Former New England Patriots and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady battled it out with former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning time and time again. After all, the tandem of future Pro Football Hall of Fame signal-callers literally made a career out of owning the AFC.
Now, with Manning well into retirement and Brady changing teams for the first time, the former Colts and Broncos standout didn't really feel the need to chime in this offseason. After all, the Patriots legend apparently didn't need any advice in the end.
“I can tell the way Tom is talking, how excited he is,” Peyton Manning recently said, via the Broncos' official team website. “And certainly I’m very familiar with the coaches that he’s playing for: Bruce Arians was my quarterbacks coach my first few years in the NFL. Clyde Christensen was my receivers coach and offensive coordinator for a couple [years] in Indianapolis; he’s down there. Tom Moore, my old coordinator, he’s down there. So Tom’s going to get coached by some great coaches down there [Tampa Bay Buccaneers]. I know they’re excited.
“To me, it’s going to be an exciting year of football when it returns. How many games we’re going to get, who knows, but everyone knows how hard a worker Tom is, and there’s no doubt he’s going to help create a winning culture there in Tampa that the rest of the players feed off of.”
Of course, Brady won six Super Bowls in nine trips to the title game with the heralded Patriots. Meanwhilem Manning won a Super Bowl with both the Colts and Broncos.
Manning did reach the Super Bowl twice with each franchise while going 1-1.
It remains to be seen how Tom Brady will adjust to his new life as the leader of the Buccaneers. It's also worth watching if he can further add to his legacy by leading the team to the Super Bowl.
The Buccaneers are one of the favorites to reach the Super Bowl after signing Brady and making a move for Rob Gronkowski.