NEW ORLEANS (voa) – New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick says Tom Brady will be his starting quarterback for Sunday’s National Football League championship game – Super Bowl 36 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Belichick made the decision late Wednesday after reviewing practice tapes to make sure Brady had completely recovered from a sprained left ankle. The 24-year-old quarterback suffered the injury in last week’s American Football Conference championship game against Pittsburgh.
Brady led the Patriots to 12 wins in 15 starts during the regular season. He was chosen for Sunday’s starting position over former first string quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who has not started since the second game of the regular season.
Brady took over for Bledsoe who was sidelined in September after suffering internal injuries during a game. Brady locked up the starting job by the time Bledsoe was recovered enough to return. Bledsoe came off the bench to take over for Brady to finish out last week’s game.
New England will be making its third Super Bowl appearance. The Patriots take on the National Football Conference champion Saint Louis Rams, who won the NFL title in 2000.
Saint Louis finished the season with the best regular season record in the NFL with 16 wins and just two loses.
