Tom Brady on 'Rex Ryan!' line call: It's 'in the playbook'
By Jason Rowan
Most people who were watching “Monday Night Football” probably just assumed the New England Patriots were trolling Rex Ryan when Tom Brady was heard yelling the Buffalo Bills head coach’s name during one of his line calls.
Peyton Manning: "OMAHA!" Tom Brady: "REX RYAN!" #MNF #BUFvsNE https://t.co/uFi2DLvIDv
— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2015
Not so, says Brady. Or at least he’s suggesting that mocking the Bills head coach was not the intent of its usage.
“We have a lot of things that are kind of in the playbook, so that’s one of them,” Brady said while smiling, via Eye on Football.
Brady also denied the Patriots were trying to confuse the Bills.
“No, just communication on offense,” he said. “We use a lot of terms.”
Brady brought up the fact that the Patriots often use “unusual terms” for their line calls.
“We’ve used a lot of things in the past,” he continued. “We’ve got a lot of unusual terms. I think we run the gamut, so we got to get creative and think of different things. That one’s pretty unique.”
Brady is indeed accurate in his insistence that the Patriots often use “unique” terms. Last season, Brady, while calling an audible during a game against the Denver Broncos, was heard yelling, “Cougar! Cougar! Linda!” — a presumed reference to Patriots head coach Bill Belichick’s girlfriend, Linda Holliday.
So, really, using “Rex Ryan! Rex Ryan!” as a line call is something of a compliment in its own unique way. Ryan himself apparently was unaware of the line call during the game but was asked about it after the Bills’ 20-13 loss.
“He was calling my name?” he said, via NFL.com. “He likes me, I know that.”
Exactly.
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