Brady Gets Haircut, Ready For Raiders
FOXBORO (CBS) - As Patriots quarterback Tom Brady took the podium for his weekly media session on Wednesday, it was apparent something was missing.
It was his hair. The Patriots quarterback finally got a haircut.
His long locks were trimmed over the offseason, but now Brady is sporting a clean, close-crop cut.
What effect this has on the football field, who knows?
There was no talk of the hair with Brady though, just football. The Patriots are over their first loss of the season at the hands of the Buffalo Bills, and on to the 2-1 Oakland Raiders.
"We've moved on from Sunday and we're focused on what we need to do in our preparation," said Brady. "It's going to be a big challenge."
The Patriots head out West to take on the Oakland Raiders for the first time since 2008. Brady did not play in that game, as he was out for the season, so his last trip to face the Raiders was back in 2002.
It will be a trip back home for Brady, who grew up in San Mateo, not far from San Francisco. But much like Rob Gronkowski last weekend, the Pats quarterback is not worried about the homecoming.
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"My parents are the most happy, they don't have to come very far," said Brady. "For us, it's a road game, an important one, and we have to go there and try to win."
Taking on Oakland, the Patriots will be going up against an old friend in Richard Seymour. Bill Belichick traded the All-Pro defensive lineman just over two years ago, but the memories of "Big Sey" are still fresh, especially in the offense's mind.
"He was a great player for us and a good friend of mine," said Brady. "He's still playing well. We know the challenge is to block him up front; we had to do it in practice for a lot of years. Nobody knows him better than Logan (Mankins) and (Dan) Koppen and (Matt) Light. Those guys have been in there facing him. Richard was tough to block, and he still looks tough to block. There's not much change with him; he's a load and when he gets going, he's tough to slow down."
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While Seymour is a concern of Brady's, the production out of his newest wide receiver isn't. Chad Ochocinco has been lackluster with the Patriots so far, highlighted by a deed drop in the loss to Buffalo. With just five receptions for 87 yards, Ocho has been a disappointment, but the man throwing him the ball has a feeling things will get better.
"It's three games for all of us together in this offense - Chad, Wes, Deion - all of us in the receiver-quarterback combination," Brady said. "We're trying to do better each week, trying to make improvements each week. We're not where we need to be, and we're not where we're going to be. We're going to keep working hard and try to make improvements. That's for myself, for every position on the team. As long as you show up and work hard every day, we have confidence we're going to get better."
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Brady is also coming up on a big 10-year reunion. Friday marks the 10th anniversary of his first start in the NFL, but when asked about it, Brady was pretty honest.
"I don't even remember, that was a long time ago," he said, pausing for a few seconds before adding, "We beat the Chargers."
The Patriots actually beat the Colts 44-13 in Brady's first start. When a member of the media reminded Brady, he joked about his bad memory.
"See," he said.
