Tom Brady on Julian Edelman, the NFL All-Time Team, and his father’s habit of talking to the media
"I love my dad and he's an incredible man and been my role model my entire life, but he does like to talk."
Tom Brady appeared to be in good spirits during his Monday morning call on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” The Patriots’ quarterback once again led his team to a division title, which was officially clinched in Saturday’s 24-17 win over the Bills.
More than that, Brady said that his elbow injury isn’t going to hold him back.
“It feels good. My elbow’s not the problem,” said Brady. “I got hit on it and I think anytime you get hit on a joint, you’re going to have a little soreness. But it feels good. I couldn’t imagine it feeling any better at this point in the season, so I’m not dealing with anything. Just going to be ready for practice and try to play my best game of the year.”
Brady weighed in on a range of topics during the interview. Here are a few of the subjects the 42-year-old talked about:
Elandon Roberts and the versatility of the Patriots.
Patriots linebacker Elandon Roberts has been forced to switch positions this season due to multiple injuries to New England fullbacks. It’s not the first time Bill Belichick has used a particular player out of position.
Brady agreed with Belichick’s approach to the roster.
“I think that you look at you only have so many guys on the roster, so every player, whatever they can do to help the team, that’s what they try to do,” Brady explained. “Every player has some skillset to offer, whether it’s special teams, defense, offense.”
New England has a long history of temporary positional switches, as Brady recounted.
“I mean Troy Brown played defensive back at one point, Julian Edelman played defensive back at one point, different guys on defense, Mike Vrabel came over and played goal line tight end, Elandon to come over and play fullback, we’ve had offensive tackles play tight end, we’ve had Junior Seau play fullback, Richard Seymour play fullback.”
“Guys do different things and we try to use them the best way we can,” Brady continued. “I was glad, in a championship level game like that was the other night to see contributions the way he did was a great thing to see and a great thing to be a part of.”
What he thought of his lead block.
Speaking of versatility, Brady himself briefly switched normal roles during Saturday’s win. He threw a lead block to help spring a successful reverse with N’Keal Harry.
“I got him on the ground, so that got us a few extra yards,” Brady said. “I’ve had my fair share where I’ve missed, so I had to redeem myself at some point. I’m glad it was a defensive back and not a defensive linemen. Those defensive linemen go down a lot harder.”
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Julian Edelman’s return from injury and ability to play in big games.
Asked whether he knew if Julian Edelman would return to the game following his examination for a head injury, Brady offered an interesting glimpse into how players learn about teammates’ statuses in real time.
“Well we didn’t really get much of a timetable,” Brady noted. “I think at one point there in the beginning of the fourth quarter I thought he was out for the game. I didn’t know. He had to go through all his tests and so forth. And then he got cleared and came back and I found him over the middle and he made a great run after catch like he’s been doing all year. So Julian’s just been having an incredible season for us and our team when we needed it the most, like he always has.”
Edelman’s return proved to be crucial, helping the Patriots drive for what ended up being the winning touchdown. Brady, asked about Edelman’s story since being drafted in the seventh round in 2009, didn’t minimize what he thinks Edelman’s place will be in Patriots history.
“I think he’s one of the great players in the history of the organization,” Brady asserted. “He’ll be remembered like all of the greats [are]. He’s just everything you look for in a player, in a person, in a teammate, and any player to me that plays their best in the biggest games. I mean those are the guys you want on your side. And not only that but he plays great in every game. He brings a competitiveness to every drill because he wants to give that underdog mentality. He never lets up. He’s one of the first guys in, and the last guy to leave. He makes a huge commitment to playing and being at his best.
“When you look at his career and the improvement that he’s made, coming in really as a quarterback in college to really a role player for his first four, five years to now becoming one of the top receivers in the NFL, it’s an incredible career,” Brady explained. “I’m proud of him on many levels and I know him probably about as well as anybody. He knows how I feel about him what he’s brought to our team is pretty amazing.”
Telling his dad to not talk to the media.
Tom Brady Sr. was the subject of a new story from Stan Grossfeld of the Boston Globe on Monday. It goes against a directive the younger Brady gave to his father about not talking to the media.
“Well apparently he isn’t listening because he’s still talking to the media,” Brady joked, hearing about the new story. He explained why he has an issue with his father talking.
“My dad, he is just an amazing man. He’s very forthcoming with information so I keep telling him, ‘Dad, of course they’re going to keep calling because you keep talking. And everyone when you speak, [they] think I’m speaking, but I’m not speaking.’ I said, ‘It’s hard for me to tell you anything,’ so what I learned is I just can’t tell my dad anything because he has his own opinions.
“And I love my dad and he’s an incredible man and been my role model my entire life, but he does like to talk,” Brady added.
Being a part of the NFL 100 All-Time Team.
On Sunday, it was revealed that Brady was one of the first two quarterbacks named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team, a project conducted on the 100th anniversary of the league.
Brady was named alongside his childhood idol, 49ers quarterback Joe Montana. For the event, Brady was on the set to discuss his selection, joining Belichick (who was one of the presenters on the show).
“It was a fun day,” Brady recalled. “I was in New York, flew down to the NFL Films studios when they were filming. It was actually the first segment, and we were the first people that were interviewed in the whole thing. So it was fun. Chris [Collinsworth] was there, Rich Eisen, Coach Belichick, and just got to reminisce a little bit. Then we had a few other quarterbacks — who I can’t name — come onto the set.
“It was really cool, very surreal for me to be a part of that,” Brady admitted. “And it’s an incredible honor. I know 100 years in the NFL, you can’t just name 100 players. I mean there are thousands and thousands, but to be even considered as one of the greats to play his [position], I would never have imagined that in my life. Very honored, very flattered, very humbled.”
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