Bill Belichick’s postgame shoutout last Thursday caught his quarterback off guard.
During his locker room address following the New England Patriots’ 35-14 win over the New York Giants at Gillette Stadium, Belichick singled out Tom Brady, awarding the 42-year-old signal-caller the game ball after he moved past Peyton Manning and into second place on the NFL’s all-time passing yards list.
Brady appeared a bit surprised in the moment — “We don’t celebrate No. 2s around here,” he said later — and he acknowledged Monday that he was not expecting that recognition, though he did appreciate it.
“That was very nice,” Brady, who also moved into third place all time in completions, said during his weekly appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.” “That was very kind. That was, I would say, unexpected but certainly appreciated. It’s pretty cool. I never imagined playing 20 years in the NFL. Peyton was a guy I looked up to, because he was so spectacular in every way. Brett Favre is the same.
“You can only do it with the help of so many people, the support of so many people to help me accomplish my dreams, and to accomplish doing something I love to do. There are a lot of people that sacrifice a lot for me. For me, it’s thinking of those people and how appreciative I am of them — my family, my kids, my wife, my teammates, my coaches. It’s very special when you can accomplish that because it speaks more to completing passes. It speaks to people making it possible for me to even go out there and do something I love to do.”
Brady has surpassed both Favre and Manning in regular season passing yards this year. He now has 72,257 for his career, trailing only Drew Brees (74,845). Brees and Favre are the only QBs with more completions than Brady’s 6,153.
