Tom Brady is about as competitive as it gets, and one of the highlights of this training camp has been watching him face off against teammate Jimmy Garoppolo in a bucket challenge where the two have been battling after practice throwing footballs into a barrel.
The two have been trading throws into a large, empty blue barrel downfield from different distances, with the obvious goal being to improve their deep throws and their accuracy. Brady’s always been pretty good at it, and Garoppolo has seemingly been getting better himself.
Brady has enjoyed the friendly competition, and admits that it’s harder than it looks but said that after a hot day in practice, it saves receivers from having to go out and run multiple deep routes just for the two to get some additional work in.
“I think it’s just, it’s really good,” Brady told the media when asked about the benefits of doing it. “You’re always trying to work on different aspects of the game and it’s hard to get the receivers out here after practice and run – we probably throw 20-25 of those balls, and it’s hard to have a receiver, after a two-and-a-half hour practice in 90-degree weather, go run a bunch of 30-40-yard routes.”
“You just put the bucket out there, and that little sucker is tough to hit, man. It doesn’t move, it’s got no arms, it can’t adjust to anything. That’s why I’m glad we always have guys that have great hands and really attract the ball. It’s just good practice.”
As for whether or not Garoppolo has been holding his own, Brady smiled and gave the third-year quarterback credit.
“He does a good job against me all the time,” said Brady. “So he’s a good competitor.”
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
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