ESPN hitpiece on Patriots (Rift with Brady/Belichick/Kraft) - Merged

[Observer]

Yeah, even if every word in that article is true, this is the great expose we’ve been waiting for? Srsly?

 

[AtomicDawg]

According to WickerSHAM, this is a rarity.



Meanwhile they hug before every game at home.

 

[Kontradiction]

According to WickerSHAM, this is a rarity.



Meanwhile they hug before every game at home.

Exactly. I sincerely hope that neither he nor Brady nor Kraft even so much as dignifies this with a response via press conference.

 

[Bella*chick]

This bit is the best.

"If we trade Jimmy, we're the Cleveland Browns, with no succession plan," one person inside the building said earlier in the year."

One of the best quotes from the article imo

What’s really funny is that the quote is attributed to “one person inside the building”. Who? The janitor?

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

They changed the law a while back saying that you have to prove that the article was written with specific intent to harm the parties being reported on. And then, if you're one of the parties, you have to show the court specific examples of how you lost money based on the publishing of the article.

It's virtually impossible to prove.

Rules for 'public figures" like Brady/Belichick and Kraft are different. It is based on NY Times v Sullivan where you have to prove actual malice, meaning knowing of the actual falsehood or reckless indifference to the truth and is very difficult to prove.

 

[TomPatriot]

You need stories like these when this is happening: ESPN's business model may be in trouble

Here is a short play-by-play rundown of the problem facing ESPN, and sports at large:

• Watching live sports is expensive. At $7 a month, ESPN is the most expensive pay-TV network (more than tripling the next most expensive cable channel). This turnover funds the network’s acquisitions of buy sports rights
• ESPN could run out of money soon. ESPN is massively exposed insofar that it makes most of its revenue from subscriptions. However, by by current projections, ESPN won't be bringing in enough subscriber revenue to cover rights fees within five years.

 

[Deus Irae]

Exactly. I sincerely hope that neither he nor Brady nor Kraft even so much as dignifies this with a response via press conference.

This article absolutely cries out for a Bill Belichick 100% disdain response.

 

[AtomicDawg]

Does he mean "practice player of the week"? I thought that was given to players who help prepare for then next opponent, mostly practice squad players or backups who would act as a scout team. It wouldn't usually be a starter though there are exceptions. I don't think Gronk or Gilmore or Amendola ever won it either...
Earlier winners this year ( though RBs all of them won it one week)
Patriots name eight practice players of the week following win over Steelers

No I think he means actual player of the week or whatever that means. Which is not true because Brady himself lets special teammers break the team down every week. And the article says "no matter how many "game-changing throws" he makes, he wants Patriot of the Week". When has Brady ever wanted an award over wanting to win a game?

 

[bormio]

Jeezus, what a crock of **** this article is...a self-serving pat on the back, trying to corroborate their own endless barrage of ********. I stopped when it got to the whole bit about how these "staffers" believed the Defamegate accusations. There was no point to it anymore, and that was the last straw.

No one has this level of access to the Pats to know these things, especially not anyone at BSPN.

This article is trying to revive Deflategate. Anyone as “petty” and “conniving” as Brady would be someone who would let a little air out of footballs - this is the unstated message.

 

[signbabybrady]

 

[IllegalContact]

Looks like many of you could stop watching football much sooner than previously anticipated

However, the article repeatedly contradicts itself, so it gets a big ‘whatever’

My only question is whether Guerros lack of presence in the locker room or sideline is the reason for Brady’s less than stellar play.....or is it that the departure of jimmy g no longer has Brady on pins and needles.....maybe Brady didn’t want him there because his legacy would be diminished by the next guy doing the exact same thing

Tell you one thing, if B.B. was not allowed to shop for these groceries, that by itself has proven enough to drive hof coaches away

 

[Ivan]

The fly in the reportage ointment....



