Gone Brady Gone

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joe dokes

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The following year the team fields one of the best defenses in franchise history, and it absolutely carries the team, and Brady is pissed because now he doesn't have enough offensive weapons. So it gets back to a question I asked during last year....if you were Brady, knowing that you can't have EVERYTHING you want, would you rather have a great set of weapons around you but a mediocre defense (which is what sunk them in SB 52), or a great defense and mediocre offensive weapons (which allowed them to win SB 53 but which clearly frustrated him in 2019)?

It seemed like as his career with NE wound down, Brady was only going to be happy with both great offensive talent around him AND a great defense. Well Tom...I mean...come on man.
You CAN have that if you build a team to be a one-hit wonder. You really can't have that if you are trying to be at or near the top every year, with no "reset" or "cap hell" years mixed in. Nearly every year, the team had a 'weakness' that they decide to roll with, in the interests of not strengthening this year at the cost of really undermining next year.

[armchair psychobabble alert]
At 43, Brady isn't very concerned about the post-Brady health of a franchise in teh abstract. But I also think he truly is very fond of Kraft and BB and he doesn't want to murder the Patriots' future (nor will they allow him to do it). But he does want a "perfect" team, and knows he has to go elsewhere to get it in the short term, because Kraft/BB wont do that. If there is a "he was never coming back" angle, that's it. Not some dissatisfaction with Kraft or BB.
 

Super Nomario

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It's an example of Wickersham pushing the narrative and then using his sources to build the narrative he wants. One watch of the Football Life special with Belichick indicates that there were no issues between Brady and Belichick in 2009.
I don't know, relationships are complicated. They may have had an issue in 2008, but smoothed it over by 2009. That doesn't mean it went away entirely. I think the team has some control over the Football Life stuff, so any friction scenes (and they know they're on camera) might have been left on the cutting room floor. As another example, one of the Holley books describes the complicated relationship Belichick had with Lawyer Milloy, where Milloy was a film junkie and a team leader and a pain in the butt who eventually had to go.

I was pretty dismissive of this stuff over the past couple years - Brady selling his mansion, the rumored friction between Guerrero and the team, the "Kraft made Brady trade Jimmy" stuff, but in light of the fact that Brady actually did leave, I don't know how we can rule it out.

I really think Brady was always gone unless he had assurances he got to stay with the Patriots the way he wanted.

Brady and his father (his father is in San Francisco radio a fair amount) have been pretty open about their belief that it would most likely end badly with Bill and the Patriot way of doing what’s best for the team.

so barring getting the contract that makes it almost impossible for him not to reach age 45 season with the Pats, Brady was always going to chose the leave one year before Bill thinks it’s time to leave you one year before you go south.

Brady got to end it on his terms. He made the choice. And I think that means something to him.

He earned every bit of it, and I wish he was still a Patriot
I agree with all this. And even in his recent contracts, while Brady took less money, he had a lot of guaranteed money, making it difficult for the team to move on.
 

tims4wins

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For whatever reason - maybe because Schefter linked it - I read Peter King this morning. Not much we didn’t know but he closed his Brady piece with this:

I do not fault Belichick for this. I do not fault Brady for this. There is no fault. There is just life.


Seems about right.
 

lexrageorge

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I keep going back to the same basic point in my head. I don't have any special insight, but instead just piecing together all the media reports.

Brady wanted a contract that was similar to what Brees got from the Saints. A contract like that would have kept him here for 2 more years, possibly 3. And it wasn't the absolute dollars that mattered. It's just that Brady probably felt he should be paid commensurate with his peers, and Brees is as good as a comparable as any. Had New England offered that in February, Brady is a Patriot for 2020.

Belichick the GM wasn't willing to go there. And the Pats likely felt that offering anything less without having Brady's side making a proposal first would result them in negotiating against themselves. So it came down to Bill saying: have your agent call me with a proposal, and we'll go from there. And Brady wasn't willing to negotiate that way.

I can truly take a "both sides" view here. Can't blame Brady for wanting to be paid Brees-like money as a show of respect. Can't blame Belichick for holding the line to keep the team out of cap hell in 2021 and 2022. I do believe the real risk with Brady is not that he falls off a talent cliff; it's that an injury happens that causes his production to fall off a cliff when he returns. That's the real risk, IMO, with a 40-something year old QB. Still may have ended up with something close to the Tampa offer had either side shown some flexibility during the negotiations, but both sides decided to approach it 100% like a business discussion, which is how successful business entities are run.

