Tom Brady Remembers The Saddest Moment Of Career: ‘Worst Thing I Could’ve Ever Imagined’

The controversy surrounding a pair of NFL referees getting suspended due to their conduct toward players this past week led Tom Brady to take a bad trip down memory lane, but not in the way you might think. In the most recent edition of #AskTom, Brady was asked what the worst thing he ever heard a ref say during his playing days. His answer wasn’t a message that a referee personally gave him. Rather, it was a call that led to arguably the worst loss of Brady’s career. “This one’s a little easier than I thought: ‘The catch on the field has been confirmed’ on the David Tyree catch,” Brady said, referring to Tyree’s remarkable reception in the New York Giants’ upset win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. “That was the worst thing I could’ve ever imagined.” The Tyree catch is arguably the greatest catch in NFL history. With the Giants trailing 14-10 in the final minutes, Eli Manning somehow ran his way out of a sack before completing a 32-yard pass to Tyree, who pinned the ball to his helmet to complete the catch. Four plays later, the Giants scored the game-winning touchdown, ruining the Patriots’ chances to become the first team to go 19-0 in NFL history. Nearly 20 years later, Brady remained upset over the play. “We had one of the greatest defenders in Patriots history, Rodney Harrison, covering him,” Brady said. “I thought, ‘There’s no way the ball’s getting caught.’ And if it was deflected, there were probably three or four Patriots that were there to catch the ball. “Instead, he pins it against his helmet. And, as he’s falling to the ground, it never comes loose and it ends up being one of the saddest moments in my career.” And the catch wasn’t the only thing Brady was upset about from that play, either. “Richard Seymour got held; I don’t want to bring that up right now,” Brady said, believing that the Giants got away with a holding penalty at the line of scrimmage. Reliving his pain from Super Bowl XLII wasn’t the only thing Brady touched on in the latest edition of #AskTom. Brady shared what caused his mishap in the broadcast booth during Sunday’s Los Angeles Rams-Philadelphia Eagles game, which player was the best trash talker he’s played against and which NBA player he’d like to see play in the NFL. Here’s everything Brady said in this week’s #AskTom. What’s going on in that giant book that you put on the mute button in the booth? Do you watch film to put that whole thing together? Brady: It is endless amounts of information — six days of preparation: statistics, profiles, how I think the game’s going to be won, the strengths and weaknesses of each team, statistical anomalies and everything under the season. And guess what? I probably get to about 2% during the game. I always look back and go, “God, I had such a good point to make.” You’d be surprised, for a three-hour broadcast, how little of the prep I actually use. It’s actually a little bit frustrating. But it’s heavy enough that it can mute you for a good five seconds, huh? Brady: I actually had the very heavy book, set it down and hit the mute TalkBack button. Then, I immediately went into a panic because I couldn’t hear myself. I was scrambling. I threw my headset off. Then, Kevin [Burkhardt] gave me another headset. Put that on. Couldn’t hear that, either. Then, our sound engineer, Ben, came over and said, “Tom, you hit the TalkBack button.” And there’s a big red button on my key panel. I was a bit embarrassed. I said, “You know what? It’s like a quarterback fumbling a snap. Let’s just get to the next play.” One column I’ve added just recently: I’ve got my list of enemies of which I want to exact revenge from. That’s where that Buffalo comment came from. Who was the best trash talker you’ve ever played against? Brady: There were a few back in the day. Ray Lewis was the most intimidating trash talker because the scary part about Ray was that he could back it all up. So, he was physical, tough, demanding and smart. When he came after you and told you he was going to do something to you, he usually did. It was kind of scary. One who was a little annoying at first, but became a teammate, was Richard Sherman. The first time I played against him, it was in Seattle, and we went through the whole game. He makes some comment to me at the end of the third quarter, I think he and Earl Thomas. And then, I really didn’t know what they said. It was so loud in the stadium. They were talking. I think they were hyped up. I may have said a few things back. After the game, they came up and I thought they came up to shake hands and be good sportsmen. It turns out, they actually didn’t. So, Sherm, I’m glad I got to be your buddy and teammate. We’ve hashed it out. So, we’re great. One other annoying trash talker? Rex Ryan. Guess who couldn’t back it up? Rex Ryan and the Jets all those years. Rex, just shut up. You had