How Did Tom Brady Learn To Say ‘Meatball Sub,’ And How Many Such Passes Did He Throw?

When Justin Herbert threw a costly interception in the Los Angeles Chargers’ loss to the Buffalo Bills last week, Tom Brady was more than blunt when he assessed the quarterback’s errant throw. “There’s a safety in the middle of the field. Poor awareness, poor decision, throws him a meatball sub,” Brady said of Herbert’s throw, which landed right in the arms of Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Brady’s quote quickly went viral. FOX Sports’ video of the quote generated over 300,000 likes on Instagram, while a handful of posts on X about Brady’s comment garnered several thousand likes and views. But how did Brady learn about the term that’s become popular on social media for whenever a quarterback throws a bad pass? In the latest edition of #AskTom, Brady let everyone know that his kids have helped keep him hip to popular social media vernacular. “Chill, chill. Relax. Everyone’s got to remember, I’ve got three kids, OK? So, that should just point you in the right direction,” Brady said when asked who told him to say “meatball sub.” Brady’s “meatball sub” remark was the second straight week that he said something on a broadcast that quickly made the rounds on social media. A week earlier, he called one of Dak Prescott’s passes a “piss missile” in the Dallas Cowboys’ victory over the Washington Commanders. Brady apologized for the “piss missile” comment in last week’s edition of #AskTom. But he isn’t apologizing for his “meatball sub” quote, although he admitted that some of his passes were meatball subs. “I threw a lot. I probably threw over 200 interceptions in my career. I would say somewhere between 25 and 50 [were meatball subs],” Brady said. “And, believe me, Coach [Bill] Belichick, he never let me forget those.” That led Brady to express his appreciation for the coaching he got from Belichick over his career as he touched on that topic and more in this week’s #AskTom. Here’s what Brady had to say about Case Keenum’s surprising performance, Sean Payton’s gutsy calls in the Broncos’ win over the Rams and how cleats can make a difference in a quarterback’s throw. Case Keenum is 38, third on the depth chart and hasn’t started since 2023, but he helped the Bears beat the Eagles on Monday night. What does a week like this look like for a veteran thrust into the spotlight? Brady: Well, there’s definitely some nerves and anxiety as you prepare for the week. It’s been a long time since you’ve been the starter. It’s been a long time since the team really needed you to step up and play well. But, look, when you’re a veteran quarterback and you’ve got a lot of years of experience, as that ball’s kicked off and you run your first play, you settle in very quickly. There’s a lot of experience you can rely on and he’s really well-coached. I love this Ben Johnson offense. There were a lot of great throws out there and he made a lot of great decisions. That’s what it takes. That’s why you’re the backup. That’s why you pay ya to deliver for your team. Sean Payton went for it twice in the third quarter to tie the game in the Broncos’ win over the Rams. How much of that is a coach’s decision vs. the QB potentially going and fighting for the chance to win there? Brady: In the end, it’s all about the head coach’s decision. What I think a lot of people need to understand is that the head coach needs to be accountable for every decision — offensively, defensively or special teams. It all comes down to one guy: the head coach making the decisions. He’s the one responsible in those big moments to make the call and put his team in the best position to win. Who told you to say meatball sub? Also, can I get an exact number of meatball subs that you threw during your career? Brady: Chill, chill. Relax. Everyone’s got to remember, I’ve got three kids, OK? So, that should just point you in the right direction. And I threw a lot. I probably threw over 200 interceptions in my career. I would say somewhere between 25 and 50 [were meatball subs]. And, believe me, Coach [Bill] Belichick, he never let me forget those. Was Bill calling them meatball subs? Was that where that lingo came from? Brady: No, [Belichick would say]: “Brady, you bum.” And I just took it like a man. I learned from it, and hopefully I didn’t go out there and repeat them too often. Actually, I’m glad you brought that up, because I think, and what I notice so much in the NFL is there’s so many people telling everybody how great they are all the time. I don’t think a lot of young people understand that the best way to learn is by getting outside their comfort zone and learning from coaches who are really pushing them. Coaches are the ones who should be telling you the truth every day. I was very fortunate. I had the greatest coach in the history of the NFL. He never let me forget when I threw an interception. He never glazed over it. He didn’t move on. He let me know about it, created awareness about it and he let me sit in the pain of letting the team down for a day or two before moving on. I think it was great learning for me, even though it was painful. It let me grow up. It helped me toughen up. It let me gain the respect of my teammates and coaches when they saw that, and I was able to move on and put it behind me. Did you have that perspective in the moment, or was that something that came afterwards? Brady: All of it’s learned. I think the great fortune for me is, being retired for four years, I look back on all the things that allowed me to be the player I wanted to be. I’m so grateful for everybody that was on my journey and all the coaches that pushed me and pushed me every single day, when they had higher expectations for me and they knew I could achieve them and they pushed me to do that. That’s what every great athlete should want. You should want a coach that’s demanding and calls you out when you’re not playing up to your standard, because that’s going to elevate your game. Yeah, it may sting in the moment a little bit, but when you reflect back at the end of a long career, you’re going to be appreciative and respectful of the coaches that did just that. How much attention did you pay to a field and the cleat choice going into a game and what did that have to do with your throwing mechanics? Brady: It was always important that you had to know the surface that you were playing on. But, listen, I loved grass fields. I hated turf fields. What we’re doing to kids at turf fields in high school, college and, ultimately, when they get to the pros, the wear and tear on those bodies over time really takes a toll. I really love the grass fields. So what, it’s a little bit slick? So what, it’s a little bit muddy? I’d much rather fall on a grass field than not. I think the most important point when you have a field that’s a little bit slick is you wear a longer seven-stud, so it digs into the surface. A lot of guys actually didn’t like playing with the long seven studs. But I always felt as a quarterback, if I was able to drive the ball, I would need a really firm base in the pocket. And when I plant on the back foot of either a three-step, five-step or seven-step drop, the back cleats really allowed me to dig into the surface to transfer my ground force going backwards into going back into my hitches. If I was hitching into the throw, I could create a lot of ground force going into my target, the right amount of torque with my body — my shoulder-hip dissociation — and then, when I released the ball, I still maintained the whip. The problem is, if you lose your ground force because you’re slipping on the surface, your whole mechanics shift to only using your torque and this really relaxed whip in your arm. So, I would say you become much stronger with your throw. The whole point, I would say, is to get the ground force from your legs into your torque into the whippy arm. That’s how you generate the maximum force throwing a football. Equipment managers everywhere are scrambling this week after that, Tom. Brady: Hey, go figure it out, young equipment managers. You have to figure it out, too.