But, hey, Wickersham's story is more fun to read, so it will be assumed to be the truth going forward.
 

BaseballJones

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Who between Belichick and Brady is more likely to write a book that tells the whole story here?

(obviously the story would be told from that person's perspective and not actually be the 'whole' story, but you get my meaning)

I say Brady.
 

BaseballJones

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There is the whole "learning a new offense" part of it.
I agree. But I also bet that BB was unhappy with Brady's choice to skip OTAs. Yes Brady is still great, but BB knows that there are other players who need to get in sync with Brady; it's not just about Brady getting reps. It's about other players needing reps with Brady.

There are probably a million things that caused friction over the years. Think of your BEST relationship, and think of it being this close for 20 years. There's NO WAY that there aren't going to be SOME things that annoy the hell out of you (and them), and there's no way that there aren't going to be bumps (sometimes major) in the road. It's amazing that they worked so well together for 20 years and that it actually ended so amiably.

I still contend that Belichick knew he wanted to move on from Brady, but didn't want to trade or cut him. And so the best thing to do was to let Brady leave as a free agent. That way it's Brady's call, not Belichick's.
 

Mugsy's Jock

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I'm sure this has been addressed in other threads, but this seemed like the place for this conversation -- Brady is buying and into moving into Jeter's house in Tampa.

https://www.tampabay.com/sports/bucs/2020/04/02/tom-brady-has-arrived-in-tampa-bay-moving-into-derek-jeters-mansion/
This irrationally pisses me off. TB12 is not normally tone deaf on these matters. I assume the cleaning crew will be initiating South Korea-level disinfecting and scrubbing before he moves in, but there are some stenches that cannot be Lysol'ed away.

And yes, I reread this several times just to be sure it was Derek Jeter's house, not Jeter Downs' house.
 

tims4wins

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I'm sure this has been addressed in other threads, but this seemed like the place for this conversation -- Brady is buying and into moving into Jeter's house in Tampa.

https://www.tampabay.com/sports/bucs/2020/04/02/tom-brady-has-arrived-in-tampa-bay-moving-into-derek-jeters-mansion/
This irrationally pisses me off. TB12 is not normally tone deaf on these matters. I assume the cleaning crew will be initiating South Korea-level disinfecting and scrubbing before he moves in, but there are some stenches that cannot be Lysol'ed away.

And yes, I reread this several times just to be sure it was Derek Jeter's house, not Jeter Downs' house.
It's going to be even funnier when there is no NFL season and this was all pointless
 

Marciano490

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I'm sure this has been addressed in other threads, but this seemed like the place for this conversation -- Brady is buying and into moving into Jeter's house in Tampa.

https://www.tampabay.com/sports/bucs/2020/04/02/tom-brady-has-arrived-in-tampa-bay-moving-into-derek-jeters-mansion/
This irrationally pisses me off. TB12 is not normally tone deaf on these matters. I assume the cleaning crew will be initiating South Korea-level disinfecting and scrubbing before he moves in, but there are some stenches that cannot be Lysol'ed away.

And yes, I reread this several times just to be sure it was Derek Jeter's house, not Jeter Downs' house.
I wonder if there was an awkward moment where Jeter offered to throw in the cutlery and glassware and Brady had to thanks but no thanks him after Gisele said her piece.
 

genoasalami

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It's going to be even funnier when there is no NFL season and this was all pointless
Won't be funny at all. If there is no NFL season, then we are all screwed. the last thing we will be thinking about is Brady not playing here in Tampa Bay. Sky high unemployment and a brutal recession.
 

genoasalami

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I live about 5 miles from here. He's gonna like the lifestyle. The biggest question is how will he adapt to the brutal summer heat and humidity that is unrelenting until Halloween. Bucs finally built an indoor training facility a few years ago, so that helps.

c7b2da94171ef0ae9755f7f66b668941.jpg
 

Ralphwiggum

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What happens when of the media's best celebrity interviewers faces off against the most dull interviewee possible.
Yeah, I don't know, which is why I'll try to listen. My guess is we learn at least a couple of things about Brady that we did not know before. Say what you want about Stern but he has an uncanny ability to get celebrities to open up in ways that they don't with any other member of the media.
 

