Cool Link OT Video: Tom Brady’s Football IQ is Insane (NFL on FOX)

"90% of this game is half mental." -Yogi Berra.



To me the #1 attribute that Tom Brady had was his mind. He wasn't the strongest, he wasn't the fastest, he didn't have that raw talent that too many QBs these days try to coast by on (cough Josh Allen cough) But he had his intelligence. He knew and taught me that most of winning in football is about making the right decisions at the right times, knowing the potential situations and mentally practicing them thousands of times in his head so that when it happened for real he was ready.

GOAT.

NovaScotiaPatsFan said:

"90% of this game is half mental." -Yogi Berra.



To me the #1 attribute that Tom Brady had was his mind. He wasn't the strongest, he wasn't the fastest, he didn't have that raw talent that too many QBs these days try to coast by on (cough Josh Allen cough) But he had his intelligence. He knew and taught me that most of winning in football is about making the right decisions at the right times, knowing the potential situations and mentally practicing them thousands of times in his head so that when it happened for real he was ready.

GOAT.

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The most impressive thing I ever heard about Brady came from Belichick. He said he once told Brady to watch a particular defensive end because he always gave away the defense pre-snap. Belichick had spent hours breaking things down about this DE and he was going to use him as a cheat code. Brady told him that a QB would never be looking at a DE pre-snap since there are a ton more important things on his mind and that all the preparation was just a waste of time. Belichick took it at face value and said it was great that the players were coaching the coaches, because if you hadn't played in the NFL, then you as a coach would not know what they the players can see and can't see. Belichick never did that again.

Why?

One reason is that he knew Brady's processing was phenomenal. He was the RainMan of the NFL. On one play, Brady came back to the sideline and quizzed Brady about what he thought was a misread and a bad play. Brady said, "Nope, the reason I did that was because this, this, this, this, this, this, this and that thing happened, so I went with the only option." Belichick after the game went back to look at the tape and he said that not only had Brady seen these 7 things happen in the first 1.5 seconds of the play, but they had happened in the exact same sequence that Brady reeled off to him immediately on the sideline. It was the most impressive thing Belichick had ever seen in his entire life as a football coach. He was astounded by it.

As for Brady, I always say that having the strongest arm in the NFL (he was measured by ESPN's Sports Science as throwing harder than anyone) combined with accuracy, these are physical gifts and athletic talents. Perhaps even peripheral vision in the pocket can also be considered a talent. But regardless, sure Jamarcus Russell can throw harder and farther and his arm may be stronger, but functionally, he cant throw that hard with accuracy and that quickly. Sometimes the harder you throw the less accurate you are. Brady's arm talent was the very highest level in the NFL perhaps second only to Dan Marino and Aaron Rodgers. The only player in Brady's league in terms of processing was Peyton Manning.

Because he’s a ****ing cyborg..

NovaScotiaPatsFan said:

"90% of this game is half mental." -Yogi Berra.



To me the #1 attribute that Tom Brady had was his mind. He wasn't the strongest, he wasn't the fastest, he didn't have that raw talent that too many QBs these days try to coast by on (cough Josh Allen cough) But he had his intelligence. He knew and taught me that most of winning in football is about making the right decisions at the right times, knowing the potential situations and mentally practicing them thousands of times in his head so that when it happened for real he was ready.

GOAT.

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That was a great video. Thanks.

Brady had a big brain and great vision. He did a lot of little things that made a big difference. He could see when his OL made a mistake and would shift to a spot that gave him more time. I remember seeing a video of a DL who was getting frustrated because he was getting in right away but Brady was getting rid of the ball too quickly.

1960Pats said:

That was a great video. Thanks.

Brady had a big brain and great vision. He did a lot of little things that made a big difference. He could see when his OL made a mistake and would shift to a spot that gave him more time. I remember seeing a video of a DL who was getting frustrated because he was getting in right away but Brady was getting rid of the ball too quickly.

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I remember years ago seeing a documentary series about the weird things that people experience after brain injuries. One fellow in particular stuck in my memory. He had suffered some injury that rendered him blind. That is, he could not see in the everyday sense. But he was aware of things like a hand flicked at his face or someone moving by. The presenter, a neuro doc of some type (with an Indian name, maybe at Stanford?) explained we actually have two vision systems. The one everyone is aware of is the one that makes conscious images (tells us "what"). The other does not make images at all but is more of a motion detector (tells us "where"). I always thought Brady was very in tune with this second system, the way he could move so zen-like in the pocket. Probably the best running backs also have sensitivity in this way.

Ever work with someone who has amazing attention to detail?

I remember one guy in the military who was an NCO and he noticed the tiniest stain on another NCO’s uniform that was in the most inconspicuous location. In front of all of us enlisted folks he asked him why he put that uniform on with that stain on it. That guy saw things most didn’t notice and later became an officer. That is Tom Brady. He pays attention to the small details and it all adds up. And he’s very inquisitive. He wants to know the whys of everything. I worked with another guy who was ultra curious and always wanted to know the whys. He drove his team lead crazy. He’s now a high level GS grade for DoD.

Those traits are innate and do not show up on a scouting report. You either have it or you don’t.

