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Tom Brady explains ‘uncanny’ Bill Belichick trait that kept Patriots prepared
"If we were fortunate enough to make it to the last game, we were so prepared because every day was important."
Throughout his lengthy NFL career, Tom Brady demonstrated an obsession with being prepared. From his unorthodox diet to long nights watching film, Brady trained himself to get the most out of his career.
He described his desire to throw a perfect spiral over, and over again, as “a sickness, in a positive way.”
“It was an addiction that is hard to explain to people that haven’t experienced it before,” Brady said during a during a recent episode of Barstool Sports’s “Spittin’ Chiclets” podcast.
Coach Bill Belichick also had a hunger for taking care of details and it was one of the qualities that helped drive the Patriots’ success, Brady said.
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“He’s the greatest coach to ever coach in the NFL. He’s one of the greatest motivators,” Brady said. “There are so many things that are uncanny about his coaching style. He had such high expectations for us, and he never let off the gas.”
“It didn’t matter if it was March, March was really important because March led to April,” he added. “April was really important because it led to May and so-forth all the way up to the start of the season, all the way up to the final games of the season to prepare us for the playoffs and then if we were fortunate enough to make it to the last game, we were so prepared because every day was important.”
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The relentless approach helped shape Brady’s leadership style.
“My leadership was always about how do I, first of all, lead by example,” Brady said. “You can’t ask anyone to do something that you’re not willing to do. You’ve got to be one of the first ones there in the morning, you have to be the last to leave, you’ve got to be the most focused, you have to drive the culture of what a winning culture really looks like.”
“Bill always had a saying, ‘no days off’,” Brady added. “When you’re a leader, it’s hard to just show up. You just being in attendance doesn’t matter. I would always say you’ve got to bring the juice.”
Brady saw an example of this during his rookie season, when Belichick took a hands-on role with the quarterbacks.
“In training camp, our quarterbacks coach Dick Rehbein who was really responsible for drafting me passes away and Bill Belichick, the head coach, the greatest defensive coach of all time, has to assume a quarterback coaching role to fill the void. So now, I’m learning defenses from Bill Belichick.”
Maintaining the standard that the Patriots set during the dynasty era was hard, Brady said, but there was a level of respect between him and Belichick that helped them have such a long run of success together.
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“If he felt really strong conviction with certain things, I would listen,” Brady said. “If he knew that I had a really strong conviction, then he would listen to me and there was very few times over a 20-year period where we got really pissed at one another. Very, very few, like fewer than you could ever imagine.”
“There was just a lot of respect that he knew that I was always trying to do the best he could for the team. I knew he was trying to do the best for the team. Did every decision that he made — did it turn out perfect? Absolutely not. Did every decision that I made — was it perfect? Absolutely not. But that’s what teams are all about.”
When it was time to retire, Brady had played so well for so long that there wasn’t much more to be accomplished. With seven championships, he has more than any franchise, and he practically rewrote the passing section of the NFL record books along the way.
“The best part for me was that I played so long that I finished my career. I didn’t stop playing, I finished. The book ended,” Brady said. “I had a goal of 45. I made it. I really wanted it. My kids were getting older, my oldest son Jack is in New York. I wanted to be there for his games. I said you know what? It’s enough of them coming to my games. I want to be at their games.”
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