Dale: you know there is no such award as Patriot of the Week award. Seth: that's what people in the building said. Dale: the people in the building are telling you the wrong stuff Seth
GO DALE GO
GO DALE GO
This is a all a plan by Brady/BB/Kraft to kill ESPN once and for all!!!Dale: you know there is no such award as Patriot of the Week award. The people in the building are telling you the wrong stuff Seth
GO DALE GO
So his sources are cooks and bus boys? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I work near Trump Towers; guess I can write an article on presidential intrigue now. Heard those books are hot at the moment."I've had lots of early breakfasts and late dinners at places 20 minutes away from building for the last 8 weeks nailing this down. EVERYONE knows this has been a bad year in that building."
Okay, he just said the big "tell" is that the team/BB don't have a plan for QB moving forward.
Completely disagree. Clown.All things considered, Wickersham is handling himself ok here. Is everything 100% true in his article? Of course not. But it's obvious some stuff is open for debate.
I think that means his sources are meeting him there...So his sources are cooks and bus boys? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I work near Trump Towers; guess I can write an article on presidential intrigue now. Heard those books are hot at the moment.
Of course some of the stuff is up for debate. Two other writers covered the same things. It still doesn’t take away from the nonsense that he filled his article with.All things considered, Wickersham is handling himself ok here. Is everything 100% true in his article? Of course not. But it's obvious some stuff is open for debate.
You realize why that's a problem though right?All things considered, Wickersham is handling himself ok here. Is everything 100% true in his article? Of course not. But it's obvious some stuff is open for debate.
A tell of what, exactly? No one has convincingly put forth what the "plan" would have been had Brady allegedly not interfered - franchise JG (and cripple the 2018 team) and then...do all this again next year? Trade Brady at that point (and either trade him while he is still good or sell low if Brady shows significant signs of aging)? The fact of the matter is the timing with JG simply didn't work out."BB is a master planner, and to not have a plan at the most critical position is such a big tell"
Exactly. The tell is the timing didn't work out, and that he didn't think Brissett was worth it / would have been cut anyway. Whatever.A tell of what, exactly? No one has convincingly put forth what the "plan" would have been had Brady allegedly not interfered - franchise JG (and cripple the 2018 team) and then...do all this again next year? Trade Brady at that point (and either trade him while he is still good or sell low if Brady shows significant signs of aging)? The fact of the matter is the timing with JG simply didn't work out.
When they draft Baker Mayfield, I hope Kevin Faulk announces the pick with a "shout out to Seth Wickersham"."BB is a master planner, and to not have a plan at the most critical position is such a big tell"
Because it's really hard to get these guys to talk on the record. /sYou realize why that's a problem though right?
If we determine his sources made shit up (Patriot of the Week) then why are any sources believable?
Oh, so they wouldn't go on the record, but they'd meet in person with a well-known ESPN reporter near their office in a town without a ton going on where they were probably known to the local restaurant workers if they were anybodies with the team.I think that means his sources are meeting him there...
Jesus. There are multiple NFL teams who dont really have 1 quarterback right now, and its a "big tell" that BB doesn't have 2 to carry the team through the next 10 years?"BB is a master planner, and to not have a plan at the most critical position is such a big tell"
"I don't know if JG wanted to be there"
Seth, you just answered your own question.
He is FULL OF SHIT
Some, possibly even a lot, of this can be legitimate differences in perspective about how something went down.You realize why that's a problem though right?
If we determine his sources made shit up (Patriot of the Week) then why are any sources believable?
THANK YOUI love how in his amazing, awe-inspiring 5 game stretch, Jimmy threw 5 interceptions, but Brady throwing 6 picks in his last 6 games is a sign that the cliff is fast approaching.
Completely agree with this. The only stuff in the entire piece that passes the smell test to me are the Guerrero portions. It seems like he is the source of tension between Belichick and Brady (and when I say tension, I don't mean it like Wickyleaks does, I would think its a normal amount of tension for people together that long)Some, possibly even a lot, of this can be legitimate differences in perspective about how something went down.
For instance, I think one topic that's legitimately interesting in this article is the idea that one reason so many guys were going to TB12 was that you had a lot of younger/newer receivers trying to "build trust" with Brady, especially once Edelman went down, and feeling some kind of pressure to try it. You can see how that could create strain in the eyes of some people (trainers, etc.) and resentment toward Brady -- but you could also see why Brady would have zero idea that was the reason it was happening. Reporting the former doesn't mean it was "wrong."
