This year's ESPN hit piece
- Thread starter Dr. Gonzo
- Start date
There’s certainly an element of the TB12 method that has merit. Stretching, band work, recovery, preventative maintenance, proper nutrition and hydration are all important to being an elite athlete.
It’s the shit like “I drink so much water I can’t get sunburn” or the patented TB12 electrolyte drink powder or the 200 dollar TB12 manual that makes it seem like a greasy informecial sales pitch. Brady has bought in so hard and gone so deep down the rabbit hole that he looks strange to outsiders. Not to mention his personal trainer/BFF/godfather to one of his kids has been exposed as a fraud several times.
“Here at ESPN, we don’t baselessly claim things happened. We baselessly insinuate they happened. That, friends, is the hallmark of quality journalism.”
I bet Wickersham was feverently masturbating while he typed up this drivel.
"The Patriots repeatedly offered Garoppolo four-year contract extensions, in the $17 million to $18 million range annually that would go higher if and when he succeeded Brady. Garoppolo and Yee rejected the offers out of hand, for reasons that remain unclear, and the Patriots knew they couldn't make any promises to Garoppolo about the timing of a transition at quarterback without it getting back to Brady."
A truly horrible article, and since there is nothing sourced, I don't want to conveniently believe one fact, but the thesis seems to be that Belichick was forced to trade Garoppolo. Doesn't the above passage suggest that Belichick ONLY traded Garoppolo because he wouldn't sign an extension?
WHY TRADE GAROPPOLO?
Garoppolo wants to start next season and wants $24-25M, not $17-18.
Belichick wants something more than a compensatory pick when Garoppolo walks.
Belichick gets to keep Garoppolo away from main rivals.
Why now? Brady gets past the middle of the season w/o significant injury, Garoppolo not needed THIS season.
Brady having an MVP-caliber season, looks like 2-3 more prime seasons is likely, not just plausible.
A truly horrible article, and since there is nothing sourced, I don't want to conveniently believe one fact, but the thesis seems to be that Belichick was forced to trade Garoppolo. Doesn't the above passage suggest that Belichick ONLY traded Garoppolo because he wouldn't sign an extension?
WHY TRADE GAROPPOLO?
Garoppolo wants to start next season and wants $24-25M, not $17-18.
Belichick wants something more than a compensatory pick when Garoppolo walks.
Belichick gets to keep Garoppolo away from main rivals.
Why now? Brady gets past the middle of the season w/o significant injury, Garoppolo not needed THIS season.
Brady having an MVP-caliber season, looks like 2-3 more prime seasons is likely, not just plausible.
As someone who is not a Pats fan, but does admire Brady and Belichick, I have to say that is the softest "hit piece" I've ever read.
There are obviously things in it that are wrong - anything with that mich detail is going to have inaccuracies - but even if we take it completely at face value, how exactly does this damage the Pats? More to the point, does anyone really doubt that the three individuals at the core of the article (Brady, Belichick and Kraft) are indeed working through the process of coming to grips with the inevitable end of the Pats run?
Not sure what the big deal is about the article.
There are obviously things in it that are wrong - anything with that mich detail is going to have inaccuracies - but even if we take it completely at face value, how exactly does this damage the Pats? More to the point, does anyone really doubt that the three individuals at the core of the article (Brady, Belichick and Kraft) are indeed working through the process of coming to grips with the inevitable end of the Pats run?
Not sure what the big deal is about the article.
"Yee rejected the offers for reasons that remain unclear".
I didn't read the article, but wouldn't the obvious reason be that Jimmy wants to actually play, not sit behind Brady for however many more years Brady plays? Also, as good as Jimmy might be, whoever succeeds Brady in New England is going to have impossibly big shoes to fill.
There are perfectly logical reasons why Jimmy would not want to sign an extension to stay in New England and be a backup, even if he was paid like a starter.
I didn't read the article, but wouldn't the obvious reason be that Jimmy wants to actually play, not sit behind Brady for however many more years Brady plays? Also, as good as Jimmy might be, whoever succeeds Brady in New England is going to have impossibly big shoes to fill.
There are perfectly logical reasons why Jimmy would not want to sign an extension to stay in New England and be a backup, even if he was paid like a starter.
