Tom Brady Down With Cold In Days Leading Up to Super Bowl 2015

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady told NFL.com on Wednesday that he has a cold leading up to the days of Super Bowl XLIX. He has been spending a lot of time watching game film of the Patriots’ opponents, the defending Super Bowl champions Seattle Seahawks.

It turns out New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been battling a cold during the days leading up to Super Bowl XLIX. 

Brady admitted he’s down with a cold to NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal on Jan. 28. As for his remedy, the legendary quarterback said he’s getting a lot of rest and eating plenty of garlic.

“I’ve had it for four or five days. My kids got sick and my wife is pretty sick right now. I brought it unfortunately to Phoenix but I’ll be fine. I’ll be good. I’ll be 100 percent. I’m not worried about it at all.

“It’s been lingering, so I’m just trying to get some rest. A lot of garlic, old remedies, everything I can.”

Because of his predicament, Brady told Rosenthal he’s been watching a heap of film about the Patriots’ Super Bowl XLIX opponents, the defending champions Seattle Seahawks:

“I feel like I know these guys pretty well. I know how they play. I got a lot of respect for the way they play and they got good players and a great scheme and they got very good coaching.”

According to Rosenthal, New England cornerback Brandon Browner, a former member of the Seahawks, has been a big help in dissecting Seattle’s defensive schemes. 

ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss confirms Brady was a full participant in New England’s first practice at the Arizona Cardinals’ facility on Wednesday. The Patriots were in Arizona seven years earlier for Super Bowl XLII, where they lost to the New York Giants. New England practiced at Sun Devil Stadium back then. 

Brady told Reiss his team has had “real good practices up to this point, but we still have a lot of preparation left.” The New England quarterback added it’s all about refining every play at this point:

“Most of the plan is in, now it’s about refining it. There are only 65 plays left in the season, or 70 plays left in the season, so every play that you call is paramount. We have to make sure we’re dialed in and every play we call, we have a chance for success.”

“I compare him to @CaptainAmerica.” http://t.co/P1NLZbsDU2 pic.twitter.com/h6sNZ4MDr8— NFL (@nfl) January 29, 2015

In another development, Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork told ESPN Boston’s Jeff Legwold on Jan. 28 that his head coach, Bill Belichick is “more understanding” and has a “soft heart”:

“I think Bill had to do a good job of that ever since I’ve been in the league because we’ve changed so much. We were a veteran team. [Then] it was a younger team — at one point we were the youngest team in the league. So I think he had to try to find the identity in what works for that team. And I think he’s done a great job over the years of doing that.

“But at the end of the day, he is still Bill. He coaches the same way. He demands everything the same way. But I think he’s got a little soft heart now. Over time, he got a little softer, though.”

Legwold stresses it’s only Wilfork and Brady who were on that Super Bowl XXXVIII winning team from the 2004 season who are still around. That being said, Wilfork has been following his coach’s evolution very closely:

“Yeah, I’ve seen the difference in Bill in the 11 years that I have been here, and I tell him he’s getting soft. But this is a different era of football now — with how the team has shaped up and how a lot of guys are younger guys.

“You don’t really have that veteran team that he used to have. When I first came in the league, he had a veteran team that didn’t take much to get those guys going. But if I have to say anything, I think over the years he got a soft heart. He’s more understanding now.”

I4U News will again bring you full coverage of the 2015 Super Bowl Ads. Super Bowl 2015 will take place on Feb. 1, 2015 in Arizona. The Super Bowl XLIX game will be played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. NBC is broadcasting Super Bowl 2015.

The Super Bowl 2015 Halftime Show will be performed by Katy Perry. The constantly updated Super Bowl Ads List is tracking all Super Bowl ads.