Tom Brady on 8th Super Bowl with Patriots: ‘Hard to believe I’ve been here as many times as we’ve been fortunate to get here’

Sure, he makes it look easy.

Tom Brady and Bill Belichick seemingly have made the Super Bowl a standard part of the New England Patriots schedule. They’re in the game with the Patriots for a record eighth time, facing the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday in Super Bowl LII.

‘It takes a lot to get here’

They’re seeking their sixth Patriots victory, which would only enhance their already historic stranglehold on winning the big game. But Brady wants to make one thing clear: he takes nothing for granted when it comes to the chance to hoist yet another Lombardi Trophy.

“It takes a lot to get here,” Brady told Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan on Movin’ The Chains. “It’s a lot of hard work, a lot of commitment. We’ve got a lot of guys who are here for the first time, taking it all in. Hard to believe I’ve been here as many times as we’ve been fortunate to get here.

‘When you get to the playoffs, the margin for error is very small’

“But I’m excited for what we’ve got ahead of us. We’re playing against a damn good football team. It’s going to take everything we’ve got. When you get to the playoffs, the margin of error is very small and we’re going to have to play our best game of the year.”

The Patriots didn’t always make this journey look easy. They began the season 2-2. They’ve had to overcome the loss of one of the game’s top receivers, Julian Edelman, to a season-ending knee injury. They’ve had to overcome defensive struggles.

‘We lost toms really key guys’

“Every season takes on its different challenges, different adversities,” Brady said. “We lost some really key guys. I’d say there were some of those adversities, injury wise. I would say there were some new additions that we took on, whether offensively, defensively, where you’re learning each other as the season goes.

“Football is about matchups. You see all these great boxing matches, and there’s some times where you play a guy and it’s just not a good fit. His strengths don’t fit what your strengths are. And I think sometimes in the football season, you play against teams that they do a really good job. And the key is, to me, is to just keep grinding, keep the process going, keep trying to make improvements knowing that, if you can keep getting better and improving from September … September is when it starts, but the improvement needs to go all the way through December. You have to practice hard, you have to stay out there after practice, you have to never let your energy wane over the course of midseason.”

‘I never mind working out’

At 40, Brady is beyond the age when most NFL players call it a career. Yet, despite collecting all of those Super Bowl rings, he doesn’t sound as if he’s ready to hang it up any time soon.

“I guess it’s a blessing and a curse in a way, because I do love it and I think about, ‘Man, how am I going to work out this offseason better than I worked out in previous years?’ We’re not even to the offseason yet,” Brady said. “I think, one thing for me, I never mind working out. I never mind the training, I never mind the throwing. I love working on my throwing technique. I love working on my footwork and trying new things based on guys that I’m watching in the NFL now. You know, I used to watch a lot of older guys to get better. Now, I’m watching all the younger guys to get better, and I think those things are still a lot of fun for me.”