Bill Belichick Actually Goes In-Depth With Praise For Tom Brady
'He just epitomized everything you would want in a player'
Bill Belichick doesn’t always take the bait on questions about Tom Brady. But with the Patriots set to honor their greatest player during Sunday’s home opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, he’s willing to say a bit more about a quarterback with whom he won six Super Bowls.
During a Monday morning appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show,” Belichick was asked whether there’s one moment with Brady that stands out among the rest. New England fans surely will love his response.
“Well, there are six of them that come to mind,” Belichick said with a laugh before beginning a long, detailed answer.
“Can’t say enough about Tom — what he’s meant to this organization, what he’s meant to me personally. He just epitomized everything you would want in a player: his work ethic, his ability to handle and process a lot of things on and off the field. His critical playmaking ability, instinctiveness and anticipation and decision-making at the most critical times in the biggest games in the team’s history, not to mention the seasons.
“For so many years, he set a standard of daily performance which turned into yearly performance which turned into not only a Hall of Fame career, but probably the best career of all time in the National Football League.
“And he did it on a day-to-day basis. I’d say that’s really the biggest thing about Tom that’s so impressive is what you got from him every day was that same level of commitment, work ethic, performance, attention to detail and inquisitiveness and coachability.
“Tom’s always looking to get better, improve and find ways to be a little bit better than he was no matter how good he was. That’s really a great, great attitude to have with a player of his person and ability and performance and production.”
That’s about as in-depth as you’ll ever hear Belichick get when talking about Brady. He might raise the bar during Brady’s inevitable Hall of Fame ceremonies, but for now, that’s as good as it gets.
We still don’t have many details on how the Patriots will honor Brady on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. All we know is there reportedly will be a halftime ceremony.
“He certainly deserves it,” Belichick said.