Do any of you defending TB12 believe in concussion juice? Or that staying hydrated means you'll never need sunscreen? That's pseudoscience--as are many of AG's nutrition theories ("Fear the nightshade!"). Some of the diet and exercise practices he advocates, such as hydration and the importance of pliability (especially for aging muscles), has been around for decades. I find the combo of some legitimate established stuff and some possibly beneficial new stuff combined with a lot of obvious quackery is pretty noxious.
My second remark was based on the assumption that this would be a hit piece. It’s not. It’s not close.
If you credit everything, the only true villain is Guerrero and Belichick comes off as a saint.
I think it’s a hit piece on Brady, but just a big meh as to the rest. Tom Brady is a pretty open guy and has answered a number of these issues already on radio, so for Wickersham to slant it as though Brady’s a seething baby jealous of Jimmy seems pretty unwarranted.
This story would be more plausible if Brady, as a member of the Faithful in good standing, demanded Jimmy go to the Niners so he'd have a watchable team once he resumes his season ticket subscription in a few years' time.
Its also three guys that are very different people since they started together, even beyond the changes that success might engender. Marriage, kids, death, divorce. Brady, Belichick and Kraft are *all* on the back 9's of either life or football. Just about every other person in the organization isn't. It's as close to a sui generis relationship as can be in a major sport.
As my freshman year Writing for Journalism professor said "News features without sources are not journalism, they're short stories." Whole lot of smoke and it could be coming from a fog machine, not a fire.
The guy is a quack and a fraud. He ended up stroking a good size check to the Federal Trade Commission for claiming, among other things, that he was offering cures for cancer. Cancer. And it’s not ancient stuff; it’s 2011-12 stuff.
I understand not wanting to read the ESPN article, so here:
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2015/10/23/tom-brady-alex-guerrero-fraud/
You are probably correct, but it would be completely within the norm if Patricia and McDaniels do what most coordinators would do and go to Detroit and New York. If I were them, I would leave.
As for the article
1. I think the whole thing is true, or at least well sourced and defensible, and it really doesn't matter.
2. I don't think there is much to be worried about here, if you are a Pats fan. You already made the bad trade getting rid of Jimmy G. You already knew that Brady is a hyper competitive guy that can rub some people the wrong way in the process of being the greatest QB ever. You knew his strange diet and exercise guru is a quack that gives Brady the confidence to do what no other QB in NFL history has done. You already knew BB is a giant weirdo who is the greatest professional sports coach in American history. You already knew Kraft is a slightly above average NFL owner who hit the lottery and has demonstrated an excellent skill for recognizing his luck and ceding power to the GOAT. You already knew this whole thing is going to be over in 18-36 months. You are also going to see at least one and maybe two more Super Bowls with this group.
You got 7-10 more years out of these two than you ever could have expected by NFL standards. In that time you lost two Super Bowls you should have won an won two Super Bowls you should have lost, something 31 other fan bases would kill for. Enjoy it, articles like this are the price of admission into a one team club.
I thought it read like an objective picture of the greatest QB in history facing what he has understood is coming for years - his own obsolescence. About the worst thing here is that it provides evidence of the insecurities that all professional athletes possess - and I should note that to a great extent, these insecurities are essential parts of the makeup of a truly great athlete.
I have no doubt that some of the details are exaggerated and/or slanted to increase eyeballs, and that's an unfortunate reality of the world we live in. But honestly, this really isn't a hit piece on Brady. If anything it may humanize him with the world outside of New England.
Guerrero is the guy who is painted in a bad light. To be fair, he deserves it, because he's a quack. (Like most who traffic in supplements and pseudoscience, he appears to be a fairly harmless quack.)
I thought Wikipedia policy was that people couldn’t update entries about themselves?
When people are selling “raw water” in California, and the NY Times reports on it as though it were a legitimate trend (there’s a link + discussion in V&N), it’s hard to get worked up about a huckster sports trainer who exclusively serves rich men who are old enough to know better. When people say we live in a postfactual age, this is the kind of thing they’re talking about; it’s much bigger than the Patriots.
If TB12 starts using his platform to peddle the quackier elements of Guerrero’s program, then that will be a big deal (especially if he does so for profit), but until then, I’m not feeling the outrage.
