Tedy Bruschi: A True NFL All-Star

Look up the definition of a TRUE NFL role model and Tedy Bruschi's face should be right there. I was trying to think of some ways to describe him and there's so many like fighter, overcomer, legend, happy, champion, leader, good role model, veteran, pro bowler, hall of famer.

The list just goes on and on, the NFL will definitely miss him he was one of a very few select people who were well respected and liked by all. There's no doubt in my mind he will someday be a Hall of Famer.

He was a leader and a major part of the 3 super bowls the Patriots won. No one will ever forget his accomplishments.

I'd like to take a few minutes to look back on some of his amazing career and accomplishments.

Tedy Bruschi: A Rookie

3rd round draft choice out of the University of Arizona. Most figured he could be a great special teams guy and make some good contributions on defense. Not many would of dreamed of him becoming a future hall of famer.

He came in as a defensive end, but was quickly converted to linebacker where he began to excel early on. His first two years weren't bad but he mostly stuck to special teams and never started on defense.

By this time most people figured he might be a specialist on the special teams and done most of his contributing there but he had other plans.

Tedy Brushci: Full Time Starter

In his third year he started 8 games and finished fourth on the team with tackles. Not bad for a special teams player, starting only half the games. This was the first time people really started believing he could be a full time linebacker.

He wouldn't disappoint, the next year he started 14 games and finished second on the team in tackles with 138 despite missing 2 games due to an injury.

In 2000 he started all 16 games and recorded 105 tackles at the weak side linebacker position. 2001 saw him with a down year though only starting 9 games and recording 73 tackles.

That didn't stop him however from being highly looked up to by his teammates.

Tedy Bruschi: A Captain and A Leader

In 2002 Tedy was voted as the defensive captain by his teammates. He ranked 7th on the team in total tackles that year, even though he missed 5 games due to injury.

In 2003 he would come back strong though, again voted for as defensive captain by his teammates. He started all 16 games at the inside linebacker position and ranked second in tackles with 137.

In 2004 he ranked second again in tackles, this time with 128 and tied for second on the team with 3 interceptions. He helped the Patriots beat the Colts in a huge playoff game holding them to only 3 points.

Tedy Bruschi: Tragedy Strikes

Fear. The news was out, in 2005 just days after playing in the Pro Bowl game, Tedy Bruschi had a mild stroke.

Bruschi suffered from partial paralysis and was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital. After several months of rehabilitation working with Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, Bruschi announced he would sit out the 2005 NFL season.

A lot of fans thought maybe this was it for Tedy, he had a championship or two under his belt and he had young kids to think of. Many of the Patriots fans felt that he would retire and go on to live a long happy life.

Tedy Bruschi: A Fighter and An Overcomer

Tedy Bruschi was a fighter though and he wanted to finish his career the way he thought it should be finished, not with an injury and regret.

On October 16, 2005, the Patriots announced that Bruschi had been medically cleared to resume playing football; he rejoined the team on the practice field three days later.

The Patriots officially activated him on October 29, and he played the following night against the Buffalo Bills; ESPN's broadcast of the game had several features and interviews on Bruschi's return.

Following the game, Bruschi was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week. Bruschi played most of the remaining games that season, except for the final regular season game against Miami and the first playoff game against Jacksonville.

Bruschi was named the 2005 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, an honor he shared with Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith.

Tedy Bruschi: A True Hero

After that 2005 season some thought he might consider retirement. He had got to come back and finish that season and end it right, so no one was sure he would stick around.

However he felt an obligation to the team and he knew he could still be a great player. In 2006 he was again named captain of the defense and took on the role well.

He started the final 14 games at linebacker after missing the first game of the season. He finished first on the team with 124 tackles. In the 2006 playoffs, Bruschi led the Patriots with 24 tackles (16 solo), marking the highest playoff tackle total of his career.

Tedy Bruschi: The Final Years

He led the team with 23 tackles (15 solo) in the 2007 playoffs. In 2007 he played in and started all 16 regular-season games for the fourth time in his career and was voted a defensive captain for the 2007.

He tied a single-game career high with a two-sack performance against the Cleveland Browns on October 7, 2007, and ran his career total to 30.5 sacks, becoming the 13th player in Patriots' history to reach that milestone.

Also he led the team in tackles (99) and solo tackles (69) in 2007.

