Patriots are 5-0, and Tom Brady thinks one reason is because they're getting more sleep after early games
You can’t be an effective quarterback in the NFL at age 42 without thinking about all the details. Every. Single. Detail.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is famously intense about his workout regimen and his preparation. He apparently considers everything and had an answer for his team’s 5-0 start this season that you won’t hear every day.
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He appreciates that the Patriots have had a lot of early Sunday starts, because then they can get a proper amount of sleep.
Tom Brady enjoys his sleep
Brady sounds like an old man turning in after eating an early-bird special dinner, but he’s aware that sleep helps.
Brady on the @GregHillWEEI Show this morning. Says it’s helped to have as many 1 p.m. games as they’ve had through the first five weeks of the season. Good night’s sleep. Makes it easier to recover, get back to work quickly.
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) October 7, 2019
That makes a lot of sense. Sports science is big on athletes getting more sleep. The Patriots’ only prime-time game to this point in the season was in Week 1. As the best team in the NFL over the last couple of decades, the Patriots’ play on a lot of Sunday or Monday nights, so the string of 1 p.m. Eastern time starts is a nice respite. That’s assuming all of the younger players are like their 42-year-old teammate, who is a married father of three, and tucked into bed as soon as possible on a Sunday night after a game and not partying after a win. Surely that’s the case.
The string of early starts begins to change with the dreaded Thursday night game this week against the New York Giants, but then the well-rested Patriots get a few extra days before their next game. The Patriots are aware of any edge they can get.
NFL seasons are long
There’s a reason NFL coaches don’t sleep much.
The NFL week starts early, no matter if you had a bye, played at 1 p.m. or were on the Monday night game. Game-planning is a week-long thing. That’s not as time consuming of an endeavor for all players, though the quarterback has more on his plate than everyone else.
NFL seasons are grinds, physically and mentally. If a little more sleep early in the season is available, you’re smart to take it. It’s not an angle you think about often, but it also makes sense for Brady to correlate the early starts and the Patriots’ 5-0 record.
And Brady has played a lot of seasons. He knows by now what works.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