Full disclosure: I came to Patriots’ fandom late in the day, mainly because I couldn’t stomach cheering for a serial rapist, and I’ve always liked BB and TB12 more because of the way they made the haters scream than because they were necessarily admirable men in their own right (aside from being incredibly good at their chosen vocation, of course). So if it turns out that TB12 is n egotistical prick with no worthwhile opinions on any subject besides football, that won’t trouble me much — I’ll still be a fan.
I agree with dcmissle that this makes Brady look the worst and Belichick look the best. It makes it seem like BB has to put up with so much crap and he's just an unbelievable coach and man to keep winning under these circumstances.
In reality, there are precisely zero offices or work environments where the primary people have been together 18 years and there's no friction. Of COURSE there will be friction, and at times, LOTS of it. Over major things and sometimes over minor things. I'm sure there's been a lot more friction than this article surmises has taken place. That they've put it aside and won at an unprecedented level speaks VOLUMES to the quality of each man.
At some point this will end - it has to. Kraft is old. Brady, for a player, is very old. BB may still have lots of energy but it's not like he's 45 anymore.
But really....
Is Belichick going to leave the Patriots over Alex Guerrero? Does he really want to go to the Giants? Maybe, but it's hard to see.
Are the Pats really going to get rid of Brady? Maybe if this thing blew up last year they'd do it because they had JG. But without JG on the roster I can't see BB being willing to dump Brady and start fresh with another kid right out of college.
They will ride this out unless Brady somehow forces their hand and leaves himself. It is possible that he could have become such a diva and that the AG thing means so much to him (because we're talking about Brady's post-football career here) that he says screw it, I'm out. I guess that's possible. Unlikely but possible.
No, these guys will have to work together and see this all the way through to the end. And the end, I don't think, is now.
In reality, there are precisely zero offices or work environments where the primary people have been together 18 years and there's no friction. Of COURSE there will be friction, and at times, LOTS of it. Over major things and sometimes over minor things. I'm sure there's been a lot more friction than this article surmises has taken place. That they've put it aside and won at an unprecedented level speaks VOLUMES to the quality of each man.
At some point this will end - it has to. Kraft is old. Brady, for a player, is very old. BB may still have lots of energy but it's not like he's 45 anymore.
But really....
Is Belichick going to leave the Patriots over Alex Guerrero? Does he really want to go to the Giants? Maybe, but it's hard to see.
Are the Pats really going to get rid of Brady? Maybe if this thing blew up last year they'd do it because they had JG. But without JG on the roster I can't see BB being willing to dump Brady and start fresh with another kid right out of college.
They will ride this out unless Brady somehow forces their hand and leaves himself. It is possible that he could have become such a diva and that the AG thing means so much to him (because we're talking about Brady's post-football career here) that he says screw it, I'm out. I guess that's possible. Unlikely but possible.
No, these guys will have to work together and see this all the way through to the end. And the end, I don't think, is now.
Objective? I can think of a lot of things to say about that article, but objective isn’t one of them.
The article is definitely a hack job, especially as it comes to blowing up the disagreements between Brady, Belichick, and Kraft. Volin had a similarly hack job article this morning.
I can believe the Pats offered Garappolo the extension. I can also believe that between the $22M owed to Brady this year, that there were limits to what BB/Caseiro could offer JG. Contrary to the claims of Volin and others, the salary cap issues cannot be wished away, and I could believe Belichick was probably insistent that he did not want to compromise the roster by offering JG the franchise tag while also keeping Brady on board for $22M. Noone has done the math to explain how this could be done while also leaving room for replacing Butler and Solder, signing free agents, and making space for draft picks and injury replacements. I could believe that Belichick did *not* want to trade Brady this offseason and also did *not* want to trade JG. None of us here also know what type of budget constraints Kraft places on signing bonuses, franchise tags, etc.
It's conceivable the Kraft and Belichick met prior to the trade deadline; I hardly think such a meeting would be unusual. I can believe that Kraft told BB "If you can find a taker for Garappolo for a reasonable return, you really need to make the trade. Because otherwise we'll have ourselves a fairly untenable situation this offseason. None of this is your fault, btw. Don Yee simply does not want JG to be a backup another year, and there is literally nothing any of us can do about it, and it would suck to lose him for nothing or be forced to trade Brady for a 4th round pick."
