Tom Brady is a master at using criticism and doubt as motivation, and the seven-time Super Bowl champion is trying to teach that skill to his teammates.
Brady will open the 2022 season with a much different offensive line from the one he had last year. Center Ryan Jensen is out indefinitely after suffering a knee injury during training camp. Guard Alex Stinnie will miss the entire year after he tore his ACL in a preseason game. Pro Bowler Ali Marpet surprisingly announced his retirement earlier this offseason, and Alex Cappa signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency.
In the season debut episode of his “Let’s Go” podcast with Jim Gray, Brady was asked if he has any concerns about what some people have called a patchwork offensive line. You can probably guess how he responded.
“Every time someone says they suck, and they can’t do anything, I’ve tried to show it to them and say, ‘This is what they’re all saying about you. What do you guys think? What are you going to do about it?’ And make sure they know what everyone’s saying,” Brady said, as transcribed by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “I think that’s important. You know, I think I’ve always used little different spites as motivation for me. And I’m a really motivated person. But it always helps when someone says something that’s not flattering. Or someone that still doesn’t believe in you after all these years, you try to prove them wrong. And they still don’t. So you’re going, ‘You know what? Thank you. You know, thank you very much. Let me keep going and proving them wrong.’”
Most people know better than to doubt Brady at this point. That doesn’t really matter to him. All that matters is whether the 45-year-old perceives that someone does not think he can do something. He wants his teammates to take the same approach.
Brady is said to be having some issues in his personal life. Some have wondered if that will impact his preparation, but rivals should not count on it. Even with backup offensive linemen, the safe bet would be on Brady finding a way to make it work.
