He hasn't had to be fast enough to be the last guy to push a kickoff return guy out of bounds for quite a few years (enjoying the lasagna and the cannoli). I was very disappointed when he left the Pats.I mean he looks absolutely jacked doesn’t he? Bigger than he was when was playing.
He did. Played the next series.I’ve never seen the camera angle of Drew on the ground. His eyes were GLAZED. But didn’t he come back in the game?
Also Dr. Z’s power ranking the next week in SI was so depressing.
“Current: 31. Prev: 29. New England Patriots (0-2). This is sad. Drew Bledsoe took a big hit and is out indefinitely. Honestly, I don't know what weapons they have with which to win a game.”
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5e-V8N7Zz4I didn’t know he kept playing that game. wtf. That’s insane.
Thanks for the link!View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5e-V8N7Zz4
The Mo Lewis hit is around 2:07:00 and Drew comes out for the next drive at 2:15:00. He didn't really do much: handoff, pitch to the outside, penalty, shovel pass to Marc Edwards who then fumbled. Drew doesn't really appear again until around 2:26:00 when he's on the sideline looking a bit woozy as Brady subs in for him.
Indeed. I didn't know that fans were literally hanging Bellchick in effigy in Cleveland. Shit got intense.So the QB controversy paralleled with Bernie Kosar was fascinating.
I will say I’m enjoying learning new things from the doc then learning actual new things by coming here and being told the truth.Indeed. I didn't know that fans were literally hanging Bellchick in effigy in Cleveland. Shit got intense.
Well, we've seen Brady's take already.I think what we are talking about is a Dynasty whose long-term success and ultimate end can be attributed to the three people: Belichick, Brady, and Kraft. And the documentary is probably going to present the story in a way that is more consistent with the way Kraft would tell it than either of the other two.
Seems like the perfect time to me.Yeah, I personally have almost no interest right now despite this being pretty much a dream series. Between firing Bill and the KC 3 out of 5, I'm not sure there could be a month in the last 10 years I'd be less interested in celebrating the glory days.
I’m not saying this should take the homer approach of something like 3 Games to Glory but the focus of these episodes seems skewed a bit towards the negative.If you're interested, here are the titles and descriptions of the remaining episodes:
Drew was tough. Early childhood memory, but didn’t he win a game with a broken finger with a huge pass to Coates? Or did Coates have the broken finger?I didn’t know he kept playing that game. wtf. That’s insane.
He broke his finger late in MNF matchup against the Dolphins in ‘98 and won the game on a late TD pass. He followed that up with another last second win against the Bills the following week (the Bills protested a late penalty by walking off the field, leading Vinatieri to walk in for unopposed 2pt conversion) and beat the Steelers the following week. But the finger kept getting worse and after a disastrous loss to the Rams, he missed the rest of the season and the playoff game against the Jags. They somehow managed to beat a really good Niners team at home in Week 16 with Zolak at QB, but they were largely done after that.Drew was tough. Early childhood memory, but didn’t he win a game with a broken finger with a huge pass to Coates? Or did Coates have the broken finger?
Those back to back wins were probably my favorite random wins during the Drew era. Much fun.He broke his finger late in MNF matchup against the Dolphins in ‘98 and won the game on a late TD pass. He followed that up with another last second win against the Bills the following week (the Bills protested a late penalty by walking off the field, leading Vinatieri to walk in for unopposed 2pt conversion) and beat the Steelers the following week. But the finger kept getting worse and after a disastrous loss to the Rams, he missed the rest of the season and the playoff game against the Jags. They somehow managed to beat a really good Niners team at home in Week 16 with Zolak at QB, but they were largely done after that.
I'm not sure how they could devote 6 of the final 10 episodes to the decline, if episode 4 is spygate. There are 3 more SB victories to get through after that point.Obviously not offering any strong opinions until I watch it, but, based their own promotional statements, devoting 6 out of the ten episodes of this to the decline of the dynasty seems excessive, and is giving me some pause. Very curious to see how those episodes are handled.
Guessing maybe it's all in the definition of decline. Are they marking that as the point when BB and The Krafts relationship started to change? When Camelot started to become controversial? I'm looking forward to binging all of it, with some trepidation.I'm not sure how they could devote 6 of the final 10 episodes to the decline, if episode 4 is spygate. There are 3 more SB victories to get through after that point.
We're through 2 of 10 and haven't reached the first Super Bowl. Certainly seems like they probably aren't going to spend a ton of time highlighting each individulal Super Bowl victory. Episode 4 is the Spygate one and so that means in episode 3 they basically need to cover 3 Super Bowls and the AFCCG loss to the Colts in 06. Seems like the focus/slow down is going to be the controversies. Spygate, Hernandez, Deflategate, the Brady/Belichick relationship deteriorating.I'm not sure how they could devote 6 of the final 10 episodes to the decline, if episode 4 is spygate. There are 3 more SB victories to get through after that point.