Unfortunately, the most logical explanation does not make a good story about the beginning of the end.
The more I hear about Alex Guerrero, the less I like him. Given his history of selling cancer cures and concussion water, I have no problem with posters calling him a quack, because that's what quacks do. It's certainly possible that his diet and conditioning regimen has helped Brady and maybe others. Willie McGinest was apparently one of AG's first clients, and I thought I heard once that Zdeno Chara and other local athletes are also clients. But he has no business involving himself directly in team affairs or throwing the team's training staff under the bus. And Brady's preaching about how following AG's regimen is key to avoiding injury while playing football does indeed come across as overly preachy. Unfortunately, the whole TB12 stuff does make for a conflict of interest for Brady. This is the one item that is most concerning, but so far there has been zero on-field impact.
The story about JG being locked out of the local TB12 center smells, sounds, and tastes like bullshit on a number of fronts.
The rest of the claims in the story are so ridiculous that they are not worthy of a response.
I can believe the Pats offered Garappolo the extension. I can also believe that between the $22M owed to Brady this year, that there were limits to what BB/Caseiro could offer JG. Contrary to the claims of Volin and others, the salary cap issues cannot be wished away, and I could believe Belichick was probably insistent that he did not want to compromise the roster by offering JG the franchise tag while also keeping Brady on board for $22M. Noone has done the math to explain how this could be done while also leaving room for replacing Butler and Solder, signing free agents, and making space for draft picks and injury replacements. I could believe that Belichick did *not* want to trade Brady this offseason and also did *not* want to trade JG. None of us here also know what type of budget constraints Kraft places on signing bonuses, franchise tags, etc.
It's conceivable the Kraft and Belichick met prior to the trade deadline; I hardly think such a meeting would be unusual. I can believe that Kraft told BB "If you can find a taker for Garappolo for a reasonable return, you really need to make the trade. Because otherwise we'll have ourselves a fairly untenable situation this offseason. None of this is your fault, btw. Don Yee simply does not want JG to be a backup another year, and there is literally nothing any of us can do about it, and it would suck to lose him for nothing or be forced to trade Brady for a 4th round pick."
Unfortunately, the most logical explanation does not make a good story about the beginning of the end.
The more I hear about Alex Guerrero, the less I like him. Given his history of selling cancer cures and concussion water, I have no problem with posters calling him a quack, because that's what quacks do. It's certainly possible that his diet and conditioning regimen has helped Brady and maybe others. Willie McGinest was apparently one of AG's first clients, and I thought I heard once that Zdeno Chara and other local athletes are also clients. But he has no business involving himself directly in team affairs or throwing the team's training staff under the bus. And Brady's preaching about how following AG's regimen is key to avoiding injury while playing football does indeed come across as overly preachy. Unfortunately, the whole TB12 stuff does make for a conflict of interest for Brady. This is the one item that is most concerning, but so far there has been zero on-field impact.
The story about JG being locked out of the local TB12 center smells, sounds, and tastes like bullshit on a number of fronts.
The rest of the claims in the story are so ridiculous that they are not worthy of a response.
Isn't that what the book, the PJs, and the app are all about? TB and AG monetizing quackery under the implicit guise of 'this is what helped make TB the GOAT'?
This is where Curran’s judgment is valuable. I agree with Curran that B.B. likely will not walk over this.
But I can understand people in the building fearing that he might.
And I certainly can understand BB’s reported sadness and frustration that the transition plan did not work out. It is like him to want the team to be in an excellent position at the most important position going forward.
“Groom someone else” — if Kraft said it — is almost hopelessly naive. It’s eyeball rolling material.
Diet books and PJ's are marketing gimmicks, with Brady allowing his name to be used to bump the price. I'd say that's monetizing the Brady name more so than monetizing quackery.
The quackery is the cure for cancer and concussion water and AG's claims of having been educated in anything remotely resembling medicine. If Brady started promoting those fake medicines, then I agree that would be quackery.
You would think that people would make a bigger deal about the way he sacrifices innocent puppy dogs in his dark altar full of naked photos of The Ginger Commish.
