''I think we've been probably disrespected more than any team in the league this year," Brady said yesterday at his weekly news conference. ''I think we've been given up on by a lot of media people, a lot of fans, our own fans, and other people around the league.
''I think if there's one team that feels like they're disrespected, it's us.
''I don't disrespect Jacksonville. How do you disrespect a team that's 12-4? If we were 12-4, it would be different. I think people gave up on us a long time ago, so, we'll see what that means."
Well, it probably means nothing, but it is a sign that the Patriots are gearing up for the postseason. They enter the playoffs knowing that only one team walks away with all the chips.
Brady is 9-0 in the postseason. Jacksonville counterparts Byron Leftwich (out since Nov. 27 with an ankle injury) and David Garrard have never played in a playoff game.
That apparently bodes well for the Patriots. Apparently.
''It doesn't really matter," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. ''It's how we play this week against Jacksonville. That's the only thing that matters.
''I don't think it's that important what anybody did against somebody else, some other year or some other time on some other team. What is important is how we match up against Jacksonville and how we play Saturday night. That goes for [Brady], me, and everybody else."
Leave it to Belichick's bunch to accept Santayana's cautionary quote as good philosophy. They forget history in hopes of being ''condemned" to repeat it, again and again. And it works.
''History doesn't do anything for this game," Brady said. ''I don't care if you look back last year at what we did. This year is entirely different, the style of play is different, and we were playing different. Anyone who's looking back 17 games ago is only setting yourself up for failure.
READER COMMENTS »
View reader comments » Comment on this story »