In June, Tom Brady admitted that 90 percent of the things he says are bullshit. On Thursday, he said some things that likely fall into the 90-percent side of that ledger.
He was asked about managing his emotions when he returns to Gillette Stadium on Friday night.
“I haven’t thought too much about it,” Brady said. “I’m just going to try to do what I always do: go be a great quarterback. Obviously, I understand the opponent, I know all those guys, they’re some of my great friends [and] they will be for the rest of my life. I know a lot of coaches, players, the owners, the staff. It will be great to see everyone after the game, but up until the game I’m focused on trying to go win a football game.”
Maybe this means he’ll manage his emotions by trying to ignore everyone and everything before the game. It also possibly means he has tried to envision how things will unfold before the game. He denies it.
“Not much, not much,” he said regarding whether he has visualized Sunday’s events. “Again, I try to just be -- like I said the other day -- I always feel like I put 100 percent into it. I use the time as wisely as I can and try to just do what I always do and communicate with our guys, try to put us in the best position to be successful.”
So will the emotions on Sunday compare to the Super Bowls in which he has played?
“I’m not sure, I haven’t done it yet,” Brady said. “You’re right, I’ve played in a lot of big games. This is a big game for our team, a big game for our guys. We had a tough loss last week. We want to get back track, get back to winning. You’ve got to do things right, right? Obviously, this team challenges you to do it the right way. They do a lot of difficult things for the offense. It will be a big challenge for us.”
It shouldn’t be; the Bucs are the better team. The real challenge will come from managing emotions. Regardless of whether Brady is telling the truth regarding the extent to which he has thought about that angle, he needs to. Quickly.
Somewhere beneath the cyborg layer resides a human being. And that human being will have a human reaction. It’s impossible for that to not happen. And it’s inconceivable to think he’s given that no thought.