Former Patriot player explains what makes Tom Brady great

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Ross Tucker played center for seven seasons in the NFL, including the 2005 season with the New England Patriots. He has seen Tom Brady up close and personal. So what does he think makes Tom Brady so special?

The sheer force of his will."

Yeah, he has "it" (whatever you want to define that as), but the real question is how "it" is different from other stars in the league. In Brady's case, there is a passion burning inside him that is uncommon. I don't know if I ever played with another guy on my five teams in seven years that possessed his level of determination, and that is truly saying something when talking about the alpha males that make up the NFL.

Couldn't you just see it Sunday night against the Cincinnati Bengals? It was in his eyes, it was in his body language and it rubbed off on the team around him. He has an ability to get the guys around him to play at a level that they themselves didn't even know they were capable of, mainly because they are doing it for him. Heck, they even say as much.

Tom Brady was a 6th round pick who's college team kept trying to replace him with Drew Henson, So how did he become possibly the greatest Quarterback of all time and sure first ballot hall of famer? Just what Ross Tucker is talking about. His determination to be the best, to make his teammates the best! His teammates want to win FOR him! Just like after Sunday nights game Gronk got emotional talking about how they wanted to make Tom Brady look like Tom Brady again.

Even in training camp back in 2006, I distinctly remember Brady looking me in the eyes before calling the play in the huddle and saying, "It starts with a great snap, Ross -- you and me," before addressing the rest of the offense and calling the play. With all the other responsibilities that he has on every single play in that offense -- and there's a lot -- the fact that he would take the time to single me out is mind-boggling.

I never wanted to snap the ball so perfectly in my life.

Think about that. At the time, I was a six-year veteran in the NFL on my fourth team in the league with 24 starts under my belt. This should have been just another August practice for me, like all the other ones since I started playing football in sixth grade, yet him singling me out made me feel like an eager sophomore trying to impress the senior guys on the high school team.

Brady's determination isn't just limited to the field. Tucker relates a story of Brady winning a beer chugging competition.

The first was when some of the veteran offensive linemen started talking to the rookies about a chugging contest. No big deal for these guys and given that they were fresh out of college, you would think they'd be at the top of their game. I was surprised to see Brady take part. The rookies looked at the seemingly pretty boy quarterback and laughed. I think I snickered myself.

We all should've known better.

I still have never seen anybody chug a beer faster than Tom Brady. You should've seen the way he slammed down his cup -- it was like he was spiking the ball after a TD. It was hilarious. It was awesome. It was textbook Brady.

As if that wasn't enough, when I got up to pay for my meal, he jumped out of his seat and came over and said he would get the tab. I thanked him, but assured him it was no big deal and I would take care of it. He looked at me like he was going to either beat me up or die trying unless I let him pay. So I did.

Why does all this matter? Because it show that the Patriots have a true leader out there. A guy that when the going gets tough,like this last week when the media were like sharks smelling blood in the water and were going in for the kill, isn't going to give up. He'll fight back.

Most off it shows that Tom Brady hasn't gotten to where he is today on talent alone. People that said he was too old and washed up weren't taking into account his heart and determination. The quote that always stands out the most to me is Steve Mariucci on A Football Life explaining why everyone passed on Brady in the draft, " We didn't open up his chest and look at his heart."



H/T Sports on Earth

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