One of the most endearing parts of Tom Brady’s journey to being the GOAT is his underdog story. Tom Brady was never the blue-chip prospect like Caleb Williams. No one had high hopes for him. The Patriots legend was a sixth-round, 199th pick with a mediocre Combine performance. He was simply looked at as the backup. And to make things worse, his New England teammates also bullied him for his seemingly benign stature, the worst of it apparently coming from Mike Vrabel.
Former Patriots cornerback Ty Law in a recent interview with Julian Edelman revealed that he and the big boys like Teddy Bruschi, Willie McGinness, and Mike Vrabel were really hard on Brady in his early years. Ty reminisced how they used to remind Brady that the Patriots’ starting spot was temporary for him as he would be shipped off once Drew Brees came back from injury. This is what he said to TB12:
“‘Hey, you going back to the Pine Big Buddy when Drew comes back.’
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Mike Vrabel, in particular, was ruthless and recalled the cornerback. The former Jaguars coach was apparently a proper ‘potty mouth’ and never hesitated to get personal in banter. At times, he would go on to say something about one’s mother or sister, just to spark that aggression in them. As per Ty, Vrabel did this to Brady just to ignite the spark in him and motivate him.
“I mean Vrabel is hilarious. Oh man, nothing is off limits you know it when it comes to Vrabel. His answer whatever he might say you know, it might even be on a borderline personal you know for Vrabel, he might say something about your mama or your sister. I mean just anything but that’s how he motivated you.”
Fortunately, they couldn’t have been more wrong. Ty admitted the same, especially about the temporary starting remark to Brady. He validly argued that from a business POV, they never expected Brees to be benched by Brady after his return. And this is where Brady impressed Ty.
Ty Law Recalls How Tom Brady Won Everyone’s Respect
The former cornerback noted that TB12 from his early days had an insatiable hunger to learn and excel. He never got ego in front of him when he was a backup and always made the most of his opportunities.
“The willingness to learn, and not have that much ego to where he got frustrated with not getting his opportunity. I respect Tom so much for when he got that opportunity, he took it and ran with it.”
His string of good performances slowly grew into him and thus came out the leader in him. While he was getting the hardball treatment from his seniors early on, his performance and composure soon helped him win their confidence. He gradually started becoming more vocal and his leadership skills were on full display. Normally, seeing a young QB being so vocal would have seen someone like Ty not pay much heed and go home ASAP. However, with Brady, it was different. The cornerback admitted that within a short time, the QB gained everybody’s respect.
“Sometimes I be like man, would you shut the hell up so we can go home; long a** day you know, but Tom eventually became that person you know, talking like he gained everybody’s respect man, so you know much love to the GOAT.”
