BostonBlackie
08-25-2017, 10:06 AM
I Jealously Resented Tom Brady For No Reason: Everything Changed When I Met Him
The greatest quarterback of all time gets a ton of unnecessary hate -- but it won't be coming from me ever again.
Sean Labar (http://herosports.com/contributor/sean-labar)HERO Sports @seanlabaracc (https://twitter.com/seanlabaracc)
Like many non-New England Patriots fans, I grew up jealously resenting Tom Brady (http://bit.ly/2uavs6o) for absolutely no reason.
As a die-hard Redskins' supporter, it pained me to see a guy lead a team to so much success over and over again. Sure, I recognized the allure. This is a player who came out of Michigan (http://herosports.com/colleges/teams/michigan-mens-football) with average stats and very little interest from NFL teams. Somehow, some way, Brady just kept getting better and better.
For more Patriots, NFL and College Football Content Follow me on Twitter Here (https://twitter.com/seanlabaracc?lang=en)
He's a four-time Super Bowl MVP, two-time NFL MVP, and holds a bevy of ridiculous records including all-time postseason marks for completions, passing yards, passing touchdowns, fourth-quarter comebacks, and game-winning drives.
The Patriots' star owns just about every notable Super Bowl Record under the sun -- far more than any player in the history of the NFL -- including his childhood idol, Joe Montana. I'm not sure if it's human nature to resent people who are the very best. It's strange with Brady. I've never hated LeBron James or Tiger Woods (even when after his transgressions and cold in-person encounters). Brady is often depicted as overly cocky and smug, but don't you have to have at least a little of that to be the best?
Then there have been the widely-publicized accusations of cheating -- which of course I latched on to like some internet troll, and used it to fuel my already-smoldering fire of hate for the 40-year-old superhuman.
I was sour. I was envious. I couldn't understand why the Redskins' struggled so hard to find a capable signal caller and were constantly screwing things up, yet New England had this guy who seems to never fail. Don't talk to me about Tom Brady -- just like everything in Boston -- I don't care and don't want to hear it.
RELATED: 5 Big Takeaways From Joint Practices Between the Patriots and Texans (http://herosports.com/nfl/patriots-texans-5-big-takeaways-joint-practices-bgbg)
But earlier this week ... everything changed.
............................
But I came away from the two-day trip with one thing that stood out significantly more than anything else: I was wrong about Tom Brady. So very wrong. Who the hell was I to judge someone I've never even met?
From the moment Brady took the field on Tuesday morning -- I began to feel at least a little bit different. I had a nice place to stand on the Patriots' sideline -- and became fascinated with his every move. Every time he came off the field, Brady would kneel about 20-30 feet from me and intently observe practice. New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels or WR Julian Edelman would occasionally come chat with him, but he was laser-focused at all times, even if it was the third string unit playing the Texans' backup defense.
There were a few times where Brady became noticeably frustrated with himself. A poorly thrown out-route that was deflected by a Houston defender. A botched play where it appeared either Brady or another player didn't understand his assignment.
"We got to make that play," Brady told me after Wednesday's practice. "It's got to be a better throw. We just have to keep up with it. Sometimes you get the exact look you want for a certain play -- and it's not a productive play. Those are the ones you kick yourself for. Sometimes they just call the right defense for the play you call and that's just how it is, but the ones you know should work, those are the ones you have to come up with."
Here is the greatest QB of all time -- dissecting the one or two bad passes he made during the entire practice session. That's greatness at it's core.
I continued to study Brady throughout the remainder of practice. He cheered when Jimmy Garoppolo or Brissett connected for a big play. He watched the Texans' offense closely as well -- talking intently with McDaniels after each pass from Deshaun Watson or Tom Savage. He was engaged and intense at all times. It was clear Brady had the same demeanor on the field that we've all become accustomed to over the years. It was just practice -- but he approached it like a game. It didn't matter how many accolades or honors he had.
