New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has had nothing but good things to say about Tom Brady this week.
Brady's free agent departure from the Patriots in 2020 has been revisited time and time again over the last seven to 10 days as we prepare for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback to make his much-anticipated return to Gillette Stadium for Sunday night's Week 4 game.
Belichick, as you might imagine, has had little to no interest in rehashing the past and dissecting why Brady no longer plays in Foxboro. This was evident again Wednesday.
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Brady reveals what he expects from Patriots fans in return to Gillette Stadium
"Tom's had an unbelievable career," Belichick said at his press conference. "There's not enough superlatives and adjectives to compliment him on everything that he's achieved and continues to achieve, so yeah. It's unbelievably impressive."
Despite all that Brady's accomplished in his career -- most notably a record seven Super Bowl titles -- some people are still surprised he's playing at such a high level at age 44. Belichick isn't one of those people.
"Nothing Tom does surprises me. He's a great player," Belichick said. "Works hard and takes care of himself. I mean, he's talking about playing until 50. If anybody can do it, he probably can."
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Brady's start to the 2021 season has been one of the finest of his career. Through three games, he leads the league in touchdown passes with 10 and his 1,087 passing yards are the second-most. Slowing him down will likely be the most difficult challenge the new-look Patriots defenses faces all season.
"He's as tough as any quarterback there is or ever has been. Enough said. I mean, his numbers are incredible," Belichick explained.
"He's about to pass the all-time passing record. He's done more than any other player at that position in whatever measurement you want to take, whether it’s yards, completions, touchdowns, championships. You name it, so put anything out there you want, but it doesn’t get any tougher than him."