JG has already made SF probably the biggest player in FA next year. They pick a top tier WR like Watkins they could break out.And there it is: JG couldn't go to the Browns because they're so dysfunctional that if JG didn't play well there then it makes him look bad for wanting him. So he went to SF because he thinks that he can succeed there, making it look like he was right.
How reasonably can this be a hit piece?Doubling down and certainly not helping dissuade the notion that this was indeed a hit piece.
I’m telling you, Brady’s side, especially now that he has TB12 leaks like a sieve.
https://www.bostonsportsjournal.com/2018/01/05/live-qa-bedard-patriotsespn-story-9-m/Kraft talks to a lot of people, and so do some of Brady’s inner circle. You’ll notice, there isn’t a lot in there on Belichick.
The ProJo article is a nice contrast. Consider how they refute the fake news about Garappolo being locked out of TB12:Some, possibly even a lot, of this can be legitimate differences in perspective about how something went down.
For instance, I think one topic that's legitimately interesting in this article is the idea that one reason so many guys were going to TB12 was that you had a lot of younger/newer receivers trying to "build trust" with Brady, especially once Edelman went down, and feeling some kind of pressure to try it. You can see how that could create strain in the eyes of some people (trainers, etc.) and resentment toward Brady -- but you could also see why Brady would have zero idea that was the reason it was happening. Reporting the former doesn't mean it was "wrong."
That line makes it clear that multiple sources back up the statement. Sure, they are anonymous sources. But at least we know the author of the ProJo article is relying on sources to make that statement.According to multiple sources, Garoppolo visited the TB 12 Center to receive treatement before and after his shoulder injury. He even had his own passkey to enter the facility.
Nothing that says "according to a source". Which means that the above is nothing more than speculation based on what a source told the author. Of course, we don't know what the source told the author, because nothing was quoted.Garoppolo played well in 2016, starting in place of the suspended Brady, and Belichick began to see Garoppolo as the final piece of his legacy, to walk away in a few years with the Patriots secure at quarterback. But after Garoppolo was knocked out of his second start because of a shoulder injury, he set up a visit at TB12. As he later told Patriots staffers, when he arrived, the door was locked. He knocked; nobody was there. He called TB12 trainers but nobody answered.
Completely agree with this. The only stuff in the entire piece that passes the smell test to me are the Guerrero portions. It seems like he is the source of tension between Belichick and Brady (and when I say tension, I don't mean it like Wickyleaks does, I would think its a normal amount of tension for people together that long)
All the other "reporting" seems like it is taking innocuous incidents or normal conversations and spinning them to be proof that "the empire is crumbling from within"
Ryan is virtually certain to be tagged, no?Part of this situation that hasn't been talked about is that if BB wanted to cut bait with Brady after next season it is financially possible. It would create $15 million in cap space. Matt Ryan is a free agent after next season.
Sammy Watkins?JG has already made SF probably the biggest player in FA next year. They pick a top tier WR like Watkins they could break out.
Except that some of the evidence that there is this big rift between Kraft, Belichick and Brady has already been refuted.Nobody really knows anything except the principals.
That said, it would not be entirely shocking if BBs relationship with either/both Brady and Kraft has deteriorated to the point where he is ready to go, especially if he had designs on going in a different direction at QB sooner rather than later.
The actual story itself may be sensationalized and the sourcing questionable. However long term working relationships tend to wear thin over time and given what all three men have accomplished, it's not difficult to imagine a scenario where one or more parties is no longer interested in finding a compromise.
To be clear, absent this piece, there is no indication that Kraft, BB and Brady are at that point. However the end is coming even if most Patriots fans dread it.
One is a book about the President of the United States.Just for comparison's sake --
Michael Wolff, who had first-hand knowledge and direct connections within the Trump White House, is still getting reamed about the believeability of his major portions of his book.
Wickersham, by contrast, is relying on second-hand and third-hand sources for what is little more than gossip.
Sounds to me like Wickersham is getting off pretty easy here.
