Brady refuses to compare 2017 Patriots to 'magical' clubs

Aug 15, 2017 - 7:32 PM Expectations understandably are high for the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, but just be careful when addressing that topic with quarterback Tom Brady.

Brady insisted on Tuesday that he won't be comparing the potential of this season's Patriots team to any of the franchise's past clubs -- including five that won a Super Bowl and one that nearly went undefeated.

"It is really unfair to set expectations. To me, in my mind, it's really a setup," the 40-year-old Brady said during his weekly interview on WEEI's Kirk and Callahan program. "You're talking about some magical years that we've had that may never be duplicated again."

When pushed, Brady did his best to turn the attention to the road ahead as opposed to the 19-0 talk that has circled around training camp this summer.

"For this team, we need to be focused on so many other things than what people may think about us or say about us. There is so much improvement we need to make," Brady said.

"I love the guys I'm playing with this year. It's a totally different version of a team we've had. We'll have our own strengths and weaknesses, but how the season plays out will be determined by what happens moving forward."

Perhaps not surprisingly, coach Bill Belichick wasn't too keen on weighing in on the topic during Tuesday's meeting with the media.

"Well, right now the only expectation I have is to go out and have a good practice today," Belichick said. "I'm not really sure exactly what we're talking about here. I don't think that's unrealistic."