Marciano490

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Meh. Small yard.
No diving board. Would not habitate.

Stern is making his show free, right? I haven’t listened in 20 years. I assume he doesn’t still ask celebs about their dick size and sexual exploits?
 

Preacher

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No diving board. Would not habitate.

Stern is making his show free, right? I haven’t listened in 20 years. I assume he doesn’t still ask celebs about their dick size and sexual exploits?
He still does on occasion. The Sirius XM app is free until I think mid May or something. So all of it is free right now.
 

Ralphwiggum

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No diving board. Would not habitate.

Stern is making his show free, right? I haven’t listened in 20 years. I assume he doesn’t still ask celebs about their dick size and sexual exploits?
I think if you haven’t listened in 20 years you‘d be surprised. There are lots of hard core Stern fans who hate what he’s become but personally I find the show, and in particular his interviews, better than ever. But YMMV because when they play his older shit when he’s a raging narcissist I don’t find that particularly entertaining, although that’s what made him huge.
 

Marciano490

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I think if you haven’t listened in 20 years you‘d be surprised. There are lots of hard core Stern fans who hate what he’s become but personally I find the show, and in particular his interviews, better than ever. But YMMV because when they play his older shit when he’s a raging narcissist I don’t find that particularly entertaining, although that’s what made him huge.
Well, I suppose it’ll be a good test to see whether I’ve also matured in the last 20 years. I was just trying to imagine Brady sitting down for an old school Stern interview and picturing Brady dancing around topics like a pass rush.
 

DJnVa

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I live about 5 miles from here. He's gonna like the lifestyle. The biggest question is how will he adapt to the brutal summer heat and humidity that is unrelenting until Halloween.
He'll adapt to it by pretty much not being there. Events are now getting cancelled into July. Seems doubtful we'll see NFL camps on schedule.
 

genoasalami

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He'll adapt to it by pretty much not being there. Events are now getting cancelled into July. Seems doubtful we'll see NFL camps on schedule.
pretty much every home game here in September and October is brutally hot. He'll probably catch a break because his presence will move some games to night time slots.
 

DJnVa

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pretty much every home game here in September and October is brutally hot. He'll probably catch a break because his presence will move some games to night time slots.
I know, I was being mostly sarcastic.
 

nolasoxfan

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I read the article, but, honestly, I’m not interested anymore. I’m not interested in TB's personal motivation, not interested in his Under Armour promo piece.
In this environment, in this Covid-19 world, I’m just not interested in Tom Brady the new chapter....especially in this environment.

One thing stood out to me in the article:
>>The support and love of New England fans has always been unconditional.<<
Yes, for what you did when you were a NE Patriot, in Patriots laundry, but not for TB the Tampa Bay Buccaneer. Not for me, anyway.
Sorry if that sounds harsh, but that’s how I feel. Good luck, TB, but not too much...
 

streeter88

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I read the article, but, honestly, I’m not interested anymore. I’m not interested in TB's personal motivation, not interested in his Under Armour promo piece.
In this environment, in this Covid-19 world, I’m just not interested in Tom Brady the new chapter....especially in this environment.

One thing stood out to me in the article:
>>The support and love of New England fans has always been unconditional.<<
Yes, for what you did in the laundry, but not for TB the Tampa Bay Buccaneer. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but that’s how I feel.
Good luck, TB, but not too much...
My thoughts exactly. Not going to read it at all.
 

Dr. Gonzo

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Only thing I found interesting is that Belichick is mentioned once by name and it is only in the context of Brady being a 6th round pick and Belichick's assistant calling him to tell him he was being drafted by the Pats.
 
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I read the article, but, honestly, I’m not interested anymore. I’m not interested in TB's personal motivation, not interested in his Under Armour promo piece.
In this environment, in this Covid-19 world, I’m just not interested in Tom Brady the new chapter....especially in this environment.

One thing stood out to me in the article:
>>The support and love of New England fans has always been unconditional.<<
Yes, for what you did when you were a NE Patriot, in Patriots laundry, but not for TB the Tampa Bay Buccaneer. Not for me, anyway.
Sorry if that sounds harsh, but that’s how I feel. Good luck, TB, but not too much...
To me, this is what Brady either doesn't understand or underestimates. He is unconditionally loved by Patriot fans as the greatest franchise player of all time. Many fans will not carry over that love to Tampa.

