Tom Brady has an intense ritual where he makes receivers prepare to stare into the sun during afternoon games
He might have the most strict diet in the NFL, and he has set up his entire life to extend his playing career to lengths never seen from a quarterback.
Wall Street Journal's Kevin Clark spoke to teammates and former NFL players to detail Brady's intense preparation, particularly when it comes to Brady's primary job: throwing the ball.
Among several of the eye-opening anecdotes is one particularly intense ritual Brady goes through before 1 p.m. Sunday games with his receivers.
Clark explains:
These are the sort of small, incremental tricks Brady is known for. [Patriots receiver Brandon] LaFell said that before 1 p.m. games on Sunday, Brady holds his throwing sessions with receivers at the exact spot on the field where the sun will be in the receivers' eyes when they look back for the ball - and intentionally throws it to a spot that forces them to look into the sun so their eyes are used to locating the ball in such situations come game time.
Former Patriots fullback Heath Evans told Clark, "He was constantly challenging us to find the potential hiccups."
As Clark notes, the idea is that Brady wants to perfect the game plan. While receivers might not be able to see into the sun, Brady believes if they can iron out where exactly he needs to hit them, the sun won't be factor - receivers just need to get to the spot and Brady just needs to hit them.
This coincides with what Patriots receiver Danny Anendola told Clark about offseason "catches" with Brady - they're not simply working on chemistry and throws, Brady is trying to nail, exactly, where to hit his targets.
"He's looking at inches, making sure that you are lined up in your splits, getting your depth on routes, the speed coming in out of your brakes, he tries to emulate a game at all times... We weren't even going against any defenders and it was that detail-oriented."
The best athletes in every sport have intense means of preparation, but Brady seems to take it to another level.