O’Brien believes part of the reason Brady’s football memory is so effective is that he lives football every day, every hour, every minute. “When it’s football season, it is 24/7 football. Even when he’s not in the building, we have email contact, telephone conversations about the game plan, about what we’re seeing, about the defense we’re playing against,” he said.

“I think football and family are 1-A and 1-B in his life. You have to prepare for him 10 times as a coach, just to keep up with him.” “His life revolves around football. During the season, everything he does is geared toward that Sunday, that three hours he’s out there,” Hoyer added. “That’s something I can learn from and see what it takes to be the best, to focus all your energy on the task at hand. He’s able to do that week in and week out.”

As for how Brady’s memory and recall help the Patriots, the examples are countless. Perhaps more than anything, it allows the Patriots to speed up the adjustment process on the sideline.