New England Patriots: Tom Brady Encourages Fans to 'Start Drinking Early'

The New England Patriots are known for their passionate fanbase. Excuse Tom Brady if he's not thoroughly impressed.

Last year around this time, he made a passing comment about Patriots fans leaving Gillette Stadium early, as the Patriots piled on the points in a 38-24 Week 1 win.

"[W]hen I looked up, half the stadium was gone when we were up 21 points early fourth quarter, which I wasn’t so happy about,” said Brady, speaking to reporters a few days after the victory.

He took a (proverbial) shot at the fans then, but this time, it seemed he was telling the Foxborough faithful to take shots.

"Yeah, start drinking early," Brady joked with reporters in the locker room on Wednesday. "It's a 4:15 game. They have a lot of time to get lubed up, come out here and cheer for the home team."

He later retracted his statement through Patriots PR chief Stacey James, who said that Brady "wants everyone to drink a lot of water, stay hydrated. Drink responsibly."

The Patriots can use any advantage they can get against a high-powered Chargers offense. They have lightning-quick-strike capability, as quarterback Philip Rivers has averaged over 8.4 yards per attempt for three consecutive seasons and has led the league in each of those three years.

Rivers got off to a slow start against the Patriots last season, but took the Chargers within inches of a huge comeback. Literally, inches. As in, Nate Kaeding's go-ahead field goal try bounced off the left upright.

The Patriots will need more than a few mental errors and a last-second lucky bounce to defeat the Chargers. They will also need their fans to be in full force.

Erik Frenz is the co-host of the PatsPropaganda and Frenz podcast. Follow Erik on Twitter @erikfrenz.