Patriots QB Tom Brady still gets nervous before big games
By Ty Anderson, 985TheSportsHub.com
Not even Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, a quarterback that has accomplished it all and can only further cement his legacy as the Greatest of All Time with two more wins this postseason, is immune to the nervous energy that comes with a big game.
“Do I get nervous? A little bit. Yeah, a little bit,” Brady admitted in his Friday meeting with the media. “Probably more so during the week than probably leading up to the game, but more like Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, just as you’re preparing and trying to get to know the other team.”
The question came after admissions from both Patriots coach Bill Belichick and wide receiver Julian Edelman — two talents with multiple Super Bowl championships to their name — that they still feel nerves before big games.
“I think the nervous process is definitely part of doing something that you care about,” said Edelman. “I definitely get a little nervous, but when that happens I just try to go back and just go over everything that we put in and it’s kind of like studying for a test.”
“There’s an anxiety,” Belichick said. “We all have things in the game that we have to do. You want to perform them well, not let your team down because everybody’s counting on you to do your job. You’re counting on everybody else to do theirs. You don’t worry about everybody else. You just worry about doing what you can do and make sure you don’t screw up what you’re supposed to do, what you’re responsible for, because nobody else can do that.”
But for Brady, it’s nothing a little film work can’t fix.
“I feel like the more I prepare, the less nervous I get because I can kind of expect how things are going to go a little bit more if I have a little more information on the team,” Brady offered. “So the more film I watch, the less nervous I get.
“And as soon as the ball’s kicked off, there’s not too many nerves.”
I think Brady’s five Super Bowl rings speak to that sharp turn towards an assassin-like focus, as well as his most recent performance, which saw him complete 34-of-44 passes for 343 yards and a touchdown in New England’s 41-28 divisional round demolition of the Los Angeles Chargers.
