TB’s fire far from doused Under the lights
Sets record straight after docu-series’ finale tone
Tom Brady’s commitment to football had never been questioned until this spring, when the 40-year-old Patriots quarterback struck an uncharacteristic tone to end his Tom vs. Time docu-series.
In yesterday’s Q&A with ReligionOfSports.com, a site that Brady co-founded, the quarterback put to rest the notion that his passion was waning.
“Football is my entertainment,” Brady told Religion of Sports. “There’s nothing I love more, which is why I’m still playing. Knowing that my coaches, teammates, and I are aligned on our goals, which is to get better every day and go deep into the season again, is what excites me the most.
“Getting out on the practice field with them and getting our timing right, tinkering with new ideas and plays, figuring out the chemistry with the new guys, going at it with the defense — all of it — is what drives me. I mean, I love it. I guess that you could say I found my conviction. It’s football season — Let’s Go.”
With his answer, Brady seemed to clear up questions that arose following the docuseries.
“It’s a big commitment,” Brady said in the final episode, which aired in March. “I’m sitting here, laying here, three days after the year, getting my Achilles worked on, and my thumb. And you go, ‘What are we doing this for?’ You know. ‘What are we doing this for? Who are we doing this for? Why are we doing this?’ You’ve got to have answers for those questions, and they have to be with a lot of conviction. You know, when you lose your conviction then you probably should be doing something else.”
Brady proceeded to skip voluntary offseason workouts, participating only in mandatory mini-camp.
He reported to training camp a week ago, and it’s been business as usual ever since.
New size standard
Has Bill Belichick ever coached anyone the size of Trent Brown?
“No,” Belichick said, taking all of a quarter-second to ponder his answer.
Brown, who is listed at 6-foot-8, 380 pounds, is by far the biggest player on the Patriots roster. Five practices in, Brown has taken hold of the left tackle job. And he doesn’t look to be relinquishing it anytime soon.
“Very athletic, he can run, he can bend, he can change direction,” Belichick said. “He’s long and he’s strong. He plays with good knee bend. As big as he is, he doesn’t play necessarily high. He can bend and get leverage on players who are not as long as he is.”
Grab some attention
With Julian Edelman suspended four games, the Patriots will be relying on several new receivers to carry them through September.
So far, Belichick seems pleased with the progress of the group, mentioning three players in particular.
“(Cordarrelle) Patterson and (Jordan) Matthews and even (Kenny) Britt, who we didn’t get until December, those guys are way ahead of where they were last year, in Britt’s case, or earlier in the spring,” Belichick said in an interview with Sirius XM. “And I’d say even the same thing for Phil Dorsett. Even though he was here last year, being able to start at the beginning, he’s had a real good spring, too. So we’ll see how all those guys continue to do as we get into competition against our defense and the preseason games.”
Patterson has been good for one highlight catch, at minimum, per practice. Absent from the practice were wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell, Matthews (leg), running back Mike Gillislee and cornerback Keion Crossen (back spasms). Mitchell is considered “day to day,” Belichick said.
Britt, who remains on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, was present for last night’s practice, but not in uniform. Britt continues to work his way back from a hamstring injury sustained during minicamp . . . .
The Patriots’ night practice in Gillette Stadium was open to season-ticket holders and Foxboro residents. After two full contact practices, the Pats were in shells for this one. It was mostly a walkthrough, with a heavy emphasis on special teams. The Patriots spent time working on kickoff coverage and kick return.
“Certainly a good opportunity for our returners to handle the ball and also to get used to seeing the ball against a different backdrop,” Belichick said beforehand. “Same thing for the kickers, just to re-familiarize themselves with some of the wind patterns.”