Tom Brady has been in and around the NFL since 2000. He’s seen a thing or two. And one thing he’s seen is fairly constant.
Receivers bring drama to the game.
“I think that’s the only position on offense that requires a lot of extra energy and attention,” Brady said on the latest episode of the New Heights podcast with the Brothers Kelce. “Because the running backs are gonna touch the ball. The line, they’re gonna be engaged in every play. The tight ends, run or pass, you’re gonna be engaged in every play. It’s the receivers who stand, you know, 25 yards from the ball, just talking smack with the DB. Trying to figure out, ‘Alright, I ran my ass off and didn’t get the ball, and how do I stay locked in and committed to the team when I don’t touch the ball?’
And it’s a hard thing. Like, they’re working hard to get the ball and they don’t get it. So they get frustrated so easy, and I almost think, like, when I see these NFL offseasons, I think, I swear to God, I think now, like, ‘This is just déjà vu.’ I’ve been seeing the same shit since 2000 when I came into the league. You know, this guy . . . gets in trouble, he’s arrested. This guy gets cut, this guy gets traded. This guy’s unhappy at receiver. You know what I mean? It’s like Real Housewives of the NFL.”
Part of the challenge is to get receivers to ride the highs and lows of the number of times the ball comes their way.
“It’s the same script, and it’s, like, over — and we just, that position, it’s like I almost want to like — the psychology of receiver,” Brady said. “I almost want to say, like, ‘You’re gonna catch 110 balls this year, OK? Seventeen games. You’re a great receiver. You’re gonna catch 110 balls. One game, you’re gonna get 11 and one game, you’re gonna get three. And the next game, you’re probably gonna get 11, then you’re gonna get three. I can’t have you, like, the happiest guy in the world when you catch 11, or the most miserable guy on the team when you catch three.
“We’ve got to look at it over the course here, you’ve got to sustain, because it is a lot of emotional energy that you put out to that position to go, ‘Come on, come on, got it? Come on, stay locked in. Let’s go, because I need you. Come on.’ And it’s like, that position takes away if you have that volatile, emotional output, it takes a lot of energy from a lot of people to keep that player really stable. So you’ve got to, like, try to reframe it for them. And just say, ‘Listen, like, you may get three, but you’re gonna get 11. Or you might get 11, 11, 11. And then, you know, three, three.’”
The question came up in the context of unhappy receiver A.J. Brown, who was traded last month from the Eagles to the Patriots.
“We’re gonna see it again this year,” Brady said. “Who’s the next unhappy receiver? And I understand it. I mean, they want to be involved in the game, you know. And A.J. wanted to be involved — I covered a lot of those Eagles games. That passing offense isn’t — that’s not what that team’s known for. So now he’s actually going to a team where they are more known for their passing offense. So, you know, there will be maybe a little more satisfaction from him from that standpoint.”
Lately, Brown hasn’t gotten much satisfaction from his NFL team. But he tried. And he tried. And he tried. And he tried.
He’ll keep trying this year, in New England. And regardless of whether Brown finds it, Brady is right. There will always be an unhappy receiver, somewhere.
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