Im guessing its higher than Jordan palmer’s? Wild guess?

turkeyneck said:

I remember years ago seeing a documentary series about the weird things that people experience after brain injuries. One fellow in particular stuck in my memory. He had suffered some injury that rendered him blind. That is, he could not see in the everyday sense. But he was aware of things like a hand flicked at his face or someone moving by. The presenter, a neuro doc of some type (with an Indian name, maybe at Stanford?) explained we actually have two vision systems. The one everyone is aware of is the one that makes conscious images (tells us "what"). The other does not make images at all but is more of a motion detector (tells us "where"). I always thought Brady was very in tune with this second system, the way he could move so zen-like in the pocket. Probably the best running backs also have sensitivity in this way.

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That sounds like a show named Brain Games from a few years ago.

I saw a video of a young blind man who made a clicking sound that told him that something was in his way. They put obstacles in front of him and he went around all of them easily.

One thing that was very comforting to me from that Brady clip was that OUR developing young QB is learning a system that will eventually give HIM all "the answers to the test", and not just to be up and running as fast as possible.

Remember Brady was stated himself that he was in the league 12-13 years before he reached Nirvana. Our young Padawan learner has SO much more to learn that CANNOT be learned other than from the tens of thousands of reps that comes from experience. There are those observers who look at Maye and see the QB who struggled against the weather and elite defenses and think his regular season success was a fraud of the schedule, and he's the luckiest QB on the planet. AND to a certain degree they aren't wrong. But what they fail to grasp is just how productive he was despite being so far down the learning food chain he is and how incredibly high his ceiling truly is.

If they had a clue of his true potential, they'd be ****ting their pants instead of ****ting on his playoff performances. Think about that for a second fans. Regardless, of what he does on the 8th, just remember just how much better he will get by the time HE gets all the answers the answers to the test like Brady. Now all we have to do is hope Maye has the same kind of maniacal drive that afflicted Brady to be the best. We probably aren't THAT lucky, but pretty damned lucky, nonetheless.

1960Pats said:

That sounds like a show named Brain Games from a few years ago.

I saw a video of a young blind man who made a clicking sound that told him that something was in his way. They put obstacles in front of him and he went around all of them easily.

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That's a different case but I think the same series. That kid could sononavigate like a bat, even on his bike!

Loved Brady. Thank god he was our QB

turkeyneck said:

That's a different case but I think the same series. That kid could sononavigate like a bat, even on his bike!

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I actually have that entire series.

The one where they staged a robbery in front of ten people was very revealing, especially about the vulnerability of jurors. They added two people who weren't there and they deliberately swayed many of the others.

patfanken said:

One thing that was very comforting to me from that Brady clip was that OUR developing young QB is learning a system that will eventually give HIM all "the answers to the test", and not just to be up and running as fast as possible.

Remember Brady was stated himself that he was in the league 12-13 years before he reached Nirvana. Our young Padawan learner has SO much more to learn that CANNOT be learned other than from the tens of thousands of reps that comes from experience. There are those observers who look at Maye and see the QB who struggled against the weather and elite defenses and think his regular season success was a fraud of the schedule, and he's the luckiest QB on the planet. AND to a certain degree they aren't wrong. But what they fail to grasp is just how productive he was despite being so far down the learning food chain he is and how incredibly high his ceiling truly is.

If they had a clue of his true potential, they'd be ****ting their pants instead of ****ting on his playoff performances. Think about that for a second fans. Regardless, of what he does on the 8th, just remember just how much better he will get by the time HE gets all the answers the answers to the test like Brady. Now all we have to do is hope Maye has the same kind of maniacal drive that afflicted Brady to be the best. We probably aren't THAT lucky, but pretty damned lucky, nonetheless.

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He does have that drive but its different. I think the real drive for Brady was to prove that picking him 199th in a draft was an egregious error. The drive for Maye is simply winning. Listen to him talk about competition, when keeping score and how it was growing up in this house. The kid simply detests losing and it pushes him to be better.

patfanken said:

One thing that was very comforting to me from that Brady clip was that OUR developing young QB is learning a system that will eventually give HIM all "the answers to the test", and not just to be up and running as fast as possible.

Remember Brady was stated himself that he was in the league 12-13 years before he reached Nirvana. Our young Padawan learner has SO much more to learn that CANNOT be learned other than from the tens of thousands of reps that comes from experience. There are those observers who look at Maye and see the QB who struggled against the weather and elite defenses and think his regular season success was a fraud of the schedule, and he's the luckiest QB on the planet. AND to a certain degree they aren't wrong. But what they fail to grasp is just how productive he was despite being so far down the learning food chain he is and how incredibly high his ceiling truly is.

If they had a clue of his true potential, they'd be ****ting their pants instead of ****ting on his playoff performances. Think about that for a second fans. Regardless, of what he does on the 8th, just remember just how much better he will get by the time HE gets all the answers the answers to the test like Brady. Now all we have to do is hope Maye has the same kind of maniacal drive that afflicted Brady to be the best. We probably aren't THAT lucky, but pretty damned lucky, nonetheless.

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Which is why we will see a lot of run game to help him