The 10-part docuseries about the Patriots being rolled out now on Apple TV+ is named “The Dynasty.”
The producers should have considered a different title: Kill Bill.
The docuseries does deliver behind-the-scenes footage and fresh perspectives on the Patriots’ dynasty of 2000-20. But there is an obvious villain, and it’s Bill Belichick.
Man, oh man, is this series rough on the Patriots’ former head coach.
...
Leading the charge is Robert Kraft, who portrays himself as Brady’s white knight.
“Tom and I had a number of discussions about how Bill treated him,” said Kraft, who is shown to have a bust of Brady’s head on his office desk. “Basically, it was a silent relationship. It was just totally dysfunctional.”
The team owner portrays himself as an innocent bystander to the Brady-Belichick feud. When a producer asks Kraft if Brady would still be a Patriot if Belichick had left the team, Kraft replied, “Yes, I feel pretty strongly about that.”
I guess it's just a different reading of the "decline of the dynasty" then. To me, the Dynasty decline doesn't begin until 2019. Were there controversies, down years, etc., sure, but they won SB's in 2014, 2016 and 2018, and all of those things (Spygate, Hernandez, Deflategate) happened prior to those seasons. We'll find out, but I'm certainly not concerned. It's a 20 year run of excellence, that had plenty of shitty moments and it ended, and it's going to probably focus on all of it in some way, but the Dynasty perservered though most of it.We're through 2 of 10 and haven't reached the first Super Bowl. Certainly seems like they probably aren't going to spend a ton of time highlighting each individulal Super Bowl victory. Episode 4 is the Spygate one and so that means in episode 3 they basically need to cover 3 Super Bowls and the AFCCG loss to the Colts in 06. Seems like the focus/slow down is going to be the controversies. Spygate, Hernandez, Deflategate, the Brady/Belichick relationship deteriorating.
Volin is being his usual self. Curran said something to the effect of "It got as bad as you imagined and was as even better than you remembered."Not sure this bodes well.
Granted it's Volin who's not my favorite. But still...
Bill Belichick is portrayed as the villain in ‘The Dynasty,’ but he deserves better
This was all filmed while BB was still the coach. Any and all comments that seem "anti-BB" were made while he was still in the building. So I'm interested to see how that plays.Not sure this bodes well.
Granted it's Volin who's not my favorite. But still...
Bill Belichick is portrayed as the villain in ‘The Dynasty,’ but he deserves better
Did Kraft share credit with Bill for choosing Brady over Bledsoe? I just watched the first two episodes last night and didn't come away with that impression at all. In fact, Kraft is pretty clear in saying that he didn't like the decision. All Kraft did was not overrule Bill, but that's kind of an obvious requirement, right?Take it for what it's worth, but there's definitely twitter chatter about this being a Kraft production, with them sharing credit with Bill for choosing Brady over Bledsoe and blaming Bill for Brady leaving and the team's current sad state. If nothing else, the candid anecdotes from the players and staff who where there are the most compelling piece anyway.
That is interesting because my take on the first two episodes is that it directly contradicts that Twitter chatter.Take it for what it's worth, but there's definitely twitter chatter about this being a Kraft production, with them sharing credit with Bill for choosing Brady over Bledsoe and blaming Bill for Brady leaving and the team's current sad state. If nothing else, the candid anecdotes from the players and staff who where there are the most compelling piece anyway.
Michael Felger was kinda touching on this earlier today. According to him, Kraft was like "Boy, Bill & I really took a lot of heat deciding to go with Tom over Drew" while pointing Bill's way for the current state of the team.That is interesting because my take on the first two episodes is that it directly contradicts that Twitter chatter.
Maybe I missed something - which is crazy because I watched episode two a few times now (Dynasty is a hell of a drug) - but it pretty clear that BB/Ernie and Pioli were in favor of Brady while Kraft actively backed Bledsoe.
Obviously we still have a bunch of installments to get through but I don't feel like the first two episodes are skewed in any one direction. Except the awesome one.
Does Felger explain when that quote occurs? That is not in any of the footage I saw. Maybe its in later episodes?Michael Felger was kinda touching on this earlier today. According to him, Kraft was like "Boy, Bill & I really took a lot of heat deciding to go with Tom over Drew" while pointing Bill's way for the current state of the team.
That just reminds me of how straight up Bledsoe ran ---- which is also why he was never really good at the sneak.View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5e-V8N7Zz4
The Mo Lewis hit is around 2:07:00 and Drew comes out for the next drive at 2:15:00. He didn't really do much: handoff, pitch to the outside, penalty, shovel pass to Marc Edwards who then fumbled. Drew doesn't really appear again until around 2:26:00 when he's on the sideline looking a bit woozy as Brady subs in for him.
