Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady Excited To Be Back At It
By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady may have used the majority of the offseason to spend quality time with his family.
But don’t for a second believe his other adventures this summer, the majority of which were documented via Brady’s (must-follow) Instagram account, mean his love and dedication to the game he’s dominated for close to two decades has wavered.
“Football is very, very important to me,” Brady said after the camp’s first padded practice on Saturday. “It always has been, and I love being out here with my teammates. So, it’s great. As you get older you have different responsibilities, and I think that’s just part of life. Everyone’s got to deal with those responsibilities differently and what works for them. Football is a huge part of my life. I love being here with my teammates and playing, and hopefully we can have a great season.
“There’s a lot of commitment and a lot of sacrifice from a lot of people that play the game. Our families, they work just as hard just like every working family shares the burden at different times,” Brady noted. “It’s a full-time commitment for this team, and everyone’s got to do whatever it takes to help us win. So, I feel good, ready and trying to improve like everyone else. It’s a daily process. Football’s a very humbling sport and you never have it quite figured out. Every year, there’s different things, challenges, plays, schemes, opponents, conditions, situations, and it’s just about adapting to what you have and the situation. It’s never perfect. Hopefully there’s a lot more good than bad, but you just work it every day and try to do better each day.”
The league’s Most Valuable Player last season, Brady said that he remained committed to finding new things to improve on, even in an offseason program that did not see on the Gillette Stadium turf for the club’s OTAs.
“It’s really everything,” Brady, whose offseason included visits to UCLA, said when asked of his offseason workout focus. “I mean, I think after every season, you’re trying to maintain certain things. I’m always working on my footwork, my mechanics. I spent a lot of time doing that this offseason. I think a lot of it is playing good football and staying healthy. That’s what it comes down to being a professional athlete. It’s being in good condition, being in good shape, making the right plays and reads, techniques, fundamentals for your position. I spend a lot of time doing that, and that’s got to transfer over to the field.”
One of the first (and biggest) things Brady will have to work on this offseason, though, is getting on the same page as his receivers. The Patriots lost Danny Amendola and Chris Hogan this offseason, and Julian Edelman will miss the first four games of the regular season because of a violation’s of the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
That means Brady’s newer targets — Kenny Britt, free agent addition Jordan Matthews, and an assortment of others both new and familiar to the Pats — will have to do their part to find chemistry with No. 12 through training camp and the preseason.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Brady acknowledged when asked about a developing a rapport with his new options. “We’ll do the best we can every day to get the work in when we can and try to go out there and have a great year.”
As for the rumored turmoil between he and head coach Bill Belichick, Brady was pressed, but offered nothing.
“I have no thoughts,” Brady said with a smile.
Brady will turn 41 years old next week.
Ty Anderson, who will never have an Instagram account as interesting as Brady’s, is a digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Ty? Yell at him on Twitter @_TyAnderson.
