Tom Brady Reveals He Told Bill Belichick to Bench Clueless Teammates

Rule No. 1 for NFL wide receivers when Tom Brady was under center: Don't lose his trust.

Speaking to Stephen A. Smith during Fanatics Fest in New York City, the seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback acknowledged that he "directly" told his coaches, including Bill Belichick, to bench unprepared wide receivers.

"If I look out and I see a receiver and I'm like 'Oh God, he doesn't even look like he knows — he barely lined up right,'" Brady said right after addressing the trust he had in former New England Patriots WR Wes Welker.

"He's looking over at the sideline. It looks like he's trying to ask the coach 'What do I got?' And I'm like 'He's out. I'm throwing the ball somewhere else.'"

When Smith followed up about whether Brady or his coaches made the calls to bench receivers, the now-47-year-old took full responsibility.

"I would just tell him (the coach) directly," Brady admitted. "'He's out. Put him out.' And I would tell the coach, don't put him in because I'm not throwing him the ball. So, you put him in, we've got 10 guys out there (instead of 11)."

During his playing days, the Patriots frequently took heat from fans for not surrounding Brady with true No. 1 wide receivers (outside of trading for 30-year-old Randy Moss).

However, Brady helped develop quite a few pass-catching stars over the course of 23 seasons, including Rob Gronkowski, Welker, Julian Edelman, Troy Brown and Deion Branch.

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