Kevin Faulk thanks Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Patriots fans in Hall of Fame speech
"Without him... those 400 receptions would not have been possible," Faulk said of Brady.
Kevin Faulk had a long list of people to thank at his Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Gillette Stadium on Monday.
“All it is is just thanking the people that helped you along the way to get you where you are, to get you where you want to be as a person, as an individual, as an athlete,” the 40-year-old former running back said.
Faulk, who played 13 years and caught 431 passes with the Patriots, thanked current and former players. The three-time Super Bowl champion thanked all of his coaches from middle school to the NFL. And he thanked members of the Patriots under Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick.
Here’s a list that highlights some of Faulk’s thank you’s.
To Tom Brady:
“Without him… those 400 receptions would not have been possible. Without his trust in me. Understanding that I understood what he understood. That was my biggest gift to this football team, that was knowing what Tom Brady knew. That’s why when pressure situations came, I was successful, because I knew what Tom Brady knew.”
To Bill Belichick:
“There are people who say, ‘Wow, this guy is different.’ He is different. He don’t want nothing else but football. He don’t want to answer media questions. He don’t want to answer if Tom Brady will be the starting quarterback. He just wants you to play football.”
To his kids:
“Thank ya’ll for understanding Daddy couldn’t be at that football game that you had. Daddy wanted to be there, but he couldn’t, because he was trying to make a better way for us.”
To the fans:
“Thank you for all the countless hours you spent in this stadium cheering us on. Thank you for all the countless hours of supporting this organization whenever people say that we’re not who we are. All those people that say we’re cheaters, just tell them to come in our meeting room, come in our practice one day and see what we do, and understand why we are who we are, and why we’re here.”
To Robert Kraft:
“Thank you Mr. Kraft for showing me and my family that giving back is the way to go. Through the Kraft Foundation and everything, that was instilled in us.”
To Troy Brown:
“Troy called me. Troy wrote me a letter. That letter that Troy wrote me really touched me. He was a guy that I really idolized as a rookie. Troy never said much. Troy just did his thing and he did it gracefully. … I always just tried to emulate what Troy did as a running back.
To Ty Law:
“One of the greatest cornerbacks to ever play the game. The things you did on the football field, my man. I ain’t seen nobody else. … There was one other quarterback who I really looked up to, and that was Peyton Manning. He was one of the best to ever do it. [Some boos in the crowd.] I’m sorry he’s from Louisiana. I’ve got to give him his. He is one of the best quarterbacks, but the one thing, he is scared to throw to [Law]’s side [of the football field].”
To Tedy Bruschi:
“Everybody says, ‘How did you become such a prolific pass blocker?’ When you block that guy [Bruschi] every day in practice, man. He’s probably the best linebacker rusher that I’ve ever faced. And that was in practice. That’s what made it easy in the game.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com