Brady has nothing but praise for Butler's competitiveness, Ryan's awareness

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FOXBORO -- Tom Brady has plenty of experience throwing against two of of Tennessee's corners and he remembers them fondly. 

Brady spoke of both Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler as players he would've liked to see stick in New England.

"I really enjoyed playing with those guys and playing against them," Brady said. "They certainly challenged us on every play. They've gone on to have some really great contracts, and I'm happy for them. They really earned it. When you're a great players, you get the opportunity to do that. I know we can't keep everybody, but obviously happy for them and what they've accomplished."

Ryan and Butler helped Brady win his fourth and fifth championship rings before moving on. All three used to speak openly about the competitiveness they exhibited in practice. 

Devin McCourty told a story before Super Bowl LI about Brady going after Butler following the Seahawks Super Bowl and suggesting that it'd be hard to be a player who made a big play in the biggest game and never showed up again. When Butler made plays on Brady soon thereafter, he of course let his quarterback know about it.

"They were hugely impactful in what we were trying to do in the roles that they played," Brady said. "Logan was a great player. Still is. Incredible awareness. Such a smart player. 

"And Malcolm, I've always loved playing against him. In practice he was very competitive. He's a very competitive person. He wants to try to win every play. Hopefully we can try to have a good plan against that entire defense."

The Patriots offense could be set up to give the Titans some issues in Nashville on Sunday. Tennessee blitzes about 30 percent of the time, which puts them into the top-10 in terms of blitz percentage. And Tennessee, according to ESPN, has only forced three-and-outs on about 25 percent of their drives, which slotted them in the bottom-five in football in that category.

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