Getty Tom Brady believes Dak Prescott is back.
As the Dallas Cowboys take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dak Prescott admitted he did not grow up a lifelong Tom Brady fan. During a lengthy interview with NBC’s Maria Taylor, Prescott was asked if he grew up rooting for Brady, and the Cowboys quarterback noted that he previously had a “dislike” for the legend.
“I actually wasn’t, I was a Peyton Manning fan, and because of that, you dislike Tom Brady,” Prescott admitted. “It wasn’t until I got into college and realized what Tom was doing. The discipline, the focus, everything that it takes for him to be the champion that he is that then I became a huge fan of him. Then, obviously, over the past few years of him switching teams and his personality coming out and seeing how much of a great teammate he is it allows me to idolize somebody and to idolize one of the best to ever do it. So, it’s great to start the season off and to have a chance to go beat him and his team.
Taylor followed up to ask if Prescott had spent any quality time with Brady. The Cowboys quarterback gave his answer with confidence noting that he planned to meet Brady, “after the win.”
“No, no I haven’t [met Brady]…I’ll see him after the win,” Prescott said with a smile.
Here is a look at Prescott’s full NBC interview.
TB12 on Dak: ‘We’re Just Expecting Him to Play Like Dak Prescott’
Heading into the start of the season, Brady was complimentary of Prescott noting the Bucs are not expecting a rusty Cowboys quarterback to show up at Raymond James Stadium. Prescott is coming off multiple ankle surgeries and a shoulder injury since his 2020 season was cut short on a gruesome play against the Giants.
“Mine [injury] was in 2008, I was injured and I missed a whole year,” Brady told reporters on September 7th, per Buccaneers.com. “Dak played a little more than I did. Last year, he played I don’t know four or five games and had a great four or five games. He’s a really talented player. Really since the day he came into the league, he’s shown to be a great leader for the team. We’re just expecting him to play like Dak Prescott does – very talented, loose in the pocket, throws a good ball, they have a lot talented skills players.”
Brady Hinted That Missing the Preseason Could Slow Down Prescott’s Play to Start 2021
During a separate interview, Brady admitted that Prescott missing the preseason could slow down his play to start 2021. It has become commonplace for NFL quarterbacks to sit out exhibition games, but Brady is not in favor of this trend.
“I know for me it took a little bit of time to get back into that feeling that I was really playing at the same speed as everyone else,” Brady noted on SiriusXM Radio, per The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “I’m sure that’ll be part of it for Dak. Dak’s one of the really talented quarterbacks in the NFL, he’s had some great success. But, you know, I can also understand that it’s not like he’s had a full training camp or preseason games.
“I always like to play in those preseason games. I feel like it prepares me for the regular season. Everybody’s a little bit different, and I see a lot of quarterbacks now that don’t even play in preseason games. Aaron Rodgers doesn’t play any, some of the other guys don’t play any. I’ve always felt, for me, it’s a benefit to play just so I can really see where I’m at in terms of where my competition is, so that when the games do start for real, I can be executing as best as I possibly can.”