John Lynch discusses Garoppolo trade rumors, asking Belichick about Tom Brady

I have asked the Garrapolites this question about a hundred times and to this point not one has been able to answer it. Lynch gave Belichick the opportunity to look into trading Brady last spring and he scoffed at it, that doesn’t happen if he is going to transition to Garrapolo.

 

[varjao]

Is there a BB press conference today or tomorrow?

Here's hoping for a BB special with extra cheese and bacon for the ****ing press today. Sorry for the Reiss's and Curran's but it's like early years in school when 3 or 4 mini thugs make a mess and the whole class pay for it.

 

[AzorianPats]

This is not a hit piece on the Patriots - it is a hit piece on Brady. Someone has an axe to grind, and I would not be surprised if someone got paid.

Think it paints Guerrero in a terrible light more than Brady, but it definitely makes Brady look blah.

Listen I love Brady the quarterback, but listening to Brady talk about his whole TB12 thing the last couple of years has become intolerable. To each there own but I hate brainwashed people that try to push their agenda. Regardless if it’s something like Workout/lifestyle (crossfiters) religion, politics. You name it. It’s annoying.

It definitely paints BB in a great light, But I didn’t need that article to know. If there is a rift between BB and TB I could see that causing a huge divide in the region.

 

[AtomicDawg]

What’s really funny is that the quote is attributed to “one person inside the building”. Who? The janitor?

Seriously! I want to know what person working for the Patriots thinks they're the Browns now. Like has he seen any football, ever? At any point?

 

[IllegalContact]

I have asked the Garrapolites this question about a hundred times and to this point not one has been able to answer it. Lynch gave Belichick the opportunity to look into trading Brady last spring and he scoffed at it, that doesn’t happen if he is going to transition to Garrapolo.

Well, if the owner decides coach is no longer buying the groceries it all becomes very simple

 

[IllegalContact]

Seriously! I want to know what person working for the Patriots thinks they're the Browns now. Like has he seen any football, ever? At any point?

Ya.....that’s a giveaway of April’s fools proportions

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

You need stories like these when this is happening: ESPN's business model may be in trouble

Here is a short play-by-play rundown of the problem facing ESPN, and sports at large:

• Watching live sports is expensive. At $7 a month, ESPN is the most expensive pay-TV network (more than tripling the next most expensive cable channel). This turnover funds the network’s acquisitions of buy sports rights
• ESPN could run out of money soon. ESPN is massively exposed insofar that it makes most of its revenue from subscriptions. However, by by current projections, ESPN won't be bringing in enough subscriber revenue to cover rights fees within five years.

ESPN is the big box store of media, in a death spiral caused by Netflix and Amazon cord cutters and streamers,,,,
https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2017/05/economist-explains-12

 

[Flash]

I think the part that irks me the most is how other NFL fans are eating this up because "Well Belichick traded Garoppolo for peanuts while Brady is in his 40s, clearly something is up there!"

This was also a major point of argument for Wickersham and his "Brady forced Kraft and Belichick to trade Garoppolo because he felt threatened". This part is really nonsensical. This completely ignores:

1. Brady is most likely going to win his third MVP award, if not finishes second in voting, which clearly indicates that Brady is still playing at an elite level. Threatened? Pfft.
2. We could not have franchise tagged Garoppolo because we are not paying two QBs using 25%+ of our total cap.
3. Garoppolo wants to start, and there was no opportunities for him here with Brady still playing at a high level.

If people actually logically think about this, there is really nothing suspicious with the Garoppolo trade. Belichick is not "moving on one year early" because Brady is still capable of playing at a high level for the next two years, we don't have the time or the money to continue to keep Garoppolo as our backup. It's really simple as that.

I want to ask Wickersham: If Garoppolo wasn't playing at a high level, would you have written this article at all?

 

[Brewskies]

The person inside the room could be Brady's trainer, just saying. If this rift is true between Belichek, Brady and Kraft then I am with Belichek. Belichek has always been about the team, the other two aren't so much just sometimes.