Two years ago when Tom Brady was coming into Gillette Stadium as the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bill Belichick wasn’t much for offering too much when it came to compliments.
When Belichick met with the media the Wednesday ahead of that Week 4 match-up, Belichick talked briefly about both Brady and former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.
He praised both players, but that’s about where it ended, as there was still a game left to play.
“It’ll be a big challenge for us this week,” said Belichick at the time. “Obviously, facing one of the top teams in the league, if not the top team. I know some of the players well, Tom [Brady] and Rob [Gronkowski] and guys like that. Certainly, Rob and Tom have done a lot for this organization. A lot for me, and I appreciate everything they’ve done and have a ton of respect for them, but you know, this Sunday we’re on opposite sides of the field.”
“We’re going to do what we can to not make them enjoy the night. I’m sure they’ll do the same to us but look forward to the opportunity and the challenge and look forward to Sunday night.”
While Gronkowski was ultimately inactive that night, the Patriots certainly made life difficult for Brady and the Buccaneers. Brady completed 22-of-43 (51%) for 269 yards passing with zero touchdowns, as Mac Jones and the Patriots took Tampa Bay down to the wire, and the Buccaneers narrowly escaped with a 19-17 win.
Now, three seasons later, Brady has retired, and he’s no longer someone Belichick will have to invest any time preparing his team against. Instead, Sunday will feature a pregame ceremony at Gillette Stadium honoring the former New England Patriots quarterback, with Belichick telling reporters on Monday that he’s also looking forward to seeing him this weekend.
“It will be great to see Tom,” said Belichick on Monday. “Tom has meant so much to this team, this organization and me personally. It was a tremendous experience to be able to coach him and for us to share the things that we shared together, a lot of player-coach relationship.”
“Certainly, recognizing him for all of his great achievements here is more than appropriate. I look forward to seeing him and glad that he’s getting a lot of recognition and appreciation for that because he certainly deserves it.”
Belichick said on WEEI in a recent interview that one night isn’t enough to honor the accomplishments of a player who meant so much to both this team and this region over the last 20+ years.
He’s been extremely complimentary of Brady since the quarterback walked away from football earlier this year, including an incredibly candid conversation on Brady’s podcast, which actually left the quarterback a little emotional.
Needless to say, if anyone had any doubt about where the two stood from a personal standpoint, that’s been more than cleared up this offseason.
It’s likely that this won’t be Brady’s first evening being honored in Foxboro, and one can only hope that the next task at hand, beating the Eagles, will be something Belichick and his players are able to do as they kick off the 2023 regular season.
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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.
