Buccaneers: Danny Amendola says Tom Brady was the ‘Patriot Way’

Tom Brady taking the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl is proof he was the X-factor with the Patriots, and a former teammate of Brady agrees.

For years, now-Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was viewed as being only part of the mystique that was the New England Patriots dynasty of the 2000s and 2010s — a franchise that went to nine Super Bowls during Brady’s tenure there and won six of them.

Granted, Brady was a big part if only one part. But if anything was going to overshadow Brady’s larger-than-life presence in New England, it was going to be the so-called “Patriot Way” instilled by head coach Bill Belichick.

Whatever the “Patriot Way” was supposed to be, it was businesslike with a sole focus on winning championships. Little else mattered. The “do your job” sayings only reinforced this notion.

Now, with the Brady-led Buccaneers taking on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, it’s pretty apparent the future Hall of Famer was the key X-factor all along in New England.

One of Brady’s former teammates with the Patriots, now-Detroit Lions wide receiver Danny Amendola, agreed his one-time quarterback was and is the reason behind the Pats success.

“None of those coaches threw any passes,” Amendola said earlier this week on FS1’s First Things First. “None of those coaches caught any passes. None of those coaches made any tackles. They got guys in the right position because they watched a lot of film and they spent all their time at the facility, but Tom Brady is ‘the Patriot Way.’ That’s the reason why Tom Brady’s in the Super Bowl right now and the Patriots aren’t.”

Amendola was certainly a recipient of Brady’s success. The former recorded 57 receptions for 709 yards with six touchdowns in 13 playoff appearances with New England and had an up-and-close perspective of just how important Brady was to the Patriots’ dynastic run.

Now, the Buccaneers are enjoying the fruits of that same effort from their star quarterback.

Sure, there are likely some former players and plenty of New England fans who’d probably disagree, at least to a point, with Amendola’s statements.

Yet Amandola isn’t exactly wrong here. What Brady has brought with him to Tampa Bay has been that same Patriot way-like approach while being the true X-factor capable of elevating his team to the ranks of a potential Super Bowl champion.

If Brady and the Buccaneers wind up pulling off the victory on Feb. 7, Amendola’s prior comments will be justified.