Tom Brady probably didn’t know who Osa Odighizuwa was before Thursday, but the Buccaneers quarterback surely already has seen the rookie’s quote about Brady’s perceived weakness.
Odghizuwa, a third-round choice from UCLA who will start next Thursday, began his news conference praising the seven-time Super Bowl champion. That, though, didn’t generate the headline.
It was Odighizuwa’s too-honest answer that followed.
“He’s not very mobile,” Odighizuwa said, via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “I mean, you know, he’s been playing for 21 years. The dude is a little older, not too mobile. I’d say that’s probably what it is.”
Odighizuwa said the team’s scouting report shows Brady’s passer rating drops when the interior pass rush gets the quarterback off his spot. (Brady was sacked only 21 times in 16 games last season.)
“I think they say it goes down by 50 [points],” Odighizuwa said.
Odighizuwa was born in 1998. Brady began his pro career in 2000.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s crazy. He was playing football before I even knew what it was,” Odighizuwa said. “Just to be in this game to be playing against the goat, is crazy. Obviously, you can’t think about it too much because at the end of the day, he’s an opponent. I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do. It is what it is.”
Odighizuwa obviously doesn’t know Brady at all, considering his answer when asked about whether he was giving Brady bulletin board material.
“I feel like he’s not a guy who’s too worried about what I’m saying,” Odighizuwa said. “He’s obviously going to be aware of it, but he’s been doing this for awhile. People have been saying this, that and a third. He’s been doing his thing.”
Brady reads and hears every word. He won’t forget and might have a word or two for Odighizuwa in the opener.