Tedy Bruschi Is Surprised at Patriots’ Success

And you played with Mike Vrabel back in the day.

Are you surprised that he's been able to take a 4-win team to the Super Bowl in just one year?

I'm, I'm, I am surprised.

I mean, I'm, I'd be lying to you if I wasn't surprised.

I mean this was, this was, um.

And this is such a turnaround.

I mean, all the way they're about to, they can win the Super Bowl here, which is shocking because you just hope for like improvement when you have a team like that that only won, I think, 8 games in the last 2 years , and here they are.

So it's like, OK, how do they look in December?

And so I try to temper my enthusiasm, but with every win, especially the week 5 win in Buffalo when they went into Buffalo and beat them.

It was so impressive to me that I actually thought, oh my gosh, they need to be on to something because Drake was getting pulled and he made a great throw, a couple of great 4th quarter throws.

Bora Gallis hit from 52, and I was like, oh my gosh, they went into Buffalo and won.

And when you win like that, I mean, you can win anywhere.

And so of course they went on to win.

I mean, to be undefeated on the road and just his mental toughness just comes right through that team.

It must be so fun to watch as a Patriots alum, your, your team thriving again, you know.

Can you sense my excitement?

I mean, how, how, I mean, I'm like a kid.

I mean, I'm watching it with my kids now and they're so excited.

I mean, I raised 3 New Englanders and they're all huge Patriot fans and Just the connection that , I mean this guy is very close to me.

He was my teammate.

He was even more than a teammate for me.

My families know each other and I mean it's, it's, it's obvious to me that , I mean, I just, I mean, it's no, no, it's no secret who I'm gonna pick, you know what I mean?

So I just hope, I just hope it's a great game.

If the Patriots win this game, do you think that they are officially the greatest franchise in sports?

I would say in the National Football League, I think we're, I think we're tied right now with the, with the Steelers for 6 championships, but I mean to do it now with a, with a, it's a whole new reset, right?

I mean, our group was the 1st 3, there was another group for the 2nd 3.

There was the Belichick constant.

There was the Brady constant, of course, uh RKK Mr.

Kraft is a constant, but then new coach, quarterback, I mean they put the reset button and we're back.

Is there anything that reminds you about this team from the Belichick Brady days when you were on that team?

Um, I would say I do have a little bit of similarities and sort of deja vu.

Because of what happened to us in 2001 and the way we won in 2001.

I mean our special teams scored twice in the AFC championship game.

We scored on defense in the Super Bowl.

We only scored one touchdown in the snow.

It was Vinatieri in the snow.

So, and they've had ugly games going up to this point, and this Patriot team, it hasn't looked pretty the last two weeks, but they've won.

And of course guys like me respect that.

People are making some comparisons between Tom Brady and Drake May because both appearing in the Super Bowl in their 2nd year in the league.

Do you think those comparisons are fair?

No, I think that's as far as it goes, really.

I think Drake's a very different player.

I think.

Josh calls the game somewhat differently in terms of, OK, the, the naked boot that Drake.

Uh, ran to , to a seal the win in Denver.

I don't think that would have been called if Brady was a quarterback.

I mean, because they're just, they're just a different beast athletically.

So, um, I just think they're different players and to compare them just because it's the 2nd year, uh, let's pump the brakes on that a little bit.

Yeah.

Do you think he becomes a top 10 quarterback if he wins the Super Bowl?

I think he's already a top 10 quarterback.

Um, I mean you win the Super Bowl.

I mean, either, I mean, I don't think you.

I mean, even if he plays well in the Super Bowl, he's gonna be talked about.

It's only his 2nd year, so the improvement from the 1st year to the 2nd year, there will of course be more improvement from this year to next year.

I, it's, it's only inevitable with the coaches that he has and the players and expectations that Drake has for himself, so he will get better and better.

This will be one of the better quarterbacks in the league for a long time to come.

You mentioned, obviously you played back in the day with Mike Vrabel.

Do you have any fun memories or stories that you can share?

What's one thing people would be surprised to know about Mike Rabel?

Uh, Be surprised to know about Mike Vrabel.

I, I, I would, I would say that what you see is what you get because we had a lot of fun with him also in the locker room and he tempers it back a little bit.

I mean, he tells you about all the stories and all the motivational tactics with the players, but this was a guy that was, you know, could get along with everybody on the team and everybody's got their own individual story and, uh, I'm gonna keep close a couple of them, a couple of them, yeah.

OK, you are obviously joining us on behalf of Abbott Heartmates.

What do you got going on with them?

Well, I'm a stroke survivor, and I'm here with Demar Hamlin, who's also a heart survivor, and we're ambassadors for, for Abbott.

Amazing.

We're not selling anything.

I mean, I'm just, we're just promoting, um, community, and we're promoting team, and our team name is called the Abbott Heartmates.

So what it is, is we get together through our various huddles.

We like keeping sort of the football sort of theme constant huddles to where.

Stroke survivors, heart survivors, we have a community of people that can talk and share stories and then use each other sort of as, you know, inspirational resources and so sometimes when you come back from something you think you're alone.

I thought I was.

I wish I would have had someone else to talk to like who was the one that came back to play football after a stroke.

I didn't really have that, so I really had to just be in the dark a little bit.

Heartmates provides light for everyone that has, you know, a device in their heart like I do, or, you know, uh Demar being a heart survivor.

Like there are people that are just like you that can answer your questions, that can tell you where you're going to go, and can help you with where you've been.