Here's how Tom Brady reacted to benching of his Super Bowl nemesis Eli Manning

It doesn't sound like Tom Brady was too surprised to see Eli Manning benched

No matter how many Super Bowls Tom Brady ends up winning in his career, Giants fans will always have bragging rights over the Patriots quarterback for one big reason: He went 0 for 2 against the Giants in the NFL's biggest game. 

A big reason why Brady was never able to beat the Giants is because of Eli Manning. Manning made clutch plays that allowed the Giants to sneak away with wins in both Super Bowl XLII (17-14) and Super Bowl XLVI (21-17). 

Of course, now that Manning's been benched in New York, there's almost definitely not going to be a third meeting between Brady and Manning's Giants. 

So how does Brady feel about the fact that Manning got benched?

The Patriots quarterback was asked that exact question Thursday during an interview with Jim Gray on Westwood One radio.

"I mean, I have nothing but the most respect for him and everything he's achieved and accomplished in his career," Brady said. "Obviously, being on the other side of two of those Super Bowl losses to an Eli Manning-led team, I just have so much respect for his dependability, for his consistency, for his toughness. You know, that's really everything you want in an NFL player and I think Eli has always provided that for the team. So, I think it's a pretty unfortunate situation."

Although Brady thought the benching was "unfortunate," he definitely wasn't surprised. 

"I think there's always these types of situations," Brady said. "And, you know, I think as a fan growing up, I mean to see Joe Montana playing in another uniform, and again, to see Jerry Rice or Ronnie Lott -- guys that I really looked up to and admired -- there's not many happy endings in sports and that's just the way it is."

Brady has mentioned several times in his career that he realizes he might not be with the Patriots forever, which is why he wasn't surprised to see the Giants move on from Manning. 

"You always wish for everything to go like a fairy tale, but it doesn't," Brady said. "Michael Jordan played for the Washington Wizards. I mean, who would have ever believed that? And that's just pro sports."

Of course, if Brady keeps going Benjamin Button on the NFL, there's a good chance that Belichick will never get rid of him. Brady is the one guy who seems to be getting better with age and he's proven that this year. At 40 years old, Brady leads the NFL in passing yards (3,374), QB rating (111.7) and is second in the league in touchdown passes (26).