Hall of Famer says Tom Brady can help Patriots beat Eagles in Week 1

New England Patriots legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Ty Law believes the return of franchise icon Tom Brady to Gillette Stadium can help motivate the club to earn an upset victory over the reigning NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday. 

"I’m saying we’re going to feed off the energy of Tom Brady," Law explained during a Thursday appearance on Boston sports radio station WEEI, per Adam London of NESN. "If Tom Brady was not coming, I wouldn’t be comfortable picking the Patriots even though that’s my team. I’m always going for them. But because Tom Brady’s coming, there’s going to be so much energy there." 

Law was part of three of the six New England squads that won Super Bowl championships during Brady's tenure with the organization. The Patriots are honoring Brady this Sunday after he retired "for good" in February, but London mentioned in a different piece that Law thinks New England should've picked a different date for the occasion due to the fact that the hosts could get blown out. 

As of early Thursday evening, OddsChecker listed the Patriots as underdogs (+176, +4) for the matchup. 

Law suggested that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick should ask Brady to give a pre-game speech to fire players up ahead of the regular-season opener. 

"Hopefully, Tom can go in there and talk to the team and get them ready to rock and roll," Law continued. "I know Belichick is always going to be prepared to have a good game plan. It’s up to those guys to go out there and make no excuses and play lights-out football. I think that energy will come from Tom Brady, so they can squeak one out." 

Brady noted this past spring that he is "always pulling for the Patriots." While he theoretically could do more than just root for the Pats on Sunday afternoon, individuals such as Belichick and maybe even some players could view Brady's presence as an unwanted distraction ahead of what is likely to be a difficult game.