Also true--and Jimmy and Don don't really want Jimmy's first contract negotation to be after five years of a career where he's been franchsed once but played almost no games.A lot of people dont consider the extension of this idea, namely that Yee could tell the Patriots "Jimmy wants to play next year. If you franchise Jimmy as the backup he's not signing a long-term deal with the team"
Upthread somewhere, didn't someone quote wickersham about "verifying as much as he could?" OK, maybe you can't verify, beyond anonymous sourcing, how many squares of TP BB uses. But not the very very very easily verifiable question of whether an award actually exists? It's *that* and not the use of anonymous sources, that calls his credibility & judgment into question.Dale: you know there is no such award as Patriot of the Week award. Seth: that's what people in the building said. Dale: the people in the building are telling you the wrong stuff Seth
GO DALE GO
No kidding. Besides, there was a plan. Groom Jimmy G to be Brady's replacement. The fact that Brady is still playing at an MVP level at age 40 is what has mucked up the plans.Jesus. There are multiple NFL teams who dont really have 1 quarterback right now, and its a "big tell" that BB doesn't have 2 to carry the team through the next 10 years?
So even the nearby waitstaff refused to go on record? Man does Belichick run a tight ship...I think that means his sources are meeting him there...
And why should anyone give a shit?John "I make up fake stories" Tomase weighs in.
http://www.weei.com/articles/column/tomase-bill-belichick-built-patriots-dynasty-and-choosing-tom-brady-over-him-will?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
I think this is largely true, but we have actually heard BB gush plenty of times about Brady. "There's no QB I'd rather have on my team". Etc.I kind of feel like this whole thing feels like exactly what one might have already guessed. Belichick and Brady have a player coach relationship. Kraft is more sentimental about both of them, as an owner would be.
Has Belichick ever been truly warm with any active player? I mean, his whole M.O. is not about that. He is simultaneously the biggest "player coach" in the NFL -- in that he views his job as giving his players the best chance to succeed -- and the anti "player coach". Nothing is more impirtant than the best interest of the team. The team is made up of players and a depth chart. That's what you are, and all you ever will be, while you play for him. His entire dogma of football does not work if he views players as friends or sentimentally.
When you no longer play for him, or you play for an opponent, you achieve Bruschi, Bavarro, Taylor, Reed status. But not before. Sports is largely illusion. Heck, the whole gig is convincing ourselves that throwing balls back and forth to sell bud light matters. So, there is a romantic warm fuzziness to the idea that Bill and Tom are buds. But we all know that is simply not possible. Bill does not work that way. He requires a chain of command and very firm identification about who are the players and who are the coaches -- every one associated with the team has a defined role and Bill appears not to care for blurred lines. Tom is the current starting QB. No more, no less.
When Brady is no longer a Belichick player, the flowery shit we are going to hear about him will make us blush. I believe, based on the way he talks about other former players and how Brady has many attributes Bill loves, that he adores Tom Brady the football player. I suspect Brady knows it too, but also will never hear a peep about it until he is done, other than maybe in the ten post-coital moments of Championship hugging that happens before Bill puts his game face back on.
Yeah, he throws out bouquets to players in post-game discussions or when forced to do so with a question in a press conference. I mean this romanticized idea of Bill tussling Brady's hair during practice or whatever these articles are playing off.I think this is largely true, but we have actually heard BB gush plenty of times about Brady. "There's no QB I'd rather have on my team". Etc.
This seems spot-on.I kind of feel like this whole thing feels like exactly what one might have already guessed. Belichick and Brady have a player coach relationship. Kraft is more sentimental about both of them, as an owner would be.
Has Belichick ever been truly warm with any active player? I mean, his whole M.O. is not about that. He is simultaneously the biggest "player coach" in the NFL -- in that he views his job as giving his players the best chance to succeed -- and the anti "player coach". Nothing is more impirtant than the best interest of the team. The team is made up of players and a depth chart. That's what you are, and all you ever will be, while you play for him. His entire dogma of football does not work if he views players as friends or sentimentally.
When you no longer play for him, or you play for an opponent, you achieve Bruschi, Bavarro, Taylor, Reed status. But not before. Sports is largely illusion. Heck, the whole gig is convincing ourselves that throwing balls back and forth to sell bud light matters. So, there is a romantic warm fuzziness to the idea that Bill and Tom are buds. But we all know that is simply not possible. Bill does not work that way. He requires a chain of command and very firm identification about who are the players and who are the coaches -- every one associated with the team has a defined role and Bill appears not to care for blurred lines. Tom is the current starting QB. No more, no less.
When Brady is no longer a Belichick player, the flowery shit we are going to hear about him will make us blush. I believe, based on the way he talks about other former players and how Brady has many attributes Bill loves, that he adores Tom Brady the football player. I suspect Brady knows it too, but also will never hear a peep about it until he is done, other than maybe in the ten post-coital minutes of Championship hugging that happens before Bill puts his game face back on.