Great article by Jackie MacMullan...

[mykl]

Really illustrates the work ethic of our NE Patriots.

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2007/01/14/charged_up_for_the_playoffs/


"Although Tuesdays are designated as a day off for the team, Brady has been showing up at Gillette Stadium on Tuesdays since his rookie year in 2000.

"There are no off days," he said.
...
"I got up Tuesday morning and told him, 'Dad, I'm going down to the stadium,' " Brady said. "He asked me, 'Tom, how many guys go down there on Tuesdays?' I told him there were about 25 guys, and he could probably guess them.

"So he said, 'Larry [Izzo], right?' I said, 'Yep.' Then he said, 'And Tedy [Bruschi]? Troy? Richard [Seymour]?' I said, 'Yep.' Then he said, 'Ty Warren, right?' He knew them all.

"Each one of those guys made himself a great player. That's why we win."
...
"We were at practice [Wednesday] during a defensive period," Brady said. "All the offensive players were waiting around, but there's Troy, running up and down the sideline, doing sprints, then catching footballs with the Jugs machine. The guy's been in the league 14 years and that's how he approaches it.

"So now when Troy says, 'We've got to start working harder,' who is going to question him? They're going to be thinking, 'Well, I don't work harder than Troy Brown does, so I better listen to him.'

"That's the kind of leader I want to follow.""

 

[mosi]

Really illustrates the work ethic of our NE Patriots.

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2007/01/14/charged_up_for_the_playoffs/


"Although Tuesdays are designated as a day off for the team, Brady has been showing up at Gillette Stadium on Tuesdays since his rookie year in 2000.

"There are no off days," he said.
...
"I got up Tuesday morning and told him, 'Dad, I'm going down to the stadium,' " Brady said. "He asked me, 'Tom, how many guys go down there on Tuesdays?' I told him there were about 25 guys, and he could probably guess them.

"So he said, 'Larry [Izzo], right?' I said, 'Yep.' Then he said, 'And Tedy [Bruschi]? Troy? Richard [Seymour]?' I said, 'Yep.' Then he said, 'Ty Warren, right?' He knew them all.

"Each one of those guys made himself a great player. That's why we win."
...
"We were at practice [Wednesday] during a defensive period," Brady said. "All the offensive players were waiting around, but there's Troy, running up and down the sideline, doing sprints, then catching footballs with the Jugs machine. The guy's been in the league 14 years and that's how he approaches it.

"So now when Troy says, 'We've got to start working harder,' who is going to question him? They're going to be thinking, 'Well, I don't work harder than Troy Brown does, so I better listen to him.'

"That's the kind of leader I want to follow.""

You got to love Troy Brown. When he retires, they should immediately retire his number.

 

[mykl]

And bring him onto the coaching staff...if not as a skills coach, then as a life coach. He is such an amazing person and story.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

great article, reminds me of Larry Bird.

two things struck me:

1. the "25" players who come in on tuesdays, i will be curious when the outer fringe guys start to buy into it.

2. Brady being construed as ****y at first. must be an interesting experience as a teammate first meeting him.

 

[mykl]

I'm really curious who rounds out that 25. In some ways I am more curious about who of the core guys are NOT in the 25 than I am about who IS in it. I imagine that some of the very hard working fringe guys, like Kelvin Kight, are part of this group, while some of our more skilled and visible players are not. Definitely something to ask Reiss or MacMullan about.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

I'm really curious who rounds out that 25. In some ways I am more curious about who of the core guys are NOT in the 25 than I am about who IS in it. I imagine that some of the very hard working fringe guys, like Kelvin Kight, are part of this group, while some of our more skilled and visible players are not. Definitely something to ask Reiss or MacMullan about.

my thoughts exactly.