Brady doesn’t expect Brees with Drew up
NFL Bucs @ Saints Today, 11.40pm
Tom Brady and Drew Brees give stattos reason to smile.
Between them they have 41 seasons in the NFL, a combined age of 85, more than 1000 touchdown passes and seven Super Bowl wins.
But perhaps the stat to end all stats is the fact the quarterbacks of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints have faced each other in four different decades.
From their first dustup in college football on October 2, 1999, when Brady played for the Michigan Wolverines and Brees with the Purdue Boilermakers, they have been destined to push each other to greatness.
But as they prepare to clash again in the NFL divisional play-offs – the quarter-finals en route to the Super Bowl – don’t remind Brady he is older.
The 43-year-old laughed and said: “He’s a lot younger than me. He’s 18 months younger.
“Eighteen months ago I felt pretty good. I’ve got a little advanced age and experience on him but I’m hanging in there. I have known Drew for a long time. I’ve always kept up with him and got to know him over the years. I think so much of him as a person and as a player.
“I know what it takes to do what he’s doing and he knows what it takes to do what I’m doing. There is a lot of mutual respect.”
Brady signed for the Bucs last summer after 20 seasons with the Pats, which produced six Super Bowl wins.
Brees, who has lifted the Vince Lombardi Trophy once, said: “Tom and I have a friendship and mutual respect.
“We were texting on Monday just chuckling at the whole scenario. He’s 43, I turned 42 on Friday, so that’s 85 years and a lot of experience on the field.”
Quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield face off in tonight’s clash between the Chiefs and the Browns.