FOXBORO, Mass. — Tom Brady had some kind words Saturday for New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Asked about Belichick’s continued climb up the all-time NFL wins list — he currently sits just two shy of 300 for his career, including playoffs, and trails only Don Shula and George Halas — Brady explained why he considers Belichick the greatest coach in NFL history.
“I think his consistency, dependability — all the things we talk about in a great player, I think it’s the same thing in a great coach,” Brady said. “I think his dependability, his consistency, what he brings to work every day, his commitment to our team — I don’t think you can ask for anything more than that as a player. He’s got great competitive stamina, and in my view, he’s the greatest coach of all time. So it’s a privilege to play for him, and just to see him get all these wins, he certainly deserves it.”
“Competitive stamina,” Brady explained, is what drives teams through the meat of a 16-game NFL schedule. The Patriots, who are in the midst of an 11-day break between Thursday and Monday night games, sit at 6-0 entering this week’s primetime matchup with the New York Jets.
“You’ve got to bring it every day,” Brady said. “I think this is the time in the year, after six weeks, where people start to get a little fatigued, you get a little tired. You guys probably feel that, too, a little bit. You start getting a little tired, you take a little shortcut or you don’t quite work as long. That’s the same for the players. You get a little tired during the week, so you study a little less, you don’t watch as much film or you don’t go as hard in practice.
“And I think if you do that, you shortcut yourself, and then you shortcut the team. And I think this team has always done a good job pushing through those moments, those opportunities. You just keep grinding — I think that’s a word we use around here a lot — and you can do every day.”
