Fire Me Boy!
01-13-2016, 10:26 AM
http://www.wsj.com/articles/look-out-tom-brady-wants-to-play-catch-1452612426?mod=e2fb
Tom Brady, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, intimidates defenses. He intimidates opposing coaches. And he can intimidate teammates and friends with just one simple question: “Wanna have a catch?”
Having a “catch” is typically one of the simpler transactions in sports. It’s so easy it’s performed by tailgaters in parking lots and kids on kindergarten playgrounds. You throw the ball, the other person catches it and throws it back. This is how most people in Brady’s inner circle assumed their games of catch would go. They were wrong.
“I’d never seen anything like it in my life,” former Patriots receiver Donte Stallworth said. “And I’ve seen nothing like it since.”
Brandon LaFell was only two weeks into his first offseason workout period with the Patriots last summer when Brady approached him and asked: “Catch with me a few times?” LaFell jumped at the opportunity and readied himself for a simple game of catch with his new quarterback.
“We’re five yards apart, in the locker room, so I’m thinking this will be some soft-touch stuff,” LaFell said. “Then he starts doing his footwork, flicking his hips, just zipping the ball, all in the locker room.”
More at the link...
Highlight:
After one pass hit [Tony] Gonzalez squarely in the chest, Brady chided himself for not getting the ball a little further in front of his target. Gonzalez was confused—the pass was perfect. But Brady explained that if the ball had been a foot and a half in front of the receiver’s body, it would mean an extra three yards gained after the catch. (To be clear, this was in the dead of summer, with no defenders around and months before any meaningful games.)
“I joked ‘Tom, if you’d seen some of the quarterbacks I played with, you’d know I’m just glad you got it to me,’” Gonzalez said. “I was blown away.”
Tom Brady, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, intimidates defenses. He intimidates opposing coaches. And he can intimidate teammates and friends with just one simple question: “Wanna have a catch?”
Having a “catch” is typically one of the simpler transactions in sports. It’s so easy it’s performed by tailgaters in parking lots and kids on kindergarten playgrounds. You throw the ball, the other person catches it and throws it back. This is how most people in Brady’s inner circle assumed their games of catch would go. They were wrong.
“I’d never seen anything like it in my life,” former Patriots receiver Donte Stallworth said. “And I’ve seen nothing like it since.”
Brandon LaFell was only two weeks into his first offseason workout period with the Patriots last summer when Brady approached him and asked: “Catch with me a few times?” LaFell jumped at the opportunity and readied himself for a simple game of catch with his new quarterback.
“We’re five yards apart, in the locker room, so I’m thinking this will be some soft-touch stuff,” LaFell said. “Then he starts doing his footwork, flicking his hips, just zipping the ball, all in the locker room.”
More at the link...
Highlight:
After one pass hit [Tony] Gonzalez squarely in the chest, Brady chided himself for not getting the ball a little further in front of his target. Gonzalez was confused—the pass was perfect. But Brady explained that if the ball had been a foot and a half in front of the receiver’s body, it would mean an extra three yards gained after the catch. (To be clear, this was in the dead of summer, with no defenders around and months before any meaningful games.)
“I joked ‘Tom, if you’d seen some of the quarterbacks I played with, you’d know I’m just glad you got it to me,’” Gonzalez said. “I was blown away.”