Tom Brady returns home tonight as his Buccaneers take on Bill Belichick's New England Patriots. It is the most-anticipated game in the early phase of the regular season. Brady's return to Foxborough is the biggest story in the NFL as well as the sports world.
Throughout the week, experts chose to focus on Brady's end as a Patriot. Silent tensions and the power struggle between Belichick and owner Robert Kraft have led the agenda for the media. Many of these details remain shrouded in mystery.
However, we do know that Tom Brady is the greatest New England Patriot ever, and Robert Kraft views him as a surrogate son. Tonight, Kraft and the Patriots will pay tribute to Tom Brady.
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New England thanks Tom Brady
Before the game, Gillette Stadium and the Patriots will thank Tom Brady. There will be special video packages and comments from fans and former teammates as they celebrate Brady's hall of fame career.
After tonight's game, representatives from the Hall of Fame may take the ball and ship it to Canton, Ohio, to be immortalized forever. The reason for this is because Brady is only 67 yards away from breaking Drew Brees' all-time passing yards record.
Drew Brees may have also sent a pre-recorded message congratulating Brady, as is typical for most NFL players on the verge of breaking a historic record.
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick also spoke during Friday's press conference about his relationship with Brady:
"We've talked about that for two decades. I think I've been on the record dozens of times saying there's no quarterback I'd rather have than Tom Brady, and I still feel that way. I was fortunate to have Tom as the quarterback, to coach him, and he was as good as any coach could ever want."
The great head coach acknowledged Brady's greatness, but he also remained laser-focused on the game. When questioned about the record, Belichick responded:
"I have no idea. Honestly, we're going to try to keep Brady from gaining too many yards passing the ball so, I don't know. You'll have to talk to somebody else about that."
Like Brady, Belichick won't care about the tributes and celebrations. He'll attempt to instill the 'Do Your Job' mentality that the Patriots made famous. Belichick and his team are desperate to win the game. Slipping to 1-3 is unimaginable.
Brady and the Bucs will also be focused on the game as they were stung by a red-hot Rams team last week. The quarterback isn't the type to look back on history. He has the future on his mind, and that starts by winning tonight in New England.
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