Brady -- the greatest to ever play the position -- wanted to get better.
http://herosports.com/nfl/tom-brady-patriots-jealously-resented-no-reason-everything-changed-met-him-bgbg
The greatest quarterback of all time gets a ton of unnecessary hate -- but it won't be coming from me ever again.
Sean Labar (http://herosports.com/contributor/sean-labar)HERO Sports @seanlabaracc (https://twitter.com/seanlabaracc)
Like many non-New England Patriots fans, I grew up jealously resenting Tom Brady (http://bit.ly/2uavs6o) for absolutely no reason.
As a die-hard Redskins' supporter, it pained me to see a guy lead a team to so much success over and over again. Sure, I recognized the allure. This is a player who came out of Michigan (http://herosports.com/colleges/teams/michigan-mens-football) with average stats and very little interest from NFL teams. Somehow, some way, Brady just kept getting better and better.
For more Patriots, NFL and College Football Content Follow me on Twitter Here (https://twitter.com/seanlabaracc?lang=en)
He's a four-time Super Bowl MVP, two-time NFL MVP, and holds a bevy of ridiculous records including all-time postseason marks for completions, passing yards, passing touchdowns, fourth-quarter comebacks, and game-winning drives.
The Patriots' star owns just about every notable Super Bowl Record under the sun -- far more than any player in the history of the NFL -- including his childhood idol, Joe Montana. I'm not sure if it's human nature to resent people who are the very best. It's strange with Brady. I've never hated LeBron James or Tiger Woods (even when after his transgressions and cold in-person encounters). Brady is often depicted as overly cocky and smug, but don't you have to have at least a little of that to be the best?
Then there have been the widely-publicized accusations of cheating -- which of course I latched on to like some internet troll, and used it to fuel my already-smoldering fire of hate for the 40-year-old superhuman.
I was sour. I was envious. I couldn't understand why the Redskins' struggled so hard to find a capable signal caller and were constantly screwing things up, yet New England had this guy who seems to never fail. Don't talk to me about Tom Brady -- just like everything in Boston -- I don't care and don't want to hear it.
RELATED: 5 Big Takeaways From Joint Practices Between the Patriots and Texans (http://herosports.com/nfl/patriots-texans-5-big-takeaways-joint-practices-bgbg)
But earlier this week ... everything changed.
............................
But I came away from the two-day trip with one thing that stood out significantly more than anything else: I was wrong about Tom Brady. So very wrong. Who the hell was I to judge someone I've never even met?
From the moment Brady took the field on Tuesday morning -- I began to feel at least a little bit different. I had a nice place to stand on the Patriots' sideline -- and became fascinated with his every move. Every time he came off the field, Brady would kneel about 20-30 feet from me and intently observe practice. New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels or WR Julian Edelman would occasionally come chat with him, but he was laser-focused at all times, even if it was the third string unit playing the Texans' backup defense.
There were a few times where Brady became noticeably frustrated with himself. A poorly thrown out-route that was deflected by a Houston defender. A botched play where it appeared either Brady or another player didn't understand his assignment.
"We got to make that play," Brady told me after Wednesday's practice. "It's got to be a better throw. We just have to keep up with it. Sometimes you get the exact look you want for a certain play -- and it's not a productive play. Those are the ones you kick yourself for. Sometimes they just call the right defense for the play you call and that's just how it is, but the ones you know should work, those are the ones you have to come up with."
Here is the greatest QB of all time -- dissecting the one or two bad passes he made during the entire practice session. That's greatness at it's core.
I continued to study Brady throughout the remainder of practice. He cheered when Jimmy Garoppolo or Brissett connected for a big play. He watched the Texans' offense closely as well -- talking intently with McDaniels after each pass from Deshaun Watson or Tom Savage. He was engaged and intense at all times. It was clear Brady had the same demeanor on the field that we've all become accustomed to over the years. It was just practice -- but he approached it like a game. It didn't matter how many accolades or honors he had.
Brady -- the greatest to ever play the position -- wanted to get better.
http://herosports.com/nfl/tom-brady-patriots-jealously-resented-no-reason-everything-changed-met-him-bgbg