The end of Tom Brady's suspension in Week 5 didn't just give us his return to the football field, it also gave us his return to his weekly radio interview that he holds every Monday with WEEI in Boston.
This is important because it's the one interview each week where Brady will literally answer a question about anything -- and we're talking anything.
For instance, during his first interview back from suspension on Monday morning, Brady wasn't just asked about the Patriots' 33-13 win over the Browns. He was also asked how the paparazzi were able to land some risque photos of Brady that showed him sunbathing in the nude during a September vacation to Italy (New York Post published several photos here).
Not only was Brady more than willing to answer the question, but he also sounded kind of amazed at how far camera technology has come.
"I didn't know [about the photos] until I got home," Brady said on WEEI's Kirk and Callahan Show.
That's when Brady started talking about how crazy it is that the pictures even got out.
"That must've been from two miles away," Brady said of the photos. "There was nothing within, I mean, however long that lens was, I mean, the closest thing was miles, miles away."
So it was a really long lens that caught Brady.
Brady wasn't thrilled that the pictures got out, but he seems to understand that this is the culture we live in now.
"Sometimes you think that things you're doing are private, then they're private. But in hindsight, until you have that experience, you really don't know. It's one of those things you learn from," Brady said. "It was a little invasive, you know, because you're just on a holiday with my wife, but, like I said, until you have that experience you don't know. And then when you have that experience you go, 'OK, I'll probably never do that again.'"
The Patriots quarterback said that he's usually very aware of the paparazzi, which is why he was slightly surprised when the photos from Italy got out.
"Normally, I'm very aware of those things, either in New York City or something like that and they make it pretty obvious that they're following you," Brady said. "I didn't necessarily think that there was anything there, and like I said, 'You live and you learn.'"
Another surprise for Brady was how much attention he received during his four weeks off.
"I didn't think my whole month would be documented, but that's the world we're living in now," Brady said.
As for the rest of his interview, Brady said some things that should probably scare the other 31 teams in the NFL.
First, he said that his 39-year-old body feels 29.
I've talked at length about how I have been feeling over the years. I feel better now at 39 than I did when I was 29," Brady said. "I think it's due to a lot of things. I feel like I am in a good routine and if I play a game like [Sunday] I feel like by Wednesday practice I am geared up and ready to go."
The other thing that should scare teams is that Brady said he felt rusty, which is frightening to hear because that's coming from a guy who threw for 406 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday.
"I think there was plenty of rust out there," Brady said. "I could do better in a lot of areas. I think it was a good win [on Sunday]. It was one game, and like I said, 4-1 is a good point to be at for us. We have a long road ahead so we have to stay focused."
This season officially sounds like it's going to end with the most awkward Super Bowl trophy presentation in NFL history: Roger Goodell handing the Lombardi Trophy to Bill Belichick and Brady.
It's almost enough to make you want to root for it to happen.