Meanwhile, in light of this piece by Wickersham, there's this article put out a couple of days ago.
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/49ers-gm-reveals-what-bill-belichick-told-him-before-making-the-garoppolo-trade/
"Lynch is right, the Garoppolo situation did run its course in New England. Even if the Patriots wanted to keep him, it wasn't going to be financially possible. Belichick basically admitted as much shortly after the trade.
"It's a tremendous situation to have two quarterbacks of the caliber that we've had for the past, call it 2.5 years when Jimmy was ready," Belichick said in early November. "Unfortunately it just wasn't sustainable.""
But that doesn't make a great story so...........
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/49ers-gm-reveals-what-bill-belichick-told-him-before-making-the-garoppolo-trade/
"Lynch is right, the Garoppolo situation did run its course in New England. Even if the Patriots wanted to keep him, it wasn't going to be financially possible. Belichick basically admitted as much shortly after the trade.
"It's a tremendous situation to have two quarterbacks of the caliber that we've had for the past, call it 2.5 years when Jimmy was ready," Belichick said in early November. "Unfortunately it just wasn't sustainable.""
But that doesn't make a great story so...........
98.5 The Sports HubVerified account @985TheSportsHub 2m2 minutes ago
Seth Wickersham to @Toucherandrich on the blowback to his story: "I stand by my reporting. ... We're always cautious with what we print. That's the main thing. You want to verify things as much as possible and not just throw things out there, and this is another example of that."
Bedard has a great reaction to all of this at BSJ.
He essentially confirms the key specifics: BB wanted to keep Garoppolo, wanted (eventually) him to be QB of the NEP. Failing that he would have kept him through the season and then looked to franchise and trade him after. Brady was concerned about his future, surely raised this with Kraft, but absolutely didn’t demand Jimmy be traded. Kraft might have pushed B.B. to trade Jimmy at the deadline. B.B. might have thought about resigning. The Guerrero stuff played into it. Kraft might already be having regrets about the Jimmy trade.
Bedard concludes that based on what he knows, cooler heads will prevail and Kraft, B.B. and Brady won’t fracture on the offseason.
Still, the disconcerting part of this story is that even if odds favor cooler heads prevailing, what happens of they don’t? It would be weird (and would pretty much signal the end) if B.B., Patricia, McDaniels, Cameroon, and even Flores are all elsewhere next year, as now seems remotely possible.
He essentially confirms the key specifics: BB wanted to keep Garoppolo, wanted (eventually) him to be QB of the NEP. Failing that he would have kept him through the season and then looked to franchise and trade him after. Brady was concerned about his future, surely raised this with Kraft, but absolutely didn’t demand Jimmy be traded. Kraft might have pushed B.B. to trade Jimmy at the deadline. B.B. might have thought about resigning. The Guerrero stuff played into it. Kraft might already be having regrets about the Jimmy trade.
Bedard concludes that based on what he knows, cooler heads will prevail and Kraft, B.B. and Brady won’t fracture on the offseason.
Still, the disconcerting part of this story is that even if odds favor cooler heads prevailing, what happens of they don’t? It would be weird (and would pretty much signal the end) if B.B., Patricia, McDaniels, Cameroon, and even Flores are all elsewhere next year, as now seems remotely possible.
If only Wickersham Hohler and Borges started a podcast. Could talk about things like Warm Gatorade, Stealing Signals, and the gleeful end of the Patriots Dynasty. They could even come up with a good hit piece for next year (its an annual thing now) where Brady and Belichick get into a physical altercation about the employee of the month parking space at Gillette. Riveting stuff guys.
Now that is truly amazing... here I thought he would take it all back and admit that his just-reported story is full of falsifications and exaggerations
For those too young to remember this gem from 2003:
“I want to say this very clearly: they hate their coach, and their season could be over” - Tom Jackson, ESPN
And, while not ESPN, we have this from 2008:
"At that time, the Boston Herald decided to publish their story, which they had been able to "confirm it in a way they felt comfortable with," after the newspaper felt both The New York Times and ESPN were also close to publishing the allegation." - John Bleepin' Tomase
Yeah, the media is alwaysaccurate cautious.
