New England Patriots - NESN.com
Former New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis is pushing back on how one hit against the New England Patriots came to define his career.
Lewis is speaking out in a forthcoming book about the sideline collision that sidelined Drew Bledsoe in 2001 and opened the door for Tom Brady. He believes the responsibility has been misplaced for more than 20 years.
“Had he not got outside the pocket and ran with the ball, would we be talking about this? Who caused the event? The person who was with the ball,” Lewis said in Brady vs. Belichick by longtime NFL reporter Gary Myers, as transcribed by ESPN’s Rich Cimini.
Lewis stressed he was simply carrying out his assignment.
“He signed up to be a passing quarterback. What do I do? I stop the people with the ball. It’s just another play for me. But it’s a different play for him,” he said.
The former linebacker also downplayed the idea that the moment still matters to him.
“It’s really irrelevant to me,” Lewis said. “It was just another play to me. To you all, it’s a big game-changing, history-changing play. I’ve never gone back to watch the play. If people want to talk about it, I don’t hide from it. But it has no importance to me.”
Lewis, who retired after the 2003 season with three Pro Bowl selections and one All-Pro nod, added that he was not aware of Bledsoe’s condition and never considered the hit anything more than routine.
For Lewis, history’s weight rests elsewhere.