In 2008 he played in 13 games, starting 12, and was named a defensive captain by his teammates for the seventh season and final season.

Touchdowns

Bruschi is the only player in NFL history to return four consecutive interceptions for touchdowns and his career total of four interceptions returned for touchdowns ranks second in Patriots history.

He is tied for fourth in NFL history among linebackers, and Bruschi is the only Patriots linebacker to return multiple interceptions for touchdowns in a single season (2002 and 2003).

Additionally, since 2002, Bruschi's defensive play has created seven defensive touchdowns. He scored four of those touchdowns on interception returns (two in both 2002 and 2003), forced two fumbles that were picked up and returned for touchdowns (October 3 and November 28, 2004), and tipped a pass that was intercepted by James Sanders and returned for a touchdown (December 11, 2005).

This is in addition to his first career touchdown at Baltimore (October 6, 1996) when Bruschi recovered a blocked punt by Larry Whigham and returned it four yards for a touchdown, making 8 total touchdowns to which Bruschi contributed.

Tedy Bruschi: Retirement

On the August 30, 2009, broadcast of Sunday Night Football, Al Michaels reported that Bruschi would announce his retirement after 13 seasons in the NFL the next day.

Bruschi confirmed his retirement on August 31, 2009 at a press conference alongside New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft.

During this broadcast, Bruschi described how fulfilled he felt in completing his 13 years of playing football. He described how it felt to know that he had reached all of the goals he wanted to reach.

Belichick was choked up and spoke of him as "the perfect player". The head coach also described Tedy's powerful addition to the team and alluded to his strong sense of team spirit and drive.

Tedy Bruschi: Above and Beyond the Call

In 2007 Bruschi wrote Never Give Up: My Stroke, My Recovery, and My Return to the NFL, a book about his experience with his stroke and his recovery.

In his memoir, Bruschi speaks with candor about how his family confronted the reality of his life-threatening affliction, of his initial plans to retire from the NFL, and of the moment he told his wife he was ready to return to football, earning him a share of the Comeback Player of the Year Award and the Patriots recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award.

Bruschi is a spokesman for the American Heart Association and founded Tedy's Team, a foundation to raise funds for stroke research, inspired by Bruschi's own experience.

In 2007 Bruschi was named to NFL.com's All-Interview Team for accessibility to the media.

In 2006 he won both the Senator Paul E. Tsongas Award for Exemplary Public Service and was an Rhode Island Italian-American Hall of Fame Inductee.

In 2005 he was the Associated Press NFL Co-Comeback Player of the Year and was voted the Ed Block Courage Award, the Maxwell Football Club's Spirit Award and the AFC Defensive Player of the Week (Week 8) and NFL.com's All-Interview Team as well as USA Today's All-Joe Team.

In 2004 he made the AFC Pro Bowl and Second-Team Associated Press All-Pro and thrice won the AFC Defensive Player of the Week: (Week 4)(Week 17) and (Divisional Playoffs), he also was on NFL.com's All-Interview Team.

Tedy Bruschi: Above and Beyond the Call

In 2007 Bruschi wrote Never Give Up: My Stroke, My Recovery, and My Return to the NFL, a book about his experience with his stroke and his recovery.

In his memoir, Bruschi speaks with candor about how his family confronted the reality of his life-threatening affliction, of his initial plans to retire from the NFL, and of the moment he told his wife he was ready to return to football, earning him a share of the Comeback Player of the Year Award and the Patriots recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award.

Bruschi is a spokesman for the American Heart Association and founded Tedy's Team, a foundation to raise funds for stroke research, inspired by Bruschi's own experience.

In 2007 Bruschi was named to NFL.com's All-Interview Team for accessibility to the media.

In 2006 he won both the Senator Paul E. Tsongas Award for Exemplary Public Service and was an Rhode Island Italian-American Hall of Fame Inductee.

In 2005 he was the Associated Press NFL Co-Comeback Player of the Year and was voted the Ed Block Courage Award, the Maxwell Football Club's Spirit Award and the AFC Defensive Player of the Week (Week 8) and NFL.com's All-Interview Team as well as USA Today's All-Joe Team.

In 2004 he made the AFC Pro Bowl and Second-Team Associated Press All-Pro and thrice won the AFC Defensive Player of the Week: (Week 4)(Week 17) and (Divisional Playoffs), he also was on NFL.com's All-Interview Team.