Following the Super Bowl win over the Chiefs, many Buccaneers players discussed Tom Brady's impact on the team, including Leonard Fournette revealing Brady texted teammates throughout the week that they would win the game.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show, running back LeSean McCoy further explained what Brady did, including his scouting reports on defensive players in an offense-only group chat.
“We have about eight, nine, maybe ten players in a group chat. All the skill guys,” McCoy said. “All the guys that were active to play. And he’s going into details about every player we’re going against. He’s like, a voice over. It’s a video playing and it’s only him. He’s got the candles lit. He’s like, ‘This DB, he likes to press. He likes to hold. He doesn’t have good speed.’ With everybody. I’m like, this guy is so dialed in. He’s 43. He’s dialed in. He can play another five years. Just because, not only just the talent or the big arm and all that. It’s just like, he gets it. He gets it.”
The veteran running back, who spent time in the AFC East with the Bills, wasn't surprised by the Patriots' drop off this season. He believes Brady was the key to the Patriots' success over the years.
“Real talk, I played in Buffalo and I would play this dude every year, twice a year. I’d say, ‘When Brady leaves, the Patriots, they will not be as good.’ Everybody talks about this (Bill) Belichick — and I respect Belichick, he’s a great coach — but c’mon, let’s stop that,” he said. “When (Brady) leaves that team, they will not be the same. The guy is different. You feed off of him. His energy.
“The regular season, he was so serious. And then the playoffs, it was like the Terminator. He was even more serious. And then the championship week he was even more serious. Like, even the coaches have to be on their A-game because the dude demands so much respect. When he’s there, it’s like the championship habits pick up. The championship DNA picks up. And I think when you have a guy like that, you have a chance to win. And I love Belichick, but they’re not the same team without (No.) 12 over there.”
McCoy, 32, has played for four teams, but no other player has had an impact on him like Brady has.
“He’s the only player that I’ve ever been around that, when he speaks, when he talks, I believe him,” he said. “He could tell me, ‘Shady, go walk on that water. You won’t drown.’ I’m going to be like, ‘OK.’ He has that type of thing about him. And the way he works. When I was younger, I wish I worked as hard as he does. We just won a Super Bowl and he’s back training, doing little things.”
