It’s amazing how many posters here have turned on Brady and Gronkowski. Just exactly what have they done wrong? If you think their displeasure is solely based on Belichick limiting their access to Alex Guerrero or bigger contracts you are being fooled.
To them and likely most of their teammates, Bill Belichick has exposed himself to be a man who doesn’t practice what he preaches. A man who put himself before his team and their quest to be Super Bowl champions. The trust is gone and so is the willingness to sacrifice anymore for their Coach who preaches sacrifice but doesn’t always practice it.
Was it a surprise to anyone when we learned Belichick wanted to pass the torch from Brady to Garappolo? Was Belichick surprised when the Krafts interceded to stop him from discarding the co-author of their dynasty like he was just another cog in the Patriot machine?
Belichick may not have been surprised, but he was undoubtedly angry. Belichick could have let it go and made the best of it letting Brady play himself to retirement while drafting and developing another QB heir. That’s what Belichick should have done but didn’t. Instead, he decided to get even against Brady and the Krafts for challenging his authority.
First, Belichick went after Brady’s personal trainer Alex Guerrero. Did you wonder at the time why the usually super secretive Patriots let out the information about Guerrero ‘s access being limited? Such dirty laundry is something Coach Bill would preach should be handled internally away from the public eye. But, I’m pretty sure it was “Belichick friendly “ sources that leaked it to the public.
Then, those same “friendly “ sources served as the impetus for Seth Wickerham’s ESPN story which could not have been a bigger hit piece against Brady and to a lesser extent the Krafts. Again, dirty laundry should not be made public he would preach.
I believe those NY media reports that Bill Belichick wanted to be the HC of the NYG. Kraft refused to let him out of his contract while leaking the news that Coach Bill who has always preached and asked players to take less money for the good of the team was the highest paid coach in the NFL at $ 12.5 million a year which was $ 2.5 million more per year than the huge salary John Gruden got around that time to leave MNF for the Raiders. I know there is no salary cap for coaches. But, imagine you were Brady who has played for 80% what he could have earned for the good of the franchise.
Finally, there’s a good reason why we’ve never heard an explanation for the decision to bench one of our 3 best CBs against a team that primarily aligns with 3 WR sets. Butler did nothing to deserve the benching. He was just a pawn in Belichick ‘s dispute with the Krafts and Brady. It must have galled Belichick no end to hear Jonathan Kraft say “Brady’s earned the right to play as long as he wants”. So, the Butler benching was Belichick ‘s way of saying you stopped me from keeping the QB I wanted to keep. You won’t let me coach the Giants. So, FU I am going to play who I want to play and you can’t stop me. Before anyone says there is no way a HOF coach would put his own selfish interests before his team competing in a Super Bowl let me introduce you to Duane Charles Parcells.
Don’t make distractions he’d preach only to leave Butler crying during the anthem and making teammates heads spin wondering what was happening.
I’m sure the Krafts want this to be resolved. Why would they want to fire the best coach in the history of their sport especially when they’d have to pay $12.5 million a year for him to not coach or watch him come into town every year as the HC of the Dolphins or some other rival. The Krafts convinced Josh McDaniels to stay so they have a successor in place if needed. They also put the kibosh on Belichick’s plan to pass over Brian Flores. who reportedly the Krafts think highly of, and appoint Greg Schiano as DC.
They’ve already chosen Brady over Belichick once. And, if it does come to it, they will do so again. Brady and Gronk are in this together. If Belichick went to trade Gronk, I have no doubt Brady would tell Kraft to stop it or he’ll retire.
My hope is Belichick realizes he reacted poorly to the situation and can somehow regain the trust of not only Brady and Gronk but the entire team. I’ve come down hard on Belichick as the cause of this turbulence, but that’s how I see it. Even though he’s the greatest coach any of us will ever have coach our favorite team, Belichick is still just a flawed human like the rest of us. Hopefully, Coach Belichick will admit his flaws to the appropriate people and heal his relationship with his owner, his dynasty co-author QB, his GOAT TE, and the rest of the 2018 Patriots.
