Tom Brady was battling a runny nose and a sore throat as he answered media questions on Wednesday, but the quarterback expects to be 100 per cent for Sunday when the New England Patriots take on the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.
"I've had it for four or five days," he said. "My kids got sick, and then my wife's pretty sick right now, so I brought it, unfortunately, to Phoenix."
“It’s been lingering, so I’m just trying to get some rest," Brady added. “A lot of garlic, old remedies, everything I can."
Brady is making his sixth Super Bowl appearance under coach Bill Belichick, who took the time to offer some insight into core of his coaching philosophy that has resulted in the most play-off coaching wins in history.
"I try to give the players a good plan and opportunity to play to put them in a position that they’re able to be competitive and be aggressive and let the players play," Belichick said.
Getting the opportunity to play for the Patriots next season is a big issue facing star cornerback Darrelle Revis. While Revis made $12million this season, there is a thought that the Patriots will keep Revis at the $20million price tag for 2015.
With the way his two-year, $32million contract is structured, Revis would actually count as $25million against the salary cap in 2015, which is why many expect that he will be on a restructured deal if he remains with New England.
While Revis' status for next season is up in the air, he admits he likes facing Brady on the practice field each week.
"It’s pretty awesome to go up against Brady all the time,” Revis said on Wednesday. "This guy is probably going to go down as probably the best player to play the game, the best quarterback to play the game. It’s great to get that competition when we practice against him."
On the other side of Revis is Brandon Browner, a cornerback and former Seahawk who has been providing the Patriots with tips on the strengths and weaknesses of their Super Bowl opponent.
"We've had a little insight from Browner who has talked to us about how he (Seattle's Pete Carroll) coaches and I think Pete has run the same defense for a long time," Brady said.