By Lee Schecter | Special to ESPNBoston.com
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on Monday further refuted an ESPN report that he's had tension with the Patriots coaching staff this season, saying that his input into offensive game plans and pre-snap adjustments has not been diminished.
'I've always had input and there's not one play that's ever been called in the game that I've said, 'Look I don't want to run that play or that's not the way it works,'' Brady said in his weekly interview on Boston sports radio station WEEI on Monday morning.
'I've always had input on what we do,' Brady added. 'I think that's what has been so great for me being here is I've always had the opportunity to say how I feel and what I think. Those are very personal discussions that I have with my coaches and they have so much respect for me and I have so much respect for them. I certainly don't feel that way. I would never say that.'
Sources told ESPN's Chris Mortensen before Sunday night's 43-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals that Brady and the coaching staff have had issues this season and that those issues might influence whether the future Hall of Famer finishes his career in New England.
Brady insisted that was not the case after beating the Bengals on Sunday night and he built on that denial on WEEI on Monday.
'It's nice for me to have an opportunity when you hear from my voice about how I really feel,' he said. 'I feel there is no place I'd rather play. Certainly there's no coach I'd rather play for than Coach [Bill] Belichick. My relationship with offensive coaches is great. I respect them way more than they even know for the work that they put in to try to get us players ready to play. I think we've had a good thing going for a long time.'
Brady acknowledged that the team's struggles prior to Sunday night's win could lead to such reports about internal frustration.
'I could see why people could try to be divisive when things aren't going well and that's not always what our team has been about,' Brady said. 'And I think the problems we have experienced this year have nothing to do with anything that's been written or said. I try to tell you guys it's about our execution and what us players need to do.'
Now in his 15th season with the Patriots, Brady expressed that the time he has been in New England has allowed him to build close relationships with coaches and staff.
'There's very personal relationships that I have that I've had years and years of trust and support with,' Brady said. 'And then someone other than myself says something and it gets reported as if it is a fact. There's certainly no truth to it that I feel. And they know the way I feel about them.
'I don't think there's a better staff in the league that puts [us] in a position to win each week as players.'
One of the reasons cited as to why Brady did not have the play-calling input he used to was the struggles of the offensive line under new coach Dave DeGuglielmo.
'I got a lot of confidence in those guys [on the offensive line],' Brady said of his protectors. 'They know it. They work their butts off. They are coached hard.'
A big win on a national stage makes a statement. So Brady was understanding of the negativity around the team after last Monday night's embarrassing loss to the Chiefs, but was proud of his team for turning things around.
'I'm not angry at all,' Brady said. 'Truthfully, I've been so lucky over the years to be in a place where we have won a lot of games. The media has been so good to me and I've been very fortunate that there haven't been a lot of negative things said about me. Hopefully I carry myself in a manner that that's not the case. I try to do the same thing both on and off the field.'
Posted by Unknown on Monday, October 6, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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