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If you watched football on Thanksgiving, you’ll recognize Tom Martinez as the personal quarterback coach to Tom Brady and many others. At the time, Brady and the rest of us believed Martinez was on his deathbed. Martinez was given a week or two to live, but has survived that scare. Though he reportedly still has bad days physically, Martinez is hanging in there and searching for a kidney transplant. Martinez still has his opinions, including that Brady, whether he throws for big numbers or not, is audibling like Peyton Manning but without the theatrics. He believes Brady is making it a point to bounce back from a rather pedestrian AFC Championship Game. He also says he could fix Tim Tebow’s mechanics in a matter of two weeks. Tom Martinez joined 790 The Zone in Atlanta with Mayhem in the AM to discuss his relationship with Tom Brady, the quarterback’s performance in the AFC title game, the other big names he’s coached, Brady having a chip on his shoulder after a mediocre AFC championship game performance, his health problems, the play of Tim Tebow and how long it would take to fix Tebow’s mechanics.
Tell us a little bit about the origin and history of your relationship with Tom Brady:
“We began at about 13 years old. His sisters were really good softball players and I ran softball hitting camps and they came to those and he would come with them. One year, I also ran a quarterback camp and he also showed up at the quarterback camp. I guess he was 13 and we’ve worked together ever since then, every year.”
On some of the other big names that he’s coached over the years:
“Yeah, I have. The one I think that’s the most disappointing was JaMarcus Russell. I did his pro day for him and to watch his talent, he was unbelievable. John Elway when he was back in the 80s. Over the years, I’ve probably worked more with college and high school guys. Then the Brady success factor started to hit the road.”
Did he call you after the AFC Championship Game?:
“We texted; we talked about it. His standards are so high that, to him, as he said, he stunk. For his standards, he made some bad plays. As a quarterback, when you make bad plays, your standard has been lowered. I would give him probably a B- for the game. There were probably four or five throws that were Fs, but as far as one thing people I don’t think understand, they look at the touchdown passes only, and he didn’t have any. He audibles probably 50 to 60 to possibly 70 percent of the plays and that’s the part that I think people don’t realize. Even if he personally doesn’t throw touchdown passes or if he personally doesn’t throw for 300 yards, that he had a bad game. If you knew him well enough, it’s more important for him to win.”
Did he use the fact that he was a sixth-round draft pick as a chip on his shoulder?:
“Yeah, everything’s a chip. When you tell him that he can’t do something, he’s trying to revenge that. I didn’t know, but I heard the other day that he told Mr. Kraft that the last performance won’t happen again and at the Super Bowl he’ll be ready. I think, from his perspective, he plays a team game, so you don’t know how the team’s going to play, but from his individual perspective, I think he’s staying up every night and he’s looking at film and everything on the Giants and that’s why he’s so smart about his ability to audible. When you look at Peyton Manning, he was very visual in his orchestration. I think Tom Brady does the same thing but isn’t quite as animated.”
There was a piece done around Thanksgiving about your health situation and Brady’s role. Talk about that:
“I went through a period about a month and a half ago where I was given a week or two weeks to live. They changed the medications and I have a pacemaker and it was put on or set incorrectly so all that stuff was changed. I’m quite a bit stronger, but I’m still hurting. I have good days and I have horrible days. What I’m trying to do is look for a kidney and a kidney transplant would basically, I’m not going to say save my life, but it would change my life. And so Tom Brady has put, for one, put my situation on his Facebook. Tom Brady has 60 donors off of his Facebook and we’re testing them right now. We hope that’s what the biggest problem is and that would change my life.”
What are your impressions of Tim Tebow?:
“I think Tim Tebow is willing to do anything that people tell him to do. He’s like Brady in the sense that he’s an internal warrior. I think when he started in the NFL, whoever they put him with, I personally kind of disagree with the mechanics he was given. He’s trying to prove the same thing Brady was trying to prove.”
If he called you right now, how long would it take to get him mechanically straightened out?:
“Two weeks. I could give him what I call correct mechanics in two weeks.”
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