapsing around him—the pocket begins to collapse before it exists—but he can't flinch or wince. His eyes must