Kony Ealy received some valuable advice from Tom Brady during his brief stint with the New England Patriots. This Sunday, he’ll try to use that advice to take down the Patriots quarterback.
Ealy, traded to New England from the Carolina Panthers in March, on Wednesday told Steve Serby of the New York Post that he frequently asked Brady for tips during Patriots training camp. The defensive end now utilizing is those pointers for a different team, as the New York Jets quickly scooped him up after the Patriots waived him in August.
“When you’ve got a guy like (Brady) that’s been in the league for a long time and been highly successful in his career, you obviously want to pick his brain about things that quarterbacks don’t like,” Ealy told Serby. “I picked his brain a lot, just asked him certain things that would obviously help me from the opposite side of the ball as far as just being able to be faster in the game and approach to the game.”
What were some of the things Ealy would ask Brady about? He gave some examples.
“What are different ways that I can get to the quarterback and be more effective?” Ealy told Serby. “Things that put quarterbacks more under pressure or that they’re alert for. Certain things like that. You have to be in a situation to understand what I’m saying. You have to be in the moment to understand the conversations between me and him that I’ve had.”
Ealy never was a fit in Foxboro, but Jets coach Todd Bowles said Wednesday the 25-year-old has “found a home” in East Rutherford. He’s certainly been productive thus far, recording seven tackles, two QB hits, a team-high five pass deflections and one interception in four games for the Jets.
“This defense is a better fit for me because they’re allowing me to go rush the passer,” Ealy said. “They’re allowing me to do what I naturally am allowed to do, and that’s go rush the passer and get the running back on the way to the quarterback.”
The Jets will host the Patriots this Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium.
Thumbnail photo via Rich Barnes/USA TODAY Sports Images
