Stephen Belichick Offers Up Plenty Of Love And Respect For Tom Brady
BOSTON (CBS) -- We're not expecting Bill Belichick to say much about Tom Brady as the Patriots head coach prepares to square off against his former quarterback for the first time. He's already addressed Brady's two-decade run of success with the Patriots via a statement when Brady departed for Tampa Bay, and that will suffice for Belichick.
But Belichick's son, Stephen, had plenty to say about Brady and his incredible career on Tuesday. Some would even say that what the younger Belichick relayed during his Tuesday Zoom session was a bit of Brady gushing.
Stephen Belichick was just a teenager when Brady arrived in New England. Belichick now serves as New England's outside linebackers coach, and has nothing but fond memories of Brady. He's grateful for everything the quarterback taught him along the way.
"I remember back in 2000 when he got here. That was my first year in Boston, obviously not as a coach, but being around the team and seeing where he started to where he got to, he's an incredible person and an incredible player," Belichick said Tuesday. "I learned a lot from him on and off the field. I can't thank him enough for that. I spent a lot of time with him in the building, outside the building, on the plane on the way home from games. He was such a good resource for me.
"Running the scout team against him, just all the things that Tom does well -- which is everything -- I'm very blessed to have been around him for as long as I was," said Belichick. "I couldn't be happier for him and his family and all that he's accomplished. It's pretty special what he's done and I'm happy that I got to experience some of that firsthand."
Now the younger Belichick is part of a Patriots coaching staff that will look to devise a game plan to slow down Brady and a powerful Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense. That is much easier said than done.
"They don't make anything easy on the defense. Everything they do is tough," he said. "They have a good offensive line, good backs, good receivers and the best quarterback. They have some dangerous weapons there and a smart quarterback that knows what to do to attack a defense. It will be another big challenge, just like the last three weeks. But they do a lot of things well and have a lot of good players, and Tom running the show is always deadly."
Brady left last offseason after leading the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles, and led Tampa Bay to a championship in his first season at the helm. It caused a lot of mixed emotions for those in New England, but there was never a question whom the younger Belichick was pulling for when the Buccaneers met the Kansas City Chiefs for a Lombardi Trophy in February.
"I'm always pulling for Tom. I have a lot of history for him and I'm a fan of the game, too. In addition to being a fan, I like rooting for relationships and people I know," he said. "Tom is as high on that list as anybody. I was very happy for him. It was well deserved and I'll never root against Tom."
Aside from this weekend, of course.
WBZ-TV gets you ready for Tom Brady's big return to New England starting Wednesday night on TV38 with Patriots 1st Down at 10:30pm. Patriots All Access keeps it rolling Friday night at 7pm on WBZ-TV, followed by the Patriots Power Hour on TV38 starting at 8 pm. We kick things off Sunday morning with Patriots GameDay at 11:30am, and after the big Patriots-Buccaneers showdown, tune in to Patriots 5th Quarter on WBZ-TV for full reaction and analysis!