“I want to say this very clearly: they hate their coach, and their season could be over” - Tom Jackson, ESPN
And, while not ESPN, we have this from 2008:
"At that time, the Boston Herald decided to publish their story, which they had been able to "confirm it in a way they felt comfortable with," after the newspaper felt both The New York Times and ESPN were also close to publishing the allegation." - John Bleepin' Tomase
Yeah, the media is always
I disagree with some comments above about Guerrero. I thought the article went quite light on him and some of his pre-Brady issues (just 1 sentence). It suggests he was rather cooperative with the author.
Part of why the transition plan didn't work out is because Tom Freaking Brady is still performing at an MVP level. Here's where these stats rank in his career (not counting 2000 or 2008 for obvious reasons):
Comp % (66.3%) - 3rd
Yards (4,577) - 5th
TD % (8.7%) - 1st
INT % (1.4%) - 5th
Y/A (7.9) - 4th
Rating (102.8) - 5th
I mean the guy is going to be the league MVP and just had one of the five best seasons of his entire career. I don't know that Belichick saw that coming. I don't know that JG saw that coming. JG wanted to play. In order to keep him (by franchising him) they'd have had to spend a FORTUNE on him, and to let go of Brady would have meant a $14 million cap hit. So the QB position would have cost them like $35 million or more. Yes they could have done it but only by making huge sacrifices elsewhere.
It's not the worst thing in the world to have a transition plan fall apart because the guy you had expected to decline just won the freaking MVP award.
And by the way, on this point, yes Brady has gone through, for him, a rough 5-game stretch here. But he's gone through similar stretches before.
2010 (games 4-8): 61.4%, 1068 yds, 6 td, 2 int, 87.7 rating
2007 (games 11-15): 58.6%, 1391 yds, 10 td, 4 int, 88.6 rating
2012 (games 12-15): 58.0%, 1244 yds, 8 td, 5 int, 82.3 rating
2015 (games 8-12): 56.7%, 1502 yds, 11 td, 5 int, 85.5 rating
2014 (games 13-16): 61.5%, 866 yds, 5 td, 3 int, 84.3 rating
2013 (games 5-8): 52.4%, 810 yds, 2 td, 4 int, 61.6 rating
2013 (games 13-16): 59.9%, 1076 yds, 6 td, 3 int, 85.3 rating
So his last 5 game stretch (61.3%, 1203 yds, 6 td, 5 int, 81.6 rating) is not shocking. I mean, the 2010 and 2007 were his previous MVP seasons, and he had rough 5-game stretches in each of those years.
Ok, I'm getting off track here - the point is simply that the reason the succession plan didn't work is that Brady is still SO. FREAKING. GOOD. Not a terrible problem to have. So yeah, I bet BB really loves JG and wanted to coach him, but if the consolation prize is three more years of an MVP-caliber Tom Brady....I think BB will somehow manage to stomach that.
By the way. On whether Guerrero’s stuff works for Tom. I think it is complicated. I’ll bet the truth is that Guerrero has Tom doing about 75 things, half a dozen of which provide some real tangible benefits. Enough benefit so that Brady is correct in saying that he has gotten tremendous benefit from working with Guerrero. But there is still enough BS in his regimen that those who accuse Guerrero of quackery are not without justification.
This article wasn't a "bombshell" or even a "hit piece". It was taking things that happen with just about every NFL team (with the exception of the Guerrero shit, which are the only actual informative pieces of the article IMO) and building a fatalist narrative around those things because the subject matter is the Patriots.
My biggest problem with this article is that Wickersham seems to posit that if Kraft doesn't come in and force a trade then everything is gravy. Jimmy G comes back and the succession plan is alive and well.
This line of thinking is great for this article and the narrative it is trying to spin but that would never happen. Garappolo wasn't going to come back and waste another year of his prime being the backup to Brady; especially when there's no guarantee Brady would even retire after next year.
It seems to me that Wickersham saw two things that were interesting/didn't make sense to him, one was that the Patriots got so little for Garappolo and the other was BB banning Guerrero. He then took innuendo and whispers around the team regarding those events and built the most entertaining yarn he could connecting those two.
