Exclusive – Osi Umenyiora and Jason Bell highlight what makes Tom Brady great: "That's part of his secret sauce"
Former NFL stars Osi Umenyiora and Jason Bell have highlighted the attributes that make Super Bowl superstar Tom Brady the elite player he is today.
Jason Bell believes Tom Brady's control over his own fitness and physical state is the key to his glistening career, and the reason he is lining up in Super Bowl 2021 this weekend.
Bell was joined by The NFL Show co-host and two-time Super Bowl winner Osi Umenyiora in an exclusive chat with RadioTimes.com for The Big RT Interview, and the pair can't wait to see the 43-year-old veteran strut his stuff at the highest level once more.
Bell has revealed what he believes motivates Brady – the oldest player ever to be included on a Super Bowl roster – to keep going at the top level.
Speaking ahead of Chiefs v Buccaneers, Bell said: "What I think really drives him as the underdog mentality, I really do.
"You know, coming in as a sixth round draft pick, a lot of quarterbacks went ahead of him, you always see him talk about that.
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"That fuels him every season, to go out there and prepare like he was the one who everyone forgot about, that's a part of his secret sauce.
"And then – like I was saying earlier about what I've seen in the locker room – is the guys that are the best that take care of themselves; they have that longevity to go out there and achieve those kind of goals.
"And Osi was that kind of player. You would watch his work ethic and what he did to prepare himself week in and week out and that's how Tom Brady is.
"He's found a way to take care of his body, which is always unique to yourself. The faster you can figure that out, the more longevity you can have and he's definitely got that solved.
"He's got a great team around him which allows him to be on the field and with the rules the way they are it's hard for guys like Osi to be able to attack you and and put that kind of pressure on you.
"Keeping him upright is important. Guys in their 40s don't hit the ground! Trust me, I fell on the ground the other day didn't work out well. I didn't bounce back the way I used to. It was shocking! But it's amazing that he's able to do that."
Umenyiora – a man who has hauled Brady to the ground and defeated him twice in Super Bowls of years gone by, also weighed in on the steely competitor.
He can't wait to see Brady go up against young pretender Patrick Mahomes, who many see as the heir to Brady's throne as the best quarterback around.
He said: "I think this is pretty much the best thing the NFL could have hoped for. You can't even imagine a better match-up right now.
"I think Tom Brady is box office, everybody knows who he is not just in America, but all across the world. Extremely fantastic athlete, famous football player.
"And then you have the Kansas City Chiefs, a young dynamic football team fun, exciting, raring to go with a young buck, so to speak.
"If there was a match-up that you could have hoped for or dreamed about it would have been this Kansas City Chiefs team against the Tampa Bay team led by Brady.
"The whole world is gonna be the NFL's oyster once this game starts."
Super Bowl LV is live on BBC One and BBC Radio 5 Live on Sunday 7th February with kick-off at 11:30pm
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Authors
Michael Potts is the Sport Editor for Radio Times, covering all of the biggest sporting events across the globe with previews, features, interviews and more. He has worked for Radio Times since 2019 and previously worked on the sport desk at Express.co.uk after starting his career writing features for What Culture. He achieved a first-class degree in Sports Journalism in 2014.
