Tom Brady spoke with Howard Stern on Wednesday and New England Patriots fans will learn a lot from the conversation.
Tom Brady was with the New England Patriots for two decades. You would think that we would know everything about him. After Wednesday we know even more.
Brady did an interview with Howard Stern and we saw him open up like never before. The local media must be kicking themselves as they have been unable to get these types of quotes from Brady.
This was a masterclass in interviewing and showed how talented Stern is in getting people to open up. We have never heard Tom Brady talk like this before.
This interview shined a whole new light on things. We found out why Tom Brady didn’t attend OTA’s, what he thinks of Bill Belichick, and even got a sense of what his life was like in high school for the California kid.
For Patriots fans this served as closure. It showed that we shouldn’t be mad at Tom Brady. It showed that something wasn’t wrong with Belichick and Brady. It showed that just like it was hard to say goodbye to Tom Brady, it was hard for Brady to say goodbye to the New England Patriots.
We learned a lot about Tom Brady and I know I have a lot more respect for him as a person and a player. Here are the five things we learned about Tom Brady in his eye-opening interview with Howard Stern on Wednesday morning.
Tom Brady was your typical California bro
There is a stereotype that exists about California teens. You know they love to skateboard or surf, they party, and are just chill dudes. Well, Tom Brady was just like that.
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Now we know Tom Brady for being the pinnacle of fitness. He has the TB12 method and sticks to a strict diet and is probably the most pliable person in the world.
Well, Brady wasn’t like that in high school. He admitted that as a kid he drank and also smoked weed on occasion. He didn’t do it a lot because he felt like he was letting his dad down.
Brady also wasn’t the biggest fan of school. He wasn’t interested in academics compared to sports and said school was difficult for him. Brady is known for the effort he puts on the field, but when it came to school, Brady did just enough to get by.
This is probably the most relatable Tom Brady has ever been. He had some rebellious teenage years and he wasn’t a naturally gifted student. There are probably a lot of high school students who fall into the same category as Brady.
Before the TB12 method, Tom Brady was just your stereotypical Cali bro.
Tom Brady was upfront about his receivers
We have known about how hard it is to gain Tom Brady’s trust. If you are a new receiver you have to overperform if you want Brady to throw you the ball.
This has become more evident as Brady has gotten older. He has heavily relied on familiar friends Rob Gronkowski, and Julian Edelman way more than in previous seasons.
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In 2019, Brady’s frustration came to the forefront. He was openly complaining about his wide receivers to the media. Fans got a sense that everything wasn’t okay in New England.
"“I don’t have any trust that this guy can help us win the game. If you put him out there, I’m not going to throw him the ball. He saw football in the same way I did. We saw the process of winning the same way.”"
We will touch upon Brady and Belichick’s relationship later on, but this just showed how important it was to gain Tom Brady’s trust. He had the power to end careers because he would simply not throw to guys.
It will be interesting to see how this translates to Brady’s time in Tampa Bay. Chris Godwin and Mike Evans are talented wideouts, but it will take Brady a while to get comfortable with them.
I also expect to see young players like Jakobi Meyers, and N’Keal Harry to have much better seasons in 2020. They won’t have to fight for Tom Brady’s affection. All these guys will have to do is go out there and play.
It wasn’t easy for Tom Brady to leave New England
Ever since Tom Brady left I feel like some people thought it was easy for the quarterback. He was moving to get money and a fresh start.
But Brady opened up on how it was actually very hard for him. He had spent his entire NFL career in New England. He became apart of the fabric of the city. Imagining Brady playing somewhere else just doesn’t add up.
When speaking to Stern, Brady said that he isn’t angry at the Kraft’s or Belichick for not re-signing him. He even said when he talked to Kraft that he got emotional.
Well, I think we are now all crying. It’s good to know that Tom Brady didn’t want to leave New England. It almost would have been a slap in the face if it was easy for Brady to move on.
This also shows that Brady wanted to stay. It’s not like he was desperate to leave the team. If the Patriots offered him a deal he felt he deserved he would have stayed. Sadly that didn’t happen.
So don’t worry New England Patriots fans, if you cried when Tom Brady left you aren’t alone, he shed some tears along as well.
A peek inside the Brady-Belichick relationship
We finally got a long-awaited peek inside one of the most interesting relationships in the NFL. Tom Brady talked about his relationship with Bill Belichick.
For a while now there has been speculation about whether the two legends got along or if their relationship was on the rocks. A lot of people even blamed Belichick for Brady’s departure from the team.
It appears that all this speculation was just that. Brady came out and said that no one really knows how Belichick feels about him and believes that he and Belichick deserve to share credit for New England’s success.
"“I think it is a pretty (expletive) argument, actually. I can’t do his job and he can’t do mine.”"
Brady makes a good point here. I think without Brady and Belichick coming together, they don’t have the same level of success. They were in a relationship that benefitted both parties.
It was also important because these guys were two of the best at what they do. They understood what it was like to perform at the highest level. Bill and Brady operate on their own unique wavelength. It will be tough for Belichick to not expect greatness from whoever takes over at QB.
We shouldn’t be trying to pit Belichick and Brady against each other. We should just realize how lucky we were to see two of the greatest at what they do combine forces.
Brady knew he was leaving entering 2019
For a while Patriots fans pleaded ignorance and couldn’t imagine a world where Tom Brady wasn’t on the team. Then in March, our world came crashing down. Brady put out that letter and said he wasn’t coming back.
Looking back things can seem a lot more clearer. We should have realized once the season started and Brady didn’t have a deal that things weren’t looking good. Even before all the public comments and rumors we should have known that Tom Brady wasn’t coming back.
Brady said that entering the season he had a feeling he wasn’t coming back.
Now this has caused some to question Brady’s motivation for 2019. Why would he be invested in a team that won’t be bringing him back?
Brady had plenty of motivation entering the season. He had to prove that he was still a capable quarterback and could help another team improve. If he was playing lackadaisical and causing problems he simply would have nowhere to play. Most likely he would have been forced to sign a cheap deal with New England or be forced to retire.
Basically, Brady saw the writing on the wall. Fans ignored it until the last possible moment. If Brady was going to return, the Patriots would have signed him to a new deal prior to the season.