New England star says added competition can only be good during pre-season.
New England Patriots starting quarterback Tom Brady said it has been a “fun couple of days” since Tim Tebow landed at the team’s minicamp.
‘Tebow-mania’ took a different form this week after the former Denver star was picked up by the Patriots after his chances of again playing in the NFL appeared over when he was cut by the New York Jets.
While the start of training for one of the glamor sides in the NFL usually brings with it a certain level of hype, it has been taken into overdrive as Tebow took to the field in New England colours.
Brady said he has seen it all in his 12-year career and thought having Tebow on the roster could only be a good thing.
“I don’t worry about much these days,” Brady said.
“I’ve been around long enough to see all different kinds of things happen – trades, people being cut, guys joining the team and all the media attention, what happened in 2007 (Spygate controversy), post-Super Bowls, tough losses. It comes with the territory.
“So I think everyone is prepared to deal with some level of different things that happen on a daily basis and to be mentally tough enough to push through and still be able to do your job at a high level is most important. That’s really what you owe the team – to show up every day and do your job the best you can.”
However, the biggest question which will linger around the team during their minicamp and beyond is how will the team use Tebow?
With Ryan Mallett being entrenched as the Patriot’s number two quarterback behind Brady, Tebow faces a steep learning curve if he is to usurp him.
Tebow did take part in on-field drills this week as the New England coaching staff refused being drawn into speculation about how their latest signing looked during his first session.
“I don’t think evaluating players on a couple plays is a real good practice,” coach Bill Belichick said
“We’ll wait until we have a little more information, make our evaluations as a staff, talk about players kind of after a chunk of time, after we’ve had a chance to see things.”
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