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You know, I didn't tell this to many people during my career, but that was a trick of an old veteran. You young quarterbacks, take note. It. You started with 5 and 0 on four different occasions. However, only one of your Super Bowls came from that. To steal a phrase from Nick Saban, how do you build on it and prevent it from becoming rat poison for your team? It's called humility and self-awareness. You're never as good as you think, and you 're never as bad as you think. And in all these games you win, you'd better fix the problems because every team now reviews all the footage from the year, and they'll try to make you play
according to your weaknesses. You might not notice it against an average team, but when you face the best teams, they'll always force you to play with your left hand. So you need to make sure you fix all of that before the tough games start here in December and January. Rat poison, that's something Belichick-style from Saban. Hey, they worked together for a long time and are cut from the same cloth, so I'm not surprised. The following is from Trinity. Cam Akers is effectively on the bench without carries after his ball-handling problems early in the year. Do you agree with that strategy as quarterback?
I always felt that the only way to protect the ball was for the boys to be committed to protecting it. And if you've shown your team that you're going to let it fall to the ground, then there are ramifications and accountability that must occur. Those who play are the ones who don't give up the ball. Now, I understand if a defender makes a great play, but if the ball gets away from you every week, you have to sit on the bench and let others take it. We continue with more on Ethan's loose balls. Temperatures are dropping and there are loose balls everywhere. How did you decide whether or not to wear a glove on your non- throwing hand?
Well, at the beginning of the season when my hands got a little sweaty, I liked having that sticky feeling of sweat on my hands. But as the weather became drier and windier, and I wasn't sweating as much, I used the grippy gloves to compensate for the difference. So, it was really good for my left hand when handling the ball, and it worked best when it was really cold because it protected the skin, and I kept my right hand in my hand warmer to keep it as warm as possible. So many tricks of the trade when playing in the Northeast required a lot of care and attention to how I dressed and what I wore, and I spent a long time learning what worked for me. Have you ever thought about using something like
sheepskin, like in the days of Ugg boots? You know, I didn't tell many people this during my career, but when it was really cold, I would put scuba gear under my shoulder pads. Without wind, it retained all the heat. That was a trick by an old veteran. Young quarterbacks, take note. Who would have thought that Tom Brady was buying up all the surf shops on the North Shore back then? Yes, they had little idea what they were for. I would send my people there to find wetsuits of different thicknesses just to bring them back to Foxboro so I could use them in the game. From Marcus, we heard about Caleb's spin pass on Sunday
, but who throws what you'd consider the most aesthetically pleasing football in the NFL right now? That spiral so clean. I think there are two of the most natural passers in the NFL, and both are veterans. One is Aaron Rodgers and the other is Matthew Stafford. Both of them throw the ball as well as anyone who has ever played. They have smooth, fluid deliveries , are very precise, and it simply seems effortless when it leaves their hands. I think there are natural passers from the moment you're born and you see it throughout everything, you know, baseball leagues, then youth football, and when you get to
college you really start to perfect it because you practice so much. By the time you reach the professional level, those fundamentals are already deeply ingrained in what you do. You can make minor modifications, but both were natural passers from the day they arrived in the NFL. Another good follow-up question from Shawn: We saw Kirk throw a near 60-yard perfect pass on Sunday. What's the hardest throw in American football? Is it that deep pass or something down the middle? Well, for me it was always a deep, long-range trajectory pass down the field. I thought a long route down the sideline was a little easier because, A, you only deal with one defender, usually the cornerback, and B, the receiver always goes the same
route. He always ran straight down the field, so you could gauge his speed and try to give him the perfect arc and rhythm, release him right on target, and let the receiver catch him. When you run a pole route, you also run horizontally across the field. I always felt that was much harder to calculate, and many times you involve the center deep or the cornerback, which is a two-on- one play, something always complicated. I probably threw more touchdown passes on long routes than on post routes during my career. So, a shout-out to Kirk, that was a tough one, huh? It was a flawless pitch by Kirk, and a shout-out to Trey Tucker.
What an incredible catch, following the ball down the field and diving at the last minute to catch it. Incredible throw and catch by both. Lastly, you'll like this, Tom. We have a Jackson tray. The style of the suits has been incredible this year. Give me some tips for fall weddings. Wow. First of all, it all depends on the cut of the suit; you have to get one that fits you well. It's all about the adjustment. Then you choose the design, and then you can give it your own style. I love adding stylish details, the
tie clip, something nice on the lapel, the pocket square. Everything adds up, believe me. And you know what? I always felt that things should be timeless. When I look back many years from now, I want to look at my suits and still think: man, I could wear that today and it would still look good. And a shout-out to Zach and Crystal, you know who you are. It's always about the team. Thank you.
