Brady's Opinion On Revis Hasn't Changed: 'It Was Great Having Him As A Teammate'
BOSTON (CBS) -- With his matchup with the New York Jets just a few days away, Tom Brady wasn't about to add some bulletin board material for former teammate Darrelle Revis.
The long-time foes, and former teammates, will meet for the second time this season Sunday afternoon when New England pays a visit to MetLife Stadium. Revis helped Brady and the Patriots bring home another Lombardi Trophy last season, but then returned home to the Jets in the offseason. It wasn't a clean breakup by any stretch, and Revis had a few things to say about Brady and his former team during the whole DeflateGate saga that filled our time in football's absence.
Revis made it clear he thought Brady should serve his four-game suspension handed down by Roger Goodell, and ripped the quarterback and his former head coach on Instagram (claiming his account got hacked shortly after).
The New York Daily News alluded to a possible rift between the two star players, pointing to a cold postgame handshake between the two back on October 25.
Brady, in the Christmas spirit on Thursday, was asked if his opinion of Revis has changed at all given what the corner said during the offseason. Brady answered with a casual "No," and dodged a follow-up question about Revis like it was an oncoming linebacker.
"It was great having him as a teammate. He brings a bunch to the defenses he plays on," Brady said with a stiff arm. "He's just a great player. He does a lot of things really well and it's fun to watch him play. He certainly locks his guy down, and I think that's pretty impressive for a guy to do that as long as he has."
Revis, now the ripe "old age" of 30, has lost a step this season, but is still a player Brady will have to worry about when picking who to throw the pigskin to on Sunday. But the Patriots' QB isn't one to focus on just a single defensive player (minus a few no-names spouting off over his 16-year career), and knows he'll probably have a frustrating day against the Jets defense that has is holding opponents to 322.8 total yards per game -- good for fifth in the NFL.
"They're playing really well," Brady said of a Jets team that has won four straight. "They're pretty hot right now, but they've always had a really good defense."
The Patriots needed a pair of Brady touchdown passes in the fourth quarter in Week 7 to walk away with a win over the Jets, so Brady knows just how challenging Sunday will be. Each of New England's last five contests against New York have been settled by three points or less.
"They have a lot of guys who are playing great," he said after rattling off what seemed like New York's entire defensive roster. "[Playing against] this defense has never really been a walk in the park for our offense. It's always been a big challenge."
That challenge will be even greater as Brady won't have Julian Edelman (still on the mend from a broken foot) and will likely be without Danny Amendola (who re-aggravated a knee injury last week against the Titans). He may have another body in the backfield, with the Patriots signing veteran running back Steven Jackson earlier this week.
Brady didn't get to see much of Jackson during his time with the Rams and Falcons, but knows the 32-year-old has put together and incredible career with over 11,000 rushing yards to his name.
"He's a real professional and takes good care of himself. Hopefully he can add a lot to our team," said Brady.
Tune in to Patriots-Jets Sunday afternoon on 98.5 The Sports Hub and WBZ-TV — the flagship stations of the New England Patriots. Pregame coverage on 98.5FM begins at 10am, with coverage on WBZ kicking off at 11:30am with Patriots GameDay. After the game stay tuned to three hours of postgame coverage on the Hub, and to Patriots 5th Quarter on WBZ!
