An Angry Tom Brady Is About To Return To New England
FOXBORO (CBS) -- Tom Brady already had all the motivation in the world to come into Gillette Stadium this weekend and light up the scoreboard he kept illuminated for two decades. Bill Belichick says he didn't want to move on from the greatest quarterback of all time, but Brady likely has a different read on his departure from New England.
And following Sunday's outcome in Los Angeles, the quarterback is going to be really pissed when he bring his Buccaneers to New England. Brady and the Bucs will be looking to bounce back after a frustrating loss, as Tampa fell to the Rams 34-24 on Sunday afternoon.
Brady does not like losing. He hates it more than carbs, and he's often said that loses stay with him more than wins. He was 4-1 following a loss in his first season with the Buccaneers, and 46-13 during his career with the Patriots. He lost two straight games just 11 times in New England (with one four-game losing streak in the mix way back in 2002).
After Sunday's defeat in Los Angeles, Brady was in no mood to chat about his homecoming this weekend.
"It's a tough loss for us, so I'll just get through the plane and evaluate kind of what we need to do to put ourselves in a better position to win from a quarterback standpoint," Brady said of Week 3 when asked about Week 4. "So, I want to win every time I take the field."
Brady completed 41 of his 55 passes against the Rams, throwing a touchdown and racking up 432 passing yards. He's now just 68 yards away from passing Drew Brees' for the NFL's record for most passing yards. That will likely happen fairly early against New England's patchwork secondary.
And if he beats his former team on Sunday, Brady will have a victory against every NFL team, joining Brett Favre and Peyton Manning as the only quarterbacks to accomplish the feat.
It was obvious that the latter of those two accomplishments would be attainable when he faced off against the Patriots for the first time. The fact that the passing record is now in reach during his trip to Gillette is just a bonus -- for Brady and NFL fans.
For now, the two main players in Sunday's showdown -- Brady and Belichick -- are doing their best to keep the hype at a reasonable level. Brady has instead let those close to him fan the flames, with his father and training guru starting that parade last week. It should increase as the most anticipated football game of the season gets closer and closer.
Brady will likely be his usual self and say all the right things leading up to the matchup with the franchise he led to six Super Bowl titles. And he obviously already had the upper hand thanks to that seventh ring he added to his collection in February.
And now Brady and his Buccaneers are coming off a loss, and a frustrating one at that. It's going to make for one long Sunday night for the Patriots defense on Sunday.