On top of that, Brady is not beloved by fans across the country. Many will find joy when his downfall finally comes.
 

InstaFace

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I think a lot of you will find yourself rooting for him, against Brees, Matt Ryan et al. His GM, Licht, is a good story with Patriots roots too.

You're bitter now. That's fine. So am I, a little bit. If and when he actually suits up for TB and takes a snap in anger, I predict a lot of that will have mellowed.
 
I read the article, but, honestly, I’m not interested anymore. I’m not interested in TB's personal motivation, not interested in his Under Armour promo piece.
In this environment, in this Covid-19 world, I’m just not interested in Tom Brady the new chapter....especially in this environment.

One thing stood out to me in the article:
>>The support and love of New England fans has always been unconditional.<<
Yes, for what you did when you were a NE Patriot, in Patriots laundry, but not for TB the Tampa Bay Buccaneer. Not for me, anyway.
Sorry if that sounds harsh, but that’s how I feel. Good luck, TB, but not too much...
100% feel the same. Thanks but just not interested and it was a shitty way to end 20 years, as we never had a chance to say good bye. However, probably didn't ,matter as it may have gotten messy. Enjoy TB or don't enjoy TB, don't care.
 

BigSoxFan

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I couldn’t make it through. Just wasn’t very interesting. But it’s pretty clear to me that he feels he has something to prove to the Pats. He is obviously framing it as proving something to himself but I don’t believe him.

I’ll always be grateful for his time as a Pat and wish him well but I wish he’d either fully open up or just move on.
 

Bowhemian

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I read the article, but, honestly, I’m not interested anymore. I’m not interested in TB's personal motivation, not interested in his Under Armour promo piece.
In this environment, in this Covid-19 world, I’m just not interested in Tom Brady the new chapter....especially in this environment.

One thing stood out to me in the article:
>>The support and love of New England fans has always been unconditional.<<
Yes, for what you did when you were a NE Patriot, in Patriots laundry, but not for TB the Tampa Bay Buccaneer. Not for me, anyway.
Sorry if that sounds harsh, but that’s how I feel. Good luck, TB, but not too much...
Well stated and I completely agree. I’m sick of reading/hearing about it. Time for me to move on
 

Silverdude2167

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I stumbled upon Brady's first start and enjoyed this graphic during the first series

29670

Why do we care that he is gone again? Look at those career numbers...46% completion percent
 

Bongorific

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I couldn’t make it through. Just wasn’t very interesting. But it’s pretty clear to me that he feels he has something to prove to the Pats. He is obviously framing it as proving something to himself but I don’t believe him.

I’ll always be grateful for his time as a Pat and wish him well but I wish he’d either fully open up or just move on.
Agree that it was a pretty boring essay. Repetitive throughout.

Reading between the lines from the reporting during the initial news, I don’t ever expect him to “fully open up.” Because the truth isn’t about how the Patriots wouldn’t get him weapons, or come close to the Bucs offer, etc. It’s that the Pats didn’t want him back on anything more than a 1 year mid-market offer. About the same as what everyone in the league besides Tampa valued him at.

I just don’t care that much now either. Which is sad, because him and Ortiz are 1 and 1a of the most important players I’ve rooted for. All of our focus is on much more significant issues so the timing makes me apathetic. The end was now or a year from now anyway; whether it was retirement or a swan song with another team.

Thanks for all the joy you’ve given me as a sports fan over the last 20 years. I’ll always root for him as a human but really don’t care if he succeeds or just middles along in Tampa.
 

Marciano490

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For whatever it’s worth, I’ve always had less of an emotional connection as a fan to Brady than a lot of other Boston Olympians. Which is odd, because most all of my top 10 sports memories are tied to him.

But, as much as he seems like a great, compassionate man, he never felt as much a Boston community dude as Neely or Pierce or Ortiz.

Maybe it’s the George Bush beer test, but it’s kind of like a thanks for the memories, you’re the best, but who’s next thing for me with Tom.
 

BigSoxFan

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For whatever it’s worth, I’ve always had less of an emotional connection as a fan to Brady than a lot of other Boston Olympians. Which is odd, because most all of my top 10 sports memories are tied to him.