I could see the argument that Kraft positioned himself to have it both ways. He backed Bledsoe in the sense that he went to BB on Bledsoe's behalf; he backed Brady in the sense that he let BB decide.That is interesting because my take on the first two episodes is that it directly contradicts that Twitter chatter.
Maybe I missed something - which is crazy because I watched episode two a few times now (Dynasty is a hell of a drug) - but it pretty clear that BB/Ernie and Pioli were in favor of Brady while Kraft actively backed Bledsoe.
Obviously we still have a bunch of installments to get through but I don't feel like the first two episodes are skewed in any one direction. Except the awesome one.
I didn't get the impression that it was a direct quote and he didn't elaborate. I'm guessing he's seen the whole thing, but it could just be another case of Felger being Felger.Does Felger explain when that quote occurs? That is not in any of the footage I saw. Maybe its in later episodes?
It would definitely contradict the narrative in the first two installments.
And that is probably a fairly accurate description of how it went down.I could see the argument that Kraft positioned himself to have it both ways. He backed Bledsoe in the sense that he went to BB on Bledsoe's behalf; he backed Brady in the sense that he let BB decide.
This, right here, is the correct answer. Not just regarding this specific TV series, but the entire sports media complex. Outside of actual reporting, who cares what Volin, CHB, Bedard, et al. have to say about anything?In short, fuck most of these guys and their bitter self-serving promotional bullshit.
There is a cautionary tale here, given that none of us has seen the entire season yet. It's that media members may equate any little criticism of Bill as Kraft or the players "throwing Bill under the bus". A good chunk of the local mediots hated Belichick and so would gleefully report that Dynasty makes Bill out to be the villain.Someone (tuned in late) was being interviewed on BPR today and said she''d seen most of the series and that it came off as Bill being the villain - he was "caught in a lie" about Spygate and it was a clear violation of the rules. Also that Deflategate was clearly real because, "come on, he calls himself The Deflator, he smashes his phone,"...
If this is the way the series comes across to non-knowledgeable viewers, it'll be a disservice to the Patriots and the public.
The thing about Deflategate is that it wasn’t Bill who came off looking bad, it was Tom.There is a cautionary tale here, given that none of us has seen the entire season yet. It's that media members may equate any little criticism of Bill as Kraft or the players "throwing Bill under the bus". A good chunk of the local mediots hated Belichick and so would gleefully report that Dynasty makes Bill out to be the villain.
My guess is that it will be a lot more nuanced, with Bill being called to blame for some things while also being given credit for a ton of other moves.
The Spygate stuff, while obviously overblown by Goodell, was indeed something of Bill's making. He totally blew off a letter from the commissioner's office directly telling all teams not to do what Bill was doing. And it is well known that Kraft wasn't happy and called Bill a "schmuck" for the entire fiasco.
As for Deflategate (which objectively wasn't real), it should be noted that Bill was completely exonerated by the Wells report.
And he got busted again in 2019 for videotaping. I really don't care about Spygate, but there's a pattern and an irony here.There is a cautionary tale here, given that none of us has seen the entire season yet. It's that media members may equate any little criticism of Bill as Kraft or the players "throwing Bill under the bus". A good chunk of the local mediots hated Belichick and so would gleefully report that Dynasty makes Bill out to be the villain.
My guess is that it will be a lot more nuanced, with Bill being called to blame for some things while also being given credit for a ton of other moves.
The Spygate stuff, while obviously overblown by Goodell, was indeed something of Bill's making. He totally blew off a letter from the commissioner's office directly telling all teams not to do what Bill was doing. And it is well known that Kraft wasn't happy and called Bill a "schmuck" for the entire fiasco.
As for Deflategate (which objectively wasn't real), it should be noted that Bill was completely exonerated by the Wells report.
Potentially offensive thought…And he got busted again in 2019 for videotaping. I really don't care about Spygate, but there's a pattern and an irony here.
Belichick, the ultimate disciplinarian, had a disregard for the rules. Whether it's not wearing camo gear during Vet month or giving his name to a video game, he was always counterculture.
It tracks with his accumulation of power in Foxboro. Belichick wanted to tell people what to do, and hated the other way around.
The 2019 videotaping violation was the fault of Kraft; Bill had zilch to do with that media production. Same group, IIRC, that produced Dynasty.And he got busted again in 2019 for videotaping. I really don't care about Spygate, but there's a pattern and an irony here.
Belichick, the ultimate disciplinarian, had a disregard for the rules. Whether it's not wearing camo gear during Vet month or giving his name to a video game, he was always counterculture.
It tracks with his accumulation of power in Foxboro. Belichick wanted to tell people what to do, and hated the other way around.