New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is one of the best – if not the best – to ever play the position. Naturally, competing against a player of his format is intriguing, especially if you are on a team that is only scheduled to face him every four years.
The NFC West's Arizona Cardinals are one of those teams. They will face the Patriots in week one's highly anticipated match-up on national television. Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on your point of view – Tom Brady won't be on the other side of the field.
Brady, as things stand right now, will miss New England's first four games of the 2016 season for his alleged role in the Deflategate-farce. However, when given the choice, most of the Cardinals' players want to face the Patriots' future Hall of Famer, according to the Arizona Republic's Kent Somers.
Somers asked multiple members of the Cardinals, and most of them wanted to face Brady. "I wouldn't be a competitor if I said 'not,' " said inside linebacker Deone Bucannon when asked about whether he wanted to face New England's starting quarterback or not. "I'm a competitor and he's one of the best to ever do it. It would be awesome to play against him. I want them at their best because we're definitely going to be at our best."
Safety Tony Jefferson echoed Bucannon's thoughts when he answered "I think everybody on this defense wants to see the best.", as did linebacker Kevin Minter, who stated that beating the Brady-led Patriots would "[say] something going forward about this team."
However, not all of Arizona wants to face Tom Brady, as both wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and running back Chris Johnson stated that they would rather see Brady sit week one out. It remains to be seen if they get their wish.