Brady only focused on winning
>>FOXBOROUGH: Tom Brady insists he is in no mood for a stroll down memory lane when he faces New England today for the first time since ending his 20-season career with the Patriots last year.
The 44-year-old Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback is poised for an emotional return to Foxborough today, the scene of so many career highlights during two decades of Patriots dominance which yielded six Super Bowls.
Patriots fans have clamoured for tickets to today’s game at Gillette Stadium, splurging up to US$13,000 for the chance to pay tribute to a favourite son who never had the chance to say his goodbyes.
But despite the crackle of anticipation in New England, Brady has spent this week quietly attempting to strip the emotion out of the occasion, insisting he remains focused only on helping the Buccaneers bounce back after a 34-24 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams last weekend.
“I’m not going to necessarily reminisce,” Brady said this week.
“I don’t think this is the moment for that. I’ll have plenty opportunities to reminisce about my football career — none of which I really care to do right now.
“I’m just excited to go up there and try and beat a really great football team. That’s ultimately what this week’s about. It’s not about the quarterback or the fans, or the home crowd, or 20-year relationships.
“It’s about two good football teams going at it. We’ve got to do a great job. Last week was a huge test and we didn’t quite meet it. We’ve got to meet the test this week after a really tough loss.”
It is the sort of single-minded approach that has informed every aspect of Brady’s career, both on and off the field, and one of the reasons why the Patriots, under the guidance of head coach Bill Belichick, built a dynasty.
This week’s build-up has been given another layer of intrigue by revelations in an upcoming book about the inner workings of the Patriots during the Brady-Belichick era, including a suggestion that Brady left the club after they refused to commit to his plan of playing until 45 and beyond.
Brady fielded questions about Belichick with customary diplomacy on Thursday while insisting his departure from New England last year was “handled as gracefully as we could”.
Belichick for his part pushed back against this week’s revelations that his relationship with Brady had deteriorated prior to his departure.
Instead, Belichick lavished praise on his former protege, and suggested that Brady’s recent remarks about playing until his 50th birthday were not as fanciful as they sound.
Today will in all probability see another milestone chalked up for Brady, who needs just 68 yards to surpass Drew Brees as the NFL’s alltime passing yardage leader. Brady currently has 80,291 yards to Brees’ 80,358.
Kansas City (1-2) have suffered back-to-back losses only three times since 2018, making this uncommon territory for a perennial Super Bowl contender.
The Chiefs, led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes, most likely will bounce back this week against the Eagles (1-2), who took a thorough beating from Dallas on Monday and face a short week to prepare.
Kansas City coach Andy Reid reportedly returned to work on Tuesday after being treated for dehydration after last Sunday’s game.
He most likely will preach ball security to his team, who committed six total turnovers in losses to the Ravens and the Chargers. If the Chiefs can fix those issues, their firepower should be too much for the Eagles’ young offence to respond.