PS: In regards to the Jimmy G trade, I firmly believe that Belichick accepted what appeared to be a below market package because he wanted to do both Garoppolo and Don Yee a solid by trading him to a team/coach where he knew Garoppolo could flourish. I think BB has become more sentimental in his older years (there have been interviews where he has talked about how as hes gotten older its more important for him to have players he actually likes and respects) and he genuinely likes Jimmy G. Also, the fact that the 49ers are an NFC team undoubtedly was a major part of the calculus
My biggest problem with this article is that Wickersham seems to posit that if Kraft doesn't come in and force a trade then everything is gravy. Jimmy G comes back and the succession plan is alive and well.
This line of thinking is great for this article and the narrative it is trying to spin but that would never happen. Garappolo wasn't going to come back and waste another year of his prime being the backup to Brady; especially when there's no guarantee Brady would even retire after next year.
It seems to me that Wickersham saw two things that were interesting/didn't make sense to him, one was that the Patriots got so little for Garappolo and the other was BB banning Guerrero. He then took innuendo and whispers around the team regarding those events and built the most entertaining yarn he could connecting those two.
PS: In regards to the Jimmy G trade, I firmly believe that Belichick accepted what appeared to be a below market package because he wanted to do both Garoppolo and Don Yee a solid by trading him to a team/coach where he knew Garoppolo could flourish. I think BB has become more sentimental in his older years (there have been interviews where he has talked about how as hes gotten older its more important for him to have players he actually likes and respects) and he genuinely likes Jimmy G. Also, the fact that the 49ers are an NFC team undoubtedly was a major part of the calculus
To me, as a non-Pats fan, this comes across as Guerrero being some sort of cult leader, like Manson, converting Brady to his thought processes and influencing him negatively. I have no doubt Tom believes his program works for him (and as with any program, will work for some, but not most) and maybe he's overzealous about it, but I can't see Tom Brady being so weak to be manipulated by Guerrero like some sheep. The whole Guerrero thing is probably the most ludicrous part of all of this. All of the other elements may have a kernel of truth to them, but the leaps of logic are just incomprehensible throughout the article.
But the worst leap of logic was the tweet leaking this at the beginning by Bruce Allen. A "power struggle among the trio as to who deserves the most credit for the dynasty"? There's almost nothing in the article about anything even close to related to that, so congratulations to Bruce Allen for making Seth Wickersham look intelligent in comparison and making most conspiracy theorists look like logical geniuses.
But the worst leap of logic was the tweet leaking this at the beginning by Bruce Allen. A "power struggle among the trio as to who deserves the most credit for the dynasty"? There's almost nothing in the article about anything even close to related to that, so congratulations to Bruce Allen for making Seth Wickersham look intelligent in comparison and making most conspiracy theorists look like logical geniuses.
Is this a joke? Did you even read the article? You can't just wishcast this away. I mean, McDaniels' dad was IN THE STANDS when Brady swore at Josh. AND he's a legenday football coach himself! Time to take off the rose-colored glasses, fellas. This is a big deal.
Jeff Howe
Jeff Howe
@jeffphowe
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have a standard player-coach relationship. They work well together, obviously, but have never been best friends. They argue. That’s normal. They didn’t see eye to eye over the Guerrero issue. But It’s not going to yield a divorce.
Jeff Howe
@jeffphowe
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have a standard player-coach relationship. They work well together, obviously, but have never been best friends. They argue. That’s normal. They didn’t see eye to eye over the Guerrero issue. But It’s not going to yield a divorce.
I recall when Randy Moss was traded to the Vikings, someone asked Belichick if Brady had any input to the trade. Belichick's reaction: "Tom's a player".
During the camp leading up to Brady's Deflategate suspension, someone asked Belichick about Brady's mentoring of JG. Belichick replied that the coaching of Garoppolo remains the responsibility of the coaching staff, and that he's fine with Brady focusing on the things that Brady needs to focus on, as Brady has enough responsibilities as it is.
We did see that during the NFL Network show on Belichick that Brady and BB do meet to discuss game planning. I'd be shocked if that wasn't standard operating procedure among coaches not named Jeff Fischer.
All signs point to a coach/player relationship, and I'm sure the two are happy to keep it that way.
