Tom Brady is going through growing pains with the New England Patriots' offense right now.
It was all on display Thursday night against the New York Jets. Brady's open frustration led to criticism that the quarterback should tone down his act to be a better teammate. Brady himself said he needs to improve his body language.
Of course, if you've watched Tom Brady during his career, you're aware the man doesn't stifle his emotions come game time. Ask Bill O'Brien.
NFL Media's Willie McGinest, who played with Brady for six seasons in Foxborough, shared his insight on the QB's behavior on Tuesday's edition of NFL Network's "Around the League Live."
"A lot that you see with Tom was because there were mental errors on the receivers' part," McGinest said. "Now, when we came into the league, the veterans wouldn't even talk to you. You talk about hurting your confidence and being thin-skinned, they wouldn't even talk to you, they didn't want to associate with you, they didn't care about any of that until you earned the respect by what you did on the field."
"It's not just Tom. We had a group of guys that were like that, that were competitive," McGinest added. "There's not a time when Rodney Harrison, when I made a mistake or I did something, I blew an assignment, he didn't run up and jump on my case, but we all had that understanding that we're teammates, we're not taking this personal. This is just business, it's football."
As we discussed last week on the "Around The League Podcast," Tom Brady is allowed to vent his frustrations on the strength of one simple and unconquerable truth: He's Tom Brady.
This is an iconic, Hall of Fame quarterback who has come to expect things from the players around him. If you don't reach those expectations, you're going to hear about it. If you don't adjust, good luck wherever your career takes you next.
The "Around The League Podcast" recapped every Week 2 game. Click here to listen and subscribe.
