Tom Brady’s Ex-Teammate Reveals How He Quietly Forced His Way Into Bill Belichick’s Plans Amid Patriots QB Chaos

The guy known as the Patriots’ “resident prankster,” feared by offensive linemen and endured by Bill Belichick himself, Matt Light. Once Light swapped Belichick’s computer mouse for a shocking one, earning the coach’s anger for a month and a few extra laps at camp. He stole Super Bowl banners, rigged mice for Dante Scarnecchia, and even filled Tom Brady’s car with packing peanuts. But it didn’t bother TB12; he just paid off stadium staff to clean it up. In between hijinks, Light played eleven straight seasons, protected Brady’s blind side, and won three rings. That mix of mischief and mastery is why his word actually matters when he talks about Brady.

But back in 2021, the Patriots faced chaos. Their quarterback coach passed away during camp. Drew Bledsoe was hospitalized after a hit from the Jets. The shock of 9/11 hit the team and nation alike. Light on the Dudes on Dudes podcast admitted how he felt at that time, “I didn’t know if the ball was pumped or stuffed at that point, right?…I was always getting dog cussed cuz I had no idea what I was doing.” In that fog, the Patriots looked to veteran Michael Bishop as their next quarterback, with Brady slotted third on the depth chart. The team wasn’t expecting a rookie sixth-round pick from Michigan to change the game. 

So when Julian Edelman asked Light for his first impressions: “What were these young characteristics of Tommy?” Light responded, “I think going back, I mean, we had Michael Bishop was in between. Tommy as the third, and Bledsoe, right? And Bishop‌ was unique in ‌terms of his skill sets and what he could do. And Tommy was kind of the guy that would get a few reps here and there, and you’d see him, but you always knew he was always mentally prepared.” That mental toughness allowed Brady to quietly force his way into Bill Belichick’s plans amid the uncertainty. It even set the foundation for one of the most dominant duos in NFL history.

Tom Brady and Light’s partnership produced 11 winning seasons, nine division championships, five conference titles, five Super Bowl starts, and three Lombardi trophies. But even Light was confused when TB12 was given the opportunity. Light recalled the locker room confusion: “Most of us thought Bishop was going to be stepping in, right? And no, like Bill gave this young dude the nod. And I remember to look, we were both in the Big 10 at the same time. I’d never heard his name, you know, like, and I’m not trying to be disrespectful. I just mean like Tommy wasn’t like the guy, right? And so now he’s stepping in.”

The real revelation came when New England stopped seeing Brady as just the backup. Light recalled, “The thing that always struck me was it never felt like you were with a guy starting for the first time.” Brady’s first six games were a “roller coaster,” but then came the late-season run – the Patriots went 11–3 and Brady dominated the postseason in 2001, eventually clinching the Super Bowl title in 2002. Light said, “He knew how to lead. He knew how to be the guy. He knew people were looking to him, and everything he did corresponded with what a leader would do.”

Can Tom Brady level up his analyst game in 2025?

When it comes to NFL media predictions, The Athletic is blunt. As Richard Deitsch confessed, he predicted last January that “Tom Brady will walk away from broadcasting before the start of the 2025 NFL season.” But Brady is here for Year 2, with Fox, calling the Giants-at-Commanders opener on September 7, and handling the Super Bowl LIX rematch in Kansas City the following week.

Brady’s first season covered 22 games, ending with the Super Bowl. The analysis? As The Athletic wrote, “Brady is not John Madden, nor is he Troy Aikman. Nor Greg Olsen, for that matter. Not yet, at least.” His performance was a “game manager” call. Solid, yes, but not transformative. Yet the prediction is improvement: “I predict Brady will improve this season because he now has a full year of experience navigating the cadence and pace of the NFL, where analysts often have little time between plays. He also knows how his production truck works (and vice versa). That’s vital after a year.”

Tom Brady’s ceiling may be limited by his Raiders part-ownership and business interests, but for now, Fox’s analyst is expected to get sharper every week. Whether Brady ever matches the broadcasting legends is up for debate, but history says don’t doubt him. He’s already eclipsed every expectation his draft profile set. If there’s a next-level leap, it’ll come with the same obsessive preparation Matt Light saw all those years ago.