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Tom Brady dominated the NFL for several years. One of Brady's early rivals, Dwight Freeney of the Indianapolis Colts, paid tribute to TB12. The legendary defensive end and linebacker talks about the difficulties of playing against Brady.
Brady and Freeney’s careers are intertwined as the pair jostled to take their franchise to the zenith. In the end, it was the New England Patriots that came out on top on several occasions, thanks to Brady. Freeney lets the world know the struggles of sacking and containing the man.
Freeney, who won Super Bowl XLI, appeared on Keyshawn Johnson’s podcast ‘All Facts, No Brakes with Keyshawn Johnson’ on Wednesday. The 2007 Super Bowl winner, when asked about the most difficult player to sack in his playing days, took the name of Tom Brady, despite their on-field rivalry.
“Tom Brady wasn’t еasy, thе rеason is bеcausе of how from a systеm standpoint, thеy wеrе gеtting rid of thе ball in undеr two seconds," Freeney said.
"They knеw thе strength of our dеfеnsе, thеy knеw what was going on. So, they said ‘Look, I don’t carе if you’rе opеn or not, rеcеivеr, this ball is coming out, done’.”
Freeny not only complimented the system of Bill Belichick but also praised Brady’s skills, even going as far as calling Tom Brady “underrated."
“That becomes very frustrating as a rusher because you understand is that this ball will not be on this man's hand because he does not want to get sacked," Freeney added. "I think he's probably you know one of the most underrated from that standpoint.”
Freeny’s admiration for Brady should not be swept under the rug, given that the Patriots and the Colts were the biggest rivals in the 2000s.
Tom Brady and Dwight Freeny have done it before
It was not in the NFL that Freeny first faced off against Brady. Their paths collided during their college days as well.
Brady represented the Michigan Wolverines, while Freeny played for the Syracuse Orange. After being drafted by the Colts in the 2002 NFL Draft, he faced off against Brady for several years.
"Years later, I am still facing off against the guy,” Freeney said.
Dwight Freeny retired from the NFL in 2018. Earlier this year, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
