Rozner: Super Brady epitomizes QB leadership

Maybe it's just coincidence.

Maybe it's just coincidence Tom Brady's teammates talk about him with reverence usually saved for parents and grandparents.

Maybe it's just coincidence that the new members of the Patriots occasionally struggle to find the words when discussing the impact Brady has had on their professional lives.

Maybe it's just coincidence that Brady embraces the newest teammates and sometimes the ones with the most troubled past.

Maybe it's just coincidence that Brady has been to eight conference championship games and six Super Bowls in the last 13 years, excluding the season he missed with a knee injury.

Maybe it's just coincidence. Or maybe it's not.

“He makes it a point to talk to me just about every day,” Darrelle Revis said with a laugh last week. “Quarterback talking to a cornerback, right?”

Revis, a six-time Pro Bowler, joined the Pats this year after one year in Tampa and six years with the archrival Jets.

“He asks me a lot about what I see when I'm out there,” Revis said. “He asks what I see in our offense, what I see in other offenses.

“He tells me things he sees with other offenses. He says, ‘Here's one thing I think they'll do this week,' or, ‘I've seen them do this.' He's just about winning. He's always helping guys — offense, defense, whatever. Guy just wants to win.”

Hmmm. A quarterback who want to help his teammates.

“He takes his job seriously,” said New England defensive tackle Vince Wilfork. “He puts in a crazy amount of time working on the little things, the big things, everything. He's always working, taking tapes home every night, always trying to learn more. His dedication sets the tone.”

When receiver Brandon LaFell signed with the Pats as a free agent last off-season, Brady asked that LaFell's locker be placed next to his.

“We were putting in so much stuff, I probably didn't learn the full playbook until Week 2,” LaFell said. “I was in Carolina for four years and my last two years I didn't even have to look at the playbook.

“Coming here I had to look at the playbook every day because there was so much. The toughest part of this offense to learn is the no-huddle. When Tom flips the formation, you might be in three different spots, so you have to know the whole playbook, not just one spot.

“Tom was a huge part of it because he spent time with me, helping me. That was big.”

Tight end Tim Wright, acquired in a trade from Tampa in late August, said there is no mistaking the reason for playing football in New England.

“There's places where having fun is encouraged, but here it's all about winning, and when you win, that's when you have fun,” Wright said. “He sets the tone. Tom is about winning. He is very, very serious about winning.”

As a player who will sacrifice everything to win, including playing with only one arm in the NFC title game, Richard Sherman understands his opponent in the Super Bowl.

“I think that man will do anything necessary to win a football game,” Sherman said. “I respect that. I respect a player who wants to win that badly. Every player should play like that.”

Maybe it's a coincidence that Tom Brady is starting his sixth Super Bowl, and maybe it's a coincidence that three different Bears players during Super Bowl week called into question Jay Cutler's passion, will to win and leadership.

Maybe it's just a coincidence that Tom Brady's teammates will run through a wall for him.

Maybe it's just a coincidence that the most important players on the final two teams standing are always making others understand their importance to the team.

Maybe it's just a coincidence that these teams are in the Super Bowl.

Maybe it's just a coincidence. Or maybe it's not.

brozner@dailyherald.com

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