If you thought it took as long for a soon-to-be Fox broadcaster to master the art of talking without saying anything as it did for him to develop into an all-time great NFL quarterback, you’d be wrong.
In fact, as the audio of Tom Brady‘s first conference call with the media on behalf of the Patriots after being drafted as Drew Bledsoe’s backup in 2000 reveals, the seven-time Super Bowl winner was already somewhat of a bore of an interview by the time he was 22 years old.
Released by the Patriots ahead of 46-year-old No. 12 making his return to Gillette Stadium for New England’s home opener next Sunday against the Eagles, the audio of the 199th pick of the draft talking with reporters more than two decades ago could have been recorded a couple of weeks ago as Brady sounds as polished and dull as he does now.
Asked about how it felt to be backing up Bledsoe, who did take the Patriots to a Super Bowl and had just signed a massive contract, Brady punted on offering an interesting answer. “Well, it’s certainly, uhh…alls I was looking for was a place to get my foot in the door and try to be great for the team that picked me,” he said. “And, you know, Drew Bledsoe is certainly one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and it’s gonna be great to learn under him and compete for a job with the Patriots.”
Asked if he was disappointed to have slid all the way to the sixth round of the NFL Draft, Brady gave a fairly disappointing answer for anyone looking for some actual insight. “I don’t think disappointed is the word. I think, you know, I mean, the team that has drafted me, I’m just very comfortable with,” Brady said. “And whether it be in the second round or the sixth round, I think everyone starts on the same, the same level. And it’s just a great opportunity to head back to New England and play for the Patriots. It’s certainly been a dream come true.”
Tom Brady Is so Very, Utterly, Painfully Bored
The 45-year-old can’t shut up about how retired he isListed at 6′ 4″, Brady was also asked about reports that his weight had dropped south of 200 pounds and what he currently weighed. “I’m about 213, 214. I had tried to…I slimmed down a lot, I was pretty, I was a little bit lean,” he said. “I was really trying to improve my speed and my escapability. And at that point I was sick a couple days before, and my natural weight is about 210. That’s what I’m at, about 212 right now.” (Pretty close to 6′ 3″ and 215…)
As Brady’s return to New England gets closer, expect the Patriots to put out more content from their archives. Just don’t expect any of it to be all that interesting as apparently Brady never really was.
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