Former RB Brian Westbrook Lays Into Tom Brady And His Suggestion To Never Have A Backup Plan When Chasing Goals

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Anyone who remembers Brian Westbrook on the football field knows that the guy was an absolute beast. While he wasn’t the biggest guy, nor a top pick coming into the 2002 NFL Draft from Villanova, the former Philadelphia Eagles running back defined what a versatile threat was supposed to be. Point blank: Westbrook was responsible for helping shape the current state of the position, along with guys like Marshall Faulk, showing that running backs needs to run, catch, block and make big plays.

While Brian Westbrook was known for delivering blows to defensive players during his NFL career, he really bulldozed one of the suggestions that Tom Brady gave during the quarterback’s interview with Howard Stern Wednesday morning.

Brady, who was asked a number of different questions by the outlandish Stern, said that he tells his kids to “never” have a backup plan when it comes to chasing their goals, and, instead, tells them to pretty much focus on accomplishing their dreams no matter what adversity comes in their way. Unfortunately, that didn’t sit too well with Westbrook, who went on FS1’s First Things First to fire off some serious criticism towards Brady’s suggestion, saying it’s sending a bad message to kids.

“I absolutely disagree,” the longtime Philadelphia Eagles running back said. “To me, this is the worst quote you can ever tell any kid. To never have a backup plan? What do you mean to ‘never have a backup plan?’ I want my kids to have a backup plan in case something happens. If I didn’t have a backup plan, then I wouldn’t have went to Villanova — I probably would’ve went to a prep school, or things like that. Sometimes, in sports, in general and really in life, if your first plan doesn’t work then you need to have a backup plan. You have to have something you can do after that first thing doesn’t work.”

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“To me, this is terrible advice for all children across the nation.”

OK, so whose side are you on here, Tom Brady or Brian Westbrook’s? Both guys make valid points, but the former Pro Bowl running back has to win this argument, right? Sure, sticking with a goal and doing anything possible to achieve it is commendable, but it can also lead to more damage than good if it never happens. Plus, like Westbrook points out, not everyone has the ability to spend time and money on chasing a dream, and need to fall back on backup plans in order to reach them. Sometimes, it’s one step back, two steps forward.

Maybe this is just a case of somebody trying to shit on Brady for something kind of ridiculous, because we all know there are plenty of people who love doing that. Plus, people handle adversity differently, and, had Brady given up on trying to become the best NFL quarterback ever, he probably would’ve never reached GOAT status.

(H/T NESN)