It's Tom Brady Week once again in New England.
With the Patriots set to honor Brady on Sunday afternoon ahead of the season kickoff against the Philadelphia Eagles, Bill Belichick was asked Monday morning on WEEI's The Greg Hill Show about his favorite TB12 moment from their 20 seasons together.
"Well, there are six of them that come to mind," Belichick responded, alluding to the six Lombardis the pair won together, via Mark Daniels of MassLive. "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."
Brady and Belichick dominated the NFL landscape for two decades, taking home six Super Bowls, nine conference titles and 17 AFC East crowns. The Patriots missed the playoffs twice after Brady took over in 2001 -- including 2008, when the QB played in just one game due to a knee injury.
"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," Belichick said.
"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."
Brady's work ethic and competitive fire allowed him to play effectively into his age-45 season -- three years after his New England days. From age 40 to 45, TB12 didn't have a season under the 4,000-yard passing mark. He led the NFL the past two seasons in attempts and completions and set the league mark in 2021 with 5,316 yards and 43 touchdowns.
After Brady officially retired this offseason, the Patriots will honor the G.O.A.T. at Foxborough before the 2023 campaign kicks off against the reigning NFC champions.
