Sunday night will be one of the most emotional games in NFL history when Tom Brady returns to Gillette Stadium to tangle with Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.
Billed as one of the most anticipated regular-season games in the history of the entire league, the showdown essentially serves as the epilogue to a never-to-be-duplicated reign of success with Brady under center in Foxboro.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion almost certainly will be welcomed back with open arms; he sure deserves it for winning six of those rings in a Patriots uniform. But would it actually benefit New England on the gridiron Sunday night to be especially effusive with their praise of the prodigal son?
Brady is an emotional dude, and if the Patriots really play to that, could it disarm No. 12? The Ringer's Bill Simmons had ESPN's Seth Wickersham -- who authored an explosive Patriots book set to release later this month -- on his podcast and they talked about Brady's return to Gillette Stadium. They presented the interesting idea of being overly kind to Brady as a way to get him off his game.
"I bet you that Brady is resolutely focused on trying to be as unemotional as possible," Wickersham said, "which means -- and a buddy of mine suggested this yesterday -- that they'll probably end up doing a big tribute to him on the video board, and then Belichick will give him a hug, and they'll do anything to get him emotional and thrown off his game."
"I'm so glad you brought that up," Simmons replied. "I think that's the move. I think that's the move for the crowd, I think you really turn it into a tear-jerker. Make him a non-robot. Make him a human being."
Wickersham used the Colts' reception for Peyton Manning upon his return to Indianapolis in 2013 as a potential template for the Patriots.
"When Peyton Manning went back to Indianapolis as a Denver Bronco, they did that to him, and he started crying in warmups," Wickersham recalled. "So, I think that's totally the play with Brady. He expects a tough crowd, he expects Bill to ignore him before the game -- which I doubt that he will -- but still, he can handle all of that, but if it's this outpouring of love, it could be a good advantage."
There will be some sort of public acknowledgment Sunday night. There's no doubting that. Whether the Patriots, a franchise led by the proudly unemotional Belichick, will go over the top to show adoration for an opponent remains to be seen. But given the edge with which Brady and the Bucs come to Foxboro, the Patriots might want to try everything they can to throw the legend off his game.