During the camp leading up to Brady's Deflategate suspension, someone asked Belichick about Brady's mentoring of JG. Belichick replied that the coaching of Garoppolo remains the responsibility of the coaching staff, and that he's fine with Brady focusing on the things that Brady needs to focus on, as Brady has enough responsibilities as it is.
We did see that during the NFL Network show on Belichick that Brady and BB do meet to discuss game planning. I'd be shocked if that wasn't standard operating procedure among coaches not named Jeff Fischer.
All signs point to a coach/player relationship, and I'm sure the two are happy to keep it that way.
Its stronger than that, Bedard outright confirmed the Kraft driving the JG trade part to show loyalty to Brady. Bedard also said BB wanted Brady as the QB in '18 (which given John Lynch's description of JG trade talks last offseason and Brady's level of play this year seems very believable) and would have moved on from JG in the offseason unless Brady fell off a cliff in the second half or JG would take a discounted extension (seems unlikely). I didnt see anything in Bedard's piece about BB resigning, just a comment about how since BB never talks about that kind of stuff there was some speculation within the building.
Bedard has been hinting at all this for weeks. today he said he just didnt have it buttoned up enough to report a story on it and gave his reactions. Pretty likely there's fire here and that BB and Brady are both annoyed, but pretty likely that the ESPN piece is very overblown in its conclusions. Bedard's take is that, while both principles are annoyed, this ultimately falls into the business as usual category and that most of the sensationalist claims or inferences (Brady made the Pats trade JG!. Guerrero locked JG out of the building! Kraft made BB trade JG, he wanted to trade Brady! BB is quitting! Brady doesnt like the coaches!) arent really accurate.
Bedard's piece seems pretty close to the mark IMO. None of how the JG stuff played out really should have been surprising except for the trade happening at midseason. Brady asking for assurances he'd be on the team in '18 based on past loyalty (which, frankly, I think he has every right to do given the history here) and Kraft deciding to show him that loyalty by nudging BB to move earlier on JG even if it didnt maximize value (I always have said I think this is the exception case where Kraft involves himself in the personnel decisions) sort of bridges that gap and make the whole story make sense to me. To me too, at least, there's a difference between "Bill, I know you want to keep JG and move on from Brady, but I wont allow it" and "Bill, I know your plan for JG is to hold him for insurance and then trade him after the season, how much would we give up by trading JG now to show Tommy we are committed to him? If its not much, Id like to move JG now". Bedard suggests it was something closer to the latter.
This wasnt an hit piece by ESPN, but the whole thing seems a bit sensationalistic and overblown to me even though the Jimmy G/Brady decision is obviously a major story.[/QUOTE]
Come on. If your mechanic were to tell you that you should put premium gasoline in your engine because it helps maintain performance and also prevents you from getting car AIDS, you'd have no problem calling him a quack, even if premium gasoline does provide some marginal benefit for engine longevity.
And, if you then wrote a book on things you had owned about car ownership, pointing to your long track record of not contracting car AIDS, people would call you a quack too.
Tom Brady is the best quarterback in NFL history. He's a complete and total fraud when it comes to health advice.
The story is weak-sauce. Unnamed sources du jour. Probably some truth behind it, but garbage nonetheless. The subject matter is National Enquirer-level clickbait and the timing is blatantly unsuspicious. I'm sure Tom wants to play another 5 years. I believe Kraft is trying to play to his fans. I'm sure that Hoodie would loved to have had Jimmy on the team and that Don Lee is doing his very best to appropriately represent both his clients. But this isn't a non-salary-capped fantasy football league.
Random:
The JimmyG story is great for SF from an excitement/hope/PR/sales perspective, but they would have been (arguably) better off losing a couple of their games. They would have had a top-5 draft pick in 2018 to go along with their new franchise QB. Instead, they squeaked by 3 terrible teams, enjoyed a 3 INT game from Blake Bortles and beat the LARams JV Team.
Random:
The JimmyG story is great for SF from an excitement/hope/PR/sales perspective, but they would have been (arguably) better off losing a couple of their games. They would have had a top-5 draft pick in 2018 to go along with their new franchise QB. Instead, they squeaked by 3 terrible teams, enjoyed a 3 INT game from Blake Bortles and beat the LARams JV Team.
5-4-6-1-2. The number of field goals Robbie Gould made over SF's last 5 games, including 2 game-winners