Tom Brady Discusses Some Of His Favorite Receivers
BOSTON (CBS) -- Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw his 400th career touchdown a couple of weeks ago to the Jacksonville Jaguars, yet another milestone for the future Hall of Famer.
Brady's favorite receiver is always the one who's open, and he's connected with 56 different players for touchdowns throughout his 16-year career. It's a pretty incredible list, with guys like Rob Gronkowski (57) and Randy Moss (39) at the top and several non-conventional pass-catchers like Mike Vrabel (eight) and Tom Ashworth (one) also finding the end zone thanks to Brady.
And that Brady-Brady combo between Tom and tight end Kyle Brady? They connected for a pair of scores during the 2007 season.
The quarterback talked about some of his favorite receivers with Scott Zolak on Friday night's edition of Patriots All Access on WBZ-TV, sharing some insight on each of them.
Terry Glenn
Glenn caught the first touchdown pass of Brady's career back on October 14, 2001 against the San Diego Chargers, the only TD connection the two shared.
"Terry was a great player. I loved playing with Terry," Brady told Zolak. "His burst, his quickness and his hands; he caught some balls that I still remember the way he caught them -- the angles and turning his hands. He was an amazing talent."
Rob Gronkowski
Gronkowski leads everyone who caught a touchdown from Brady with 57 (and counting) in his six NFL season.
"He's amazing with his ability to catch the ball away from his body. Now we're doing things where we're splitting him out and it's hard for the defense to find him," said Brady. "He's been an incredible player for our team. His attitude and enthusiasm; you should watch when we run the ball or when somebody else makes a play. Gronk is just as excited. It's not just about him catching touchdowns, it's about us scoring. He's always pumping his fist and it's a cool thing to see a guy who has caught as many touchdowns as him as excited when other guys catch them as well."
Troy Brown
Brown and Brady connected for 15 touchdowns during the receiver's career in New England, but Brady said Brown's impact was much more than just finding the end zone.
"I learned so much from Troy over the years, watching him play and practice. Troy was always the underdog, and nobody thought he could ever accomplish that he accomplished here. Not only is he one of the best receivers to play the position, what he did for us at critical moments -- blocking kicks, playing defense and intercepting balls and certainly making the biggest plays in the Super Bowl. He was my go-to guy and I loved everything about Troy; his attitude and his work ethic. He set an example every day for our guys and what it meant to be a Patriot."
David Givens
In their four years as teammates, Brady hit Givens for 12 touchdowns. The two connected for seven more during postseason play.
"He was just a great, physical talent. He came in as a sixth-round pick and no one thought he was going to do anything. We got him and I knew he was going to be a great player in the preseason when he was catching balls underneath on jukes routes and breaking tackles," Brady said of Givens. "I didn't get to play with him as long as I wanted to but he caught a lot of touchdowns and a lot of big catches."
Christian Fauria
Fauria caught 13 touchdown passes from Brady, and the quarterback was impressed by each one of them.
"He was so savvy. He had great, quick feet. He wasn't the fastest but he had really good speed and could separate from guys," Brady said of his former tight end. "Christian had very good body control. He would catch balls in the corner of the end zone and contort his body and get his feet down. He had some huge catches for us. He was just a great talent for our team and I loved playing with him."
Mike Vrabel
The linebacker was a goal-line specialist at times for New England, catching eight touchdowns in his eight-year career.
"Vrabs was a machine. Now that he's down in Houston he is teaching J.J. Watt all his tricks," Brady said with a laugh. "He has like 13 receptions and 13 touchdowns. I don't think that will ever be broken."
It's actually 12 receptions and 12 touchdowns (regular season and postseason), but that's still pretty impressive for a linebacker.
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