Before he was one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, San Mateo native Tom Brady was a diehard 49er fan, with dreams of one day playing for his hometown team.
The 49ers had multiple opportunities to select Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft, but like everybody else elected to pass him over, instead taking Giovanni Carmazzi in the third round, allowing the New England Patriots to take Brady with the 200th overall pick.
Brady hasn’t forgotten about that as he returns to the Bay Area to face his childhood team on Sunday, commenting yesterday that the Niners choosing not to draft him has been a motivating factor throughout his career. 49ers beat writer Matt Barrows joined Gary and Larry on Thursday morning, and said that it’s apparent that Brady still hasn’t gotten over the Niners not drafting him after speaking with the quarterback yesterday.
“It was clear that still bothered him at some level, despite all of the success that he’s had and I’m sure he’s going to make the 49ers pay for that on Sunday,” Barrows said.
“Never underestimate the power of the chip,” Barrows continued. “The chip on the shoulder you get when somebody passes you up. It fuels these guys for their entire careers. I remember Mike Singletary, he thought he should’ve been drafted in the first round, he ends up getting drafted in the second. Not exactly a plummet down the draft board, but he held onto that his whole career. He still is bitter about it to this day.”
Brady has been on a tear since serving his four-game suspension, throwing 12 touchdowns and one interception while completing nearly 73 percent of his passes in five games. An extra motivated Brady, who will be playing in front of friends and family, is a scary prospect for the 49ers defense. Interestingly, however, the last time Brady faced 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, it was Kap who came out on top, though a lot has changed since 2012.
Listen to the full interview below
