Patriots quarterback Tom Brady unfazed by Cromartie's comments
Tackles and sacks may break his bones, but words will never hurt Tom Brady. That is just the kind of player and person the New England Patriots quarterback is. Frankly Tackles and sacks don’t seem to have an effect on him either,
but that’s beside the point.
On Tuesday New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie unleashed a ton of trash talk against Tom Brady, going to the extent of using expletives to describe the quarterback. What was Brady’s reaction? Pretty much nothing.
Patriots’ Coach Bill Belichick isn’t just a master strategist on the field; he is equally adept at guiding his players off the field as well. During the past few weeks, New York Jets’ Coach Rex Ryan has been routinely speaking
to the media and saying things that would ruffle a few feathers back in Boston. He has taken swipes at Brady and Belichick in hopes of provoking a reaction.
Belichick issued clear instructions to his team to not fall into the trap, and stay out of the war of words, and Kudos to Brady for being able to hold back despite some very explicit comments from Cromartie. Brady told reporters,
“Everybody's obviously entitled to their opinion and maybe he's (Cromartie) right. But I'll keep getting ready like we've done all year and get ready for Sunday night.”
Brady drew the ire of New York when he first said that he hated the Jets. In week 13 he pushed New York’s buttons again when he pointed towards their sidelines, taunting them, after he scored in the 45-3 win over the Jets.
Brady denies having done anything to warrant being attacked by the Jets. He said “It's certainly not my intent. I'm sure there’s 50,000 cameras on the game. If I did that, I'm sure they'd show it. I don't think I've ever
pointed at anybody. That's not my style.”
Cromartie obviously disagrees.
The age old rivalry between the sides, coupled with the fact that Brady has tormented New York on the field, boiled over and culminated in Cromartie’s outburst. Brady though, has taken a step back and distanced himself from
the entire off-field drama.
“I've been called worse (than Cromartie's insult),” the quarterback said. “I'm sure there's a long list of people who feel that way.” Brady joked that Belichick, and the offensive coordinator had called him that too. “I know
they like me, so maybe he really likes me.”
There might be players on New York’s roster who like Brady or in the very least aren’t put off by him, but Cromartie isn’t one of them. Linebacker Jason Taylor though, might be. Taylor said that Brady was ‘pretty demonstrative’
when he played against the Jets but he didn’t hold that against him. “I come from the school of thought where if you don't want someone to celebrate or be excited or say something to you or do something that you might perceive as offensive, then don't let
them score.”
Not letting Brady score is easier said than done. The last time the two sides met, Brady threw four touchdown passes in 326 yards against the Jets. The quarterback need not be concerned about the unflattering comparisons that
were made by Jets Coach Rex Ryan between Brady and Peyton Manning. It doesn’t matter if Brady needs more help from his coach than Manning does; the Patriots quarterback needs nothing more than his spectacular numbers to redeem himself.
He has the best numbers in the league. With 36 touchdowns, just four interceptions and passer ratings of 111.0, Brady has good reason to be unfazed by what people say about him. “I don't think anything people really say has
bothered me - good, bad or indifferent - over the years.”
Brady said that the Jets were more hype than substance, and the talk about a rematch or settling the score with the Patriots had no bearing on the situation.
“At this point, we're motivated by much more than what people say,” Brady continued. “We're motivated by the fact that we have a great opportunity to be playing a division rival at home in the most important game of the year.
That's plenty of motivation for us. We're going to let our play do the talking as we always do.”
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