At times, it seems as though the list of NFL players not on the New England Patriots payroll who like Tom Brady is small. But if nothing else, we know that the list does include a Super Bowl LI opponent and longtime rival, Dwight Freeney.
“The thing is, I try to hate the guy, but I can’t because he is a good guy,” Freeney, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “I know him personally off the field, too – he is a good dude. I guess it comes with the territory, just playing as long as I have been and as long as he has been. We have had a rivalry in the Colts versus the Patriots for years – it was like they were in our division since we played them twice a year, because we played them once in the regular season and once in the postseason. We knocked them out, they knocked us out, so it is kind of those things where you know it is going to be a battle. You know it is going to be a war. At the end, you have so much respect for them because of the fact that they are such a great franchise and they can continually make it to this moment year in and year out, even when they have changes on the team. They go through adversity throughout the years. Tom is not playing the first four games and they are still here. It is a testament to what they do around there.”
Indeed. Brady’s Patriots and Freeney’s Colts had a long-standing rivalry. From 2003-2006, the two teams met in the AFC Playoffs three times. Each time, the winning team went on to win the Super Bowl.
These comments are nice to hear. Generally speaking, NFL players are willing to acknowledge Brady’s on-field ability. But it seems as though nice comments about him from non-teammates come few and far between.
Brady and Freeney were tremendous on-field rivals. Ultimately, both are far more likely than not to end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It’s fitting that they’re meeting in the Super Bowl so late in their careers. While the rivalry between them will be red hot on Sunday, it’s nice to hear the good words leading up to the big showdown.