NE Patriots' Belichick says he's not suprised by Brady's continued Success
Brady's former coach sees Brady's success post Patriots as nothing more than business as usual.
A lot has happened in the NFL since the era of the Patriots' 'dynasty years.' Tom Brady won a Super Bowl title in his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for example.
Tom Brady's performances don't surprise Patriots' Belichick
While some have been surprised by Brady's continued drive, standard of play and above all title winning ability in his first season with the Buccaneers, his former coach, Bill Belichick doesn't see it that way. "Tom's a great player. Nothing surprises me that he does," Belichick said Monday morning. Belichick is of course preparing his team to do battle with the Brady-led Buccaneers on this coming Sunday in one of the NFL's most anticipated games of the 2021 season.
Brady made his choice
The clash has also brought about a return to the controversial question of Why Tom Brady isn't still on the roster of the New England Patriots. Having played there for the first 20 years of his career, Brady's departure came as a shock when it happened.
In his weekly interview on Monday gave further insight. "I think we've been through all the dynamics of that. There were a lot of things there," Belichick said. "He looked at his options and made his decision. We weren't as good an option as Tampa. You'd have to ask him about that, but it wasn't a question about not wanting him, that's for sure." It should be remembered of course that at the time both Brady and Patriots' owner Robert Kraft had publicly expressed their desire to see him finish his career in New England.
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Belichick maintains respect for Brady
Questioned on the notion that the Patriots were not as good an option as the Buccaneers and Belichick would not be drawn, "I'm not going to go back and rehash all that. We've talked about that. Really my focus is on the game here." "Look, I have so much respect and appreciation for Tom and everything he did here, and for me and for our team. We're just getting ready to compete against Tampa this week and we're going to keep our focus on that."
"...Tom and I had, I feel like a good relationship and a lot of production obviously while we were together. I enjoyed coaching Tom and he was a great player for us."