Tom Brady is a kinesthetic and visual learner.
In the most recent edition of Brady’s mailbag, the seven-time Super Bowl winner was asked what he did throughout the week that helped improve his mental preparation for the game. While Brady recognized how crucial watching film is, there was something else he would do in the lead-up to games that he found to be the most beneficial.
“Film study’s important, but a lot of it was actually drawing down plays,” Brady said. “I was very good at writing things down and seeing spacing on sheets of paper. I’m matching them up with certain coverages, almost like I would draw cards for myself.”
Brady’s preferred method of preparation isn’t much of a foreign concept, as coaches drawing their team’s offensive formation against another team’s defensive formation is pretty common practice. But Brady preferred to draw and write things on paper before turning on the film.
“Visualization worked really well for me on pads of paper and on note cards. Then, I would watch the film,” Brady said. “A lot of the nighttime visualization I would do, certainly before the game, the morning of the game, the day of the game and constantly looking at plays and seeing them play out, seeing the spacing of the defense.
“That allowed me to really anticipate when I got out there on the field.”
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That method might explain why Brady was dominant at getting rid of the ball quickly, with that arguably being his greatest trait as a passer. Brady was top-five in average time to throw in all but two seasons from 2011-22, leading the league in that stat on three occasions over that span, per Pro Football Focus.
And while Brady consistently got rid of the ball quickly, he was still among the best quarterbacks ever in completion percentage and average yards per attempt. He had 12 seasons where he finished in the top 10 in completion percentage, and nine seasons where he finished in the top 10 in yards per attempt.
So, Brady’s process proved to be efficient, and it helped him win seven Super Bowls in the process.
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