FOXBORO, Mass. — With the AFC East title on the line last Saturday, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady opened his mouth.
Brady gave a pregame speech to his Patriots teammates before New England’s Week 16 contest against the Buffalo Bills. This is not a weekly occurrence for the veteran QB.
“I just would say a lot of guys talk at different times,” Brady said. “I’ve been around a little bit, so I kind of pick my spots because I think if you speak too much, then it loses a little bit at the time. So, I just try to pick the right time to express the things that are important, that I feel are important, and everyone does that. We have coaches that do that. As a veteran player, as a captain, I feel like that’s good knowledge for me to share, and that’s just us going out there and understanding what’s at stake.”
So, what did Brady have to say to his teammates?
“I think everybody puts a lot aside,” Brady continued. “You know, I think we all do. We all have jobs, and I don’t have — I have a lot of grown-up issues. You know, you deal with kids, and family, and life things, and a lot of the younger guys don’t. That’s just the reality. And when you’re an older player, you don’t take those things for granted because you realize the things that you’re putting off are very important and things that you can’t get back.
“And the longer you do it, you try to express to them that these are important things, and if it’s important for me to sacrifice for them, they’ve got to do the same. And that’s the reality of football is it takes on part of your life because this is — you play for a long period of time during the season. The games are scheduled every Sunday. So, they take precedent over basically everything else. And it’s just a lot of important things we’re doing, and trying to do the right thing.”
The Patriots beat the Bills 24-17 at Gillette Stadium. Brady delivered one of his best performances of the season, going 26-of-33 for 271 yards with a touchdown.
They have another pseudo-playoff game Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. The Patriots can clinch a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs with a win. If they lose and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Los Angeles Chargers, the Patriots will be playing wild-card weekend.
