Chicago Sun-Times

Brady: was it tuck or luck?

- Sun-Times wires

Tom Brady has won more NFL postseason games than anyone (35), but he admitted that his first one was lucky. Brady’s first playoff victory, which came with the Patriots in the divisional round after the 2001 season, featured the infamous “tuck rule,” in which the field officials ruled that he fumbled, only to have replay overturn it to an incomplete pass. It kept the Pats’ drive alive and led to the field goal that sent the game to overtime, where the Patriots won it.

More than 20 years later, Brady posted a video on Twitter this week admitting it could have been a fumble.

“The Tuck Rule Game against the Raiders,” Brady said, pausing to look around before whispering, “it might have been a fumble.”

Brady followed that up with another post saying, “I said might. Such a tough call. No choice but to respect the officials’ probably correct decision.”

Brady also said this year that he believes he would have been Drew Bledsoe’s backup in 2002 if not for the tuck rule propelling the

Patriots to the Super Bowl. It was one of the great strokes of luck in NFL history that the officials overturned what even Brady admits might have been a fumble.

Raiders’ environmen­t in question

Raiders team president Dan Ventrelle has left the organizati­on less than a year after taking over the job.

Owner Mark Davis announced that Ventrelle “is no longer with the Raiders organizati­on” but divulged no details around the decision. Ventrelle said that he was fired in retaliatio­n for bringing concerns from multiple employees to the NFL about a “hostile work environmen­t.”

“When Mark was confronted about these issues, he was dismissive and did not demonstrat­e the warranted level of concern,” Ventrelle said. “Given this, I informed the NFL of these issues and of Mark’s unacceptab­le response. Soon thereafter, I was fired in retaliatio­n for raising these concerns. I firmly stand by my decision to elevate these issues to protect the organizati­on and its female employees.”

The NFL said it will investigat­e.

other front-office news

The Steelers cast one of the widest nets in searching for the replacemen­t for outgoing general manager Kevin Colbert. They interviewe­d 18 candidates during the first round of the process, which began in late January and extended into March. With the draft completed and Colbert’s contract expiring May 31, the process is intensifyi­ng with a second round of interviews.

While Colbert was heavily involved in the initial interviews, he said he will be detached from the process handled by Steelers owner Art Rooney II and coach Mike Tomlin.

“Art and Coach will do the interviews from this point forward,” Colbert said. “It will be ultimately Art’s decision.”

† Tom Donahoe reportedly will leave the Eagles’ front office. Donahoe’s contract expired, and the senior executive is said to have

told the Eagles in a meeting that it was time to move on, the report said. The team and Donahoe declined to comment.

Donahoe, 75, had worked for general manager Howie Roseman since 2012 and served as a mentor for vice president of player personnel Andy Weidl. He also worked for the Steelers and Bills, gaining three decades of experience before arriving in Philadelph­ia.

 ?? MIKE EHRMANN/GETTY IMAGES ?? Tom Brady admitted that the controvers­ial “tuck rule” play in the divisional playoff after the 2001 season “might have been a fumble.”
MIKE EHRMANN/GETTY IMAGES Tom Brady admitted that the controvers­ial “tuck rule” play in the divisional playoff after the 2001 season “might have been a fumble.”

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