terrible teams. You were a terrible trash talker. He’s on that revenge column in the book, right? Brady: I got my revenge when I played against him. I didn’t need to get it post-career. What was the worst thing that you ever heard come out of a ref’s mouth? Brady: This one’s a little easier than I thought: “The catch on the field has been confirmed” on the David Tyree catch. That was the worst thing I could’ve ever imagined. Do you remember seeing that? Was the jumbotron in that stadium big enough that you knew what was coming? Brady: I actually got a good view of it, and the ball was sort of floating down. It was kind of a wobbler. Eli [Manning] escaped the traffic — Richard Seymour got held; I don’t want to bring that up right now. It’s still a little bit of a sore subject. Eli floats it down the middle to David Tyree and I think it was kind of a Hail Mary. We had one of the greatest defenders in Patriots history, Rodney Harrison, covering him. I thought, “There’s no way the ball’s getting caught.” And if it was deflected, there were probably three or four Patriots that were there to catch the ball. Instead, he pins it against his helmet. And, as he’s falling to the ground, it never comes loose and it ends up being one of the saddest moments in my career. What do you say to all the fans that Brady started the crying-to-the-refs debacle we’ve got going on now? Brady: Listen, I never cried to the refs, b—es. Don’t talk s— to me. I’ve got the microphone, and I can talk back. Are there drills to improve pocket presence? How would you coach a young QB who has some of these escaping problems that you talk about? Brady: A lot of it, I think, can be drilled. I think part of it is being aware where the soft spot in the pocket is. For a quarterback that’s not really going to run outside the pocket right or left or escape around the tackle, there’s always a nice firm spot in the pocket between the two guard spots. At that point, you’re just working to find space. To me, it was always about being on the balls of your feet, but also setting up a lot of cone drills where you shuffle right, shuffle left and shuffle left, shuffle right. As a quarterback, you should never go back in the pocket. To me, it was always, right, left and up and continue to stay on the ball of your feet looking for the soft spot. Coaches would throw bean bags at our feet. They would swipe at us as we ducked underneath bags. They would throw weighted towels at us. Anything to distract us while feeling the pocket through our peripheral vision, but maintaining our eyes downfield. A lot of guys, it feels like, are running too early these days. Who is somebody who does a good job in the pocket right now? Brady: I think Patrick Mahomes does a great job, knowing when to run, stay in the pocket and deliver the football. I know it doesn’t look pretty, but throwing a ball 20 yards down the field and completing a pass sometimes can look effortless when you can have a dynamic 12-yard run. But, at the end of the day, the game is points and it’s about production and yards. Obviously, the more yards you gain per play, the more successful you’re going to be. So, a 20-yard throw can look relatively simple, it can be way more effective than a short run. Look, I’m all for escapability. I think it’s a great tool to have. I just think you’ve got to use it at the right time and at an appropriate time for your team. Are there tells that defensive backs watch for like “patting” the football? Did you ever have to think about this or change anything in your delivery? Brady: I always thought patting the football was a rhythm thing. I never really saw it as a detriment. I think the thought is from the time the quarterback decides to throw to the time the ball hits the receiver’s hands; that’s the timeframe that needs to be as quick as possible. If it’s an elaborated patt and it’s a little slow, then you have a problem. It’s just as if you’re making your decision for the rhythm of the throw that it doesn’t slow you down as much as you think. I don’t think the DB can get a beat on it before it gets to the receiver’s hands. So, I think the patt’s a little bit overrated. Good fundamentals and an accurate throw with the appropriate amount of pace are what matters most. I think the DBs are always looking at the shoulders of the quarterback and which direction he’s pointing the shoulder in for them to break on the ball. You can put one current NBA player onto an NFL team right now. Who is it, what team and what position? Brady: I’m putting LeBron James on the Las Vegas Raiders. At the end of the day, he’s the right age. He’s got the experience. He’s got the height. He’s a prolific scorer. Get him down in the red zone, run a little flag route, send him out wide, give him a slant or a fade and let him go high-point the ball. I’ve seen his head go above the rim. This is the easiest touchdown we could ever throw. It’s just throwing it up to LeBron.