But, as much as he seems like a great, compassionate man, he never felt as much a Boston community dude as Neely or Pierce or Ortiz.

Maybe it’s the George Bush beer test, but it’s kind of like a thanks for the memories, you’re the best, but who’s next thing for me with Tom.
Definitely feels like more of the Bird variety than Papi or Pedro. Will be interesting to see how much time he actually spends in Boston in the coming years. He obviously has zero obligation to spend any time but hopefully his appearances are more than just hanging out every time he comes back to Foxboro.
 

Marciano490

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Definitely feels like more of the Bird variety than Papi or Pedro. Will be interesting to see how much time he actually spends in Boston in the coming years. He obviously has zero obligation to spend any time but hopefully his appearances are more than just hanging out every time he comes back to Foxboro.
Wouldn’t Bird get drunk at local bars though? I guess part of it - and it’s laudable that Brady wasn’t a party guy, and was devoted to his family and team - but he’s not someone you ever saw out. He’s not someone you ever heard a story about or anyone ran into. Again, he doesn’t owe anyone anything and he gave so much on the field and by accepting low salaries, but it’s just a different feel to me than when other legends have moved on.
 

BigSoxFan

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Wouldn’t Bird get drunk at local bars though? I guess part of it - and it’s laudable that Brady wasn’t a party guy, and was devoted to his family and team - but he’s not someone you ever saw out. He’s not someone you ever heard a story about or anyone ran into. Again, he doesn’t owe anyone anything and he gave so much on the field and by accepting low salaries, but it’s just a different feel to me than when other legends have moved on.
Yeah and it admittedly was much different era. I think part of the issue (not really an issue per se) with Brady is that he’s always been so hyper focused on his public persona and Gisele basically took it to another level. Everything was so carefully crafted, including all those cheesy FB posts that pretend like he and Gisele are basically HS sweethearts. I’ve been rooting for him for 20 years and feel like I know absolutely nothing about him other than he was good as baseball and is good at golf and came from San Mateo. He is the king of sharing a lot but without much substance. This article was another good example of it. I don’t want my fondness for him as player to diminish over time but I kind of see it headed that way. Guess that’s what YouTube is for.
 
Apr 24, 2019
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I love TB12 and will absolutely root for him and follow him closely in Tampa Bay. Unless it affects the Patriots negatively, I really hope he leads them to a super bowl and brings home Lombardi #7.
 

Shaky Walton

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I get the reaction to Brady as being less relatable (and whatever else people are getting at along those lines). But for me, Tom's maniacal focus on very limited extraneous activities is part of why, I think, he was able to enjoy so much success. It sounds simple but my happiest moments as a fan are when my team wins a title. The Sox victory over the MFYs in 2004 is a notable exception, but ordinarily the peak of emotion comes when my team wins a championship. I'm too young for Bill Russell; the next best thing in that regard is Brady.

Yep, he's a little bit remote, and is even a little bit odd. Yep, he is not someone I would expect to meet in a bar or an airport gate. (That said, the people I know who know or have him all say that he's unfailingly polite and is very friendly and humble.)

But for me, at least, the emotional connection is directly tied to his central role in reaching the pinnacle of sports joy as a fan six times. Papi, Orr and Bird are all multiple Boston champions, and I have a deep fan connection to all of them, too. But Tom Brady stands alone. And he won three in really two separate eras.

That's probably a lot of why him leaving sucks so much. Not that I'm angry or begrudge him. In the end, I'm not even sure he had a realistic opportunity to return, despite what he's saying about wanting the next challenge.
 

lexrageorge

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I view Brady's departure as very different from the departures of other past sports icons. He isn't a player in his prime being traded (Betts) or leaving via free agency (Fisk). He's clearly on the 17th hole of his career. The best case for him is 3 more seasons (his current contract plus one more with Tampa), and that assumes he doesn't absorb another freak hit like he took in 2008. We can debate all day how effective he will be in those 2 or 3 seasons; but the reality is that his career is extremely unlikely to extend any longer. And that would have been true had he stayed in New England as well.

I guess what I'm saying is that I can live without those 2-3 seasons of Brady's already unparalleled career. He's already brought the fans 6 banners, and there will be a statue of him outside Gillette in the not too distant future anyway, along with a room in the Pats Hall of Fame museum. Him playing for Tampa doesn't really change any of that.
 
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