Bill Belichick Speaks on Impact of Deflategate Suspension on Tom Brady's Season

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick took offense to the notion that revenge was first and foremost on Tom Brady's mind as he embarked on a 2016 season that ended in victory at Super Bowl LI on Sunday night in Houston. 

Speaking at a press conference Monday, Belichick said Brady's work ethic has remained the same throughout his NFL career, per ESPN.com's Mike Reiss:

"

I think it's really inappropriate to suggest that in Tom's career that he's been anything other than a great teammate, a great worker, and has given us every single ounce of effort, blood, sweat and tears that he has in him.

To insinuate that this year is somehow different, that he competed harder or did anything to a higher degree than he ever has in the past I think is insulting to the tremendous effort, and leadership and competitiveness that he's shown for the 17 years I've coached him. It's been like every year, every day, every week, every practice. [Brady] gives us his best every time he steps on the field.

"

It doesn't seem all that crazy to suggest Brady's four-game suspension and the entire Deflategate saga at least provided some level of added motivation for the 12-time Pro Bowler this year.

At 39 years old, he set a record for the best touchdown-to-interception ratio (28-2) in NFL history. He was fourth in the league in passing yards per game (296.2), and Pro Football Focus graded him as the top quarterback (98.8).

During last Monday's Super Bowl Opening Night event, Patriots owner Robert Kraft said the entire Deflategate scandal could have driven a wedge between the players but instead "galvanized our whole team," per USA Today's Lorenzo Reyes.

Kraft seemingly threw shade at NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during his postgame speech after receiving the Vince Lombardi Trophy as well. He called New England's win Sunday "unequivocally the sweetest" of the team's five Super Bowl titles after alluding to the Deflategate scandal by saying, "a lot has transpired over the last two years and I don’t think that needs any explanation," per Pro Football Talk's Josh Alper.

Brady appeared to join in on the fun in an ad for Shields Health Care Group that aired immediately following the Super Bowl. In the commercial, Brady responds "roger that" when told he'll need a bigger locker to hold all of his Super Bowl rings.

Brady was already considered one of the best quarterbacks ever to step on a football field before Sunday's game, but the Patriots' comeback from a 25-point deficit in the third quarter arguably elevated him to the greatest of all time.

Whether intentional or not, Brady had the last laugh on Goodell.