Tom Brady and Bill Belichick’s relationship will be the hottest topic in football for the next couple weeks.
The New England Patriots will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4 and it’ll be Brady’s first visit to Foxborough as the opponent. There will be a slew of storylines surrounding this game, but Belichick and Brady will be the primary one.
Brady’s father, Tom Brady Sr., had some comments about the relationship and his trainer, Alex Guerrero, followed up with a reaction of his own. Guerrero said Belichick “never evolved” with Brady’s age and that he still treated him like a 20-year-old kid throughout the two decades together.
Leading to the question — does Belichick truly treat every single player the same? Devin McCourty, who’s been with the team for 12 seasons, reacted to Belichick’s treatment of veteran players.
“I remember hearing Jimmy Johnson speak my rookie year. He came to visit, and said every player will be treated fair, but not exactly the same,” McCourty said, transcribed by WEEI. “Even if you take away age, I think each player is treated differently, because of experience, because of what you lean off of from a signal-caller standpoint, like the quarterback position, middle linebacker, safeties, different guys on special teams, whether it’s the kicker or long-snapper. I think everyone is treated differently based on what the team is counted on to do, and what the head coach needs from you and expects from you.”
When it comes directly to Brady, McCourty had a predictable response.
“I’ve got nothing for the Tom Brady connections —‘said this, said that,’” McCourty continued. “I’m focused on the Saints.”
There will be speculation and discussion around this topic for weeks to come, but don’t expect Brady, Belichick or anyone close to the Patriots’ locker room to truly unveil the dynamic between the legendary figures.
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