One thing Brady actually does poorly (and why it must change if he wants ring No. 7)
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell all but made it official Thursday: No one has ever been better in the league’s 101 seasons than Tom Brady.
“Tom Brady has shown that he is probably the greatest player to ever play this game,” Goodell said at his annual Super Bowl news conference, held outdoors and socially distanced in Tampa. “His leadership, ability to rise to the occasion and make everyone rise around him. He’s an exceptional talent.”
And he does almost everything exceptionally well.
But not quite everything.
One of the most bizarre stats in Brady’s legendary career is that, in nine previously Super Bowl appearances, the Patriots have scored a total of three points in the first quarter.
It’s pretty remarkable, then, that Brady and the Patriots won six of those nine Super Bowls.
It helps, of course, that Brady is one of the most clutch quarterbacks to ever walk the planet and was a big reason why New England scored a ton of points in the second half of those games.
But none of those games were against this quarterback and this offense. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs can score in a flash — like they did against the Dolphins in December, lighting up Miami for 28 points in 10 and a half minutes — and could bury Tampa Bay Sunday if the Buccaneers start slow.
“You’d obviously love to get off to a fast start,” Brady said during his final media availability of the week Thursday. “Hard to explain why or why not that didn’t happen. I’m sure there are a lot of individual things why that’s happened. I think ultimately for us this week it’s about taking every play, understanding what we’re trying to execute on a given play and go make it happen.
“The one thing about this game, you’re playing the other best team in the league,” Brady continued. “There’s not a lot of margin for error. If you do anything that’s unsound, it’s not going to work. The execution has to be at your best. It should be that way. That’s the way this game should be played. It should be the highest level of execution. It’s the most time to repair. Concentration, focus. You’ve got to lay it on the line and ... when [the plays] are there to be made, you’ve got to make them.”
Brady suggested Thursday that he will stick with the same game-day ritual that he has followed in the past — and given the results of those game, it’s hard to blame him.
“It’s a slow build, I think for this game,” Brady said. “... This is a game that’s really going to challenge us. This team is a very tough team to beat. They haven’t been beaten in a long time. Got a great offense, got a great defense. Really well coached. Very good on special teams. Just try to chill on Sunday, get your body mentally, physically, in a good place to go out there and compete and get ready for a great game. It’s a long game, it’s a hard game. It’s a long day. You have to be ready when the ball’s kicked off. We’re going to be challenged. They’re going to challenge us, and we have to answer the challenge.”
▪ Goodell suggested Thursday that many of the league’s new COVID-19 protocols will remain in place in the near and even medium term, hinting that the league’s offseason program will be conducted remotely again this year.
Goodell said that he expects virtual meetings to remain in place for the foreseeable future. He also didn’t commit to full stadiums in the 2021 season.
“I don’t know when normal will occur again,” Goodell said. “I don’t know if normal will occur again.”
Goodell did express a bit of confidence that one tradition will return in 2021: regular-season games held outside of the United States.
“We are planning for international games in 2021.”
The Dolphins were supposed to play a home game in London in 2020, but it got moved due to the pandemic.
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 3:17 PM.
