‘Brady would pay them more’: Bill Belichick shared a humorous Tom Brady practice anecdote
"Brady was making more than I was."
Bill Belichick’s presence on the Monday Night Football “ManningCast” has already produced its share of enjoyable soundbites from a Patriots perspective.
In the most recent version, Belichick again reached into his seemingly bottomless well of anecdotes for one that entertained former quarterbacks Eli and Peyton Manning (co-hosts of the program).
Amid the Cowboys-Texans broadcast, the free-flowing conversation eventually stumbled onto the challenge of simulating in practice the trouble with defensive linemen trying to swat passes at the line of scrimmage. Peyton mentioned a rumor that Tom Brady had to regularly go through a drill that involved team staff holding up tennis rackets (in an effort to simulate a tall pass-rush).
Asked if the story was correct, Belichick began with a hypothetical: How would he have coached the five-time NFL MVP in practice?
“Peyton, let me tell you something. If I was coaching you, I would give those equipment guys $100 if they batted down one of your balls in 7-on-7 [drills],” said Belichick.
He joked that unlike the equivalent racket-wielding personnel the Mannings had at their practices, Patriots equipment staff made a serious effort to disrupt Brady.
“They would try to bat [passes] down,” Belichick explained. “They wouldn’t stand there like your guys did and move their rackets out of the way when you throw it. I’d pay them to knock Brady’s passes down.”
The punch line of Belichick’s story arrived in unexpected fashion. The famously tight-lipped coach claimed that his former superstar quarterback doubled down on the payment to team staff in order to get his desired outcome.
“The problem was Brady would pay them more,” Belichick joked. “He’d pay them $200 if they went through the whole practice and didn’t knock one down.”
As for who emerged victorious in the under-the-surface paying of practice personnel, Belichick quipped that it was a simple calculus.
“Brady was making more than I was.”
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