NEW ARTICLE: Brady Proved on Sunday the Patriots Gave Up On Him Too Soon

[skinnydog]

Patriots were screwed this year with or without Brady. They could not give him what he wanted in terms of receivers etc. Patriots were in salary cap hell. The Patriots made the decision to move on and take the financial hit in 2020. Record without Brady 7-9 - my guess with Brady this year 10-6 and if they made it to the playoffs, a one and done like last year. Tampa went all in this year and will pay the price in the future. I have no ill will towards Brady but his attitude sucked here last year and everyone needed a change.

Wrong, they could have gotten him receivers. They had cap options to do it. Many accounts had then in on the Diggs trade discussions, but the Bills offer was better. It was not a cap thing it was a value thing. tamps Has a few more yeaRs before they have to pay the price, they’ll lose some talent, but they have a lot of it in reserve

 

[chasa]

Wrong, they could have gotten him receivers. They had cap options to do it. Many accounts had then in on the Diggs trade discussions, but the Bills offer was better. It was not a cap thing it was a value thing. tamps Has a few more yeaRs before they have to pay the price, they’ll lose some talent, but they have a lot of it in reserve

Okay they bring in Diggs, the need to restructure 2-3 guys to afford him, AND give up draft capital, which kicks the can down the road a bit.

Now we have Diggs, Edelman(hes hurt) and the meyers, and Harry.

Still no tight ends, Still no money.

You can only go all in for so long before you need to pay the piper. The patriots tried to go all in the year brady left, on top of the #1 defense in the league. Brady then didn't show up to OTA's and threw the team under the bus while they were undefeated.

They brought in a first round pick at receiver(who turned out to be a bust), they signed a malcontent at brady's request, and that guy proceeded to use his ex girlfriends kids as a threatening tactic, and burned every single bridge on his way out of town. That offseason they brought in a vet wide receiver who they had to cut to make room for brown, mid season they traded a third for the best receiver they could afford.

Heading into that season our WR corps were Brown, Edleman, Gordon, Harry. We still had a hole at tight end, but if you're going to tell me that bill didn't try and give Tom weapons, You're lying to yourself. Bill signed a bunch of highly talented assholes, specifically to give Tom the type of receivers he was demanding, and the receivers ****ed it up.

When all you can afford isn't good enough for the girl your dating, you gotta let that girl go, shes just using you. Just like Tom's using Tampa, He wants to win now, and dgaf about the future. Tampa is going to be ****ed once the bill comes for their going all in.

 

[crawhammer]

I think some are ignoring the point of Curran's article... beLichick gave up on Brady too soon. It's not Brady quit on the Patriots for greener pastures.

The great irony of this entire situation is beLichick got rid of Brady so he could prove to everyone that he could win without him. The exact opposite is happening. Bill's so smart he proved Brady's the real genius.

 

[fnordcircle]

Short of a miracle roster fix the Patriots were not going to be competing for a Super Bowl title this year and next.

Everyone in question made the right choice for themselves and if anyone thinks a team can be competitive year in and year out in perpetuity they need to wake up to reality.

 

[SteveBsFan]

Heading into that season our WR corps were Brown, Edleman, Gordon, Harry. We still had a hole at tight end, but if you're going to tell me that bill didn't try and give Tom weapons, You're lying to yourself. Bill signed a bunch of highly talented assholes, specifically to give Tom the type of receivers he was demanding, and the receivers ****ed it up.

Remember early in the season, fans speculated the team would break records and go undefeated again. 8 games with six 30+ ppg, two shutouts, 61 total points against.

You're completely right. Bill knew these are Brady's final years so he was going all out for him.

Ironically, as Brady lost weapons he performed worse - as expected because he's human - and fans were quick to make those excuses. "Brady isn't in decline, he has no weapons"

Now he's with three pro-bowl WR and a HoF TE and doing well, those same fans are saying BB was an idiot for letting Brady walk.

They're admitting Brady needs weapons (again, because he's human. He's great, but he's human), yet simultaneously rage at Bill like Brady would have turned the '20 Pats around.

(side note - I really have a friend who is telling me the entire team plays much better because of Brady. Yes, according to her, Brady is the reason the Bucs defense is good)

In summary, Brady is the GOAT. We know this. But he can't win alone. The '20 Pats weren't winners. Brady may have given the team a handful more wins if he played absolutely lights out, but they weren't going to the SB lol.

But this story will sell papers and local writers hate Bill anyway so they're going to obsess over this until BB gets tired of it and goes to a city that actually give the coach some slack after 9 SB in 19 years

 

[jujubee576]

(side note - I really have a friend who is telling me the entire team plays much better because of Brady. Yes, according to her, Brady is the reason the Bucs defense is good)

The Bucs defense has literally said the exact same thing your friend said all season long. And they’ve been saying it all week. Lavonte David even went on Cowherd to talk about Brady’s impact on the locker room, defense, and culture. JPP, Shaq Barrett, and Whitehead said it again yesterday. Devin White said it last week. Maybe you can tell them they’re lying?

 

[SteveBsFan]

The Bucs defense has literally said the exact same thing your friend said all season long. And they’ve been saying it all week. Lavonte David even went on Cowherd to talk about Brady’s impact on the locker room, defense, and culture. JPP, Shaq Barrett, and Whitehead said it again yesterday. Devin White said it last week. Maybe you can tell them they’re lying?

Oh damn, Belichick should have sprinkled some magic Brady dust on the defense more. I guess we know who to credit for the absolutely incredible first half defense of 2019. Thanks Tom!

 

[amfootball]

Rodgers is asking for a new contract. How ironic.
He is currently the 5th highest paid Qb.

 

[Lagaffe_07]

Okay they bring in Diggs, the need to restructure 2-3 guys to afford him, AND give up draft capital, which kicks the can down the road a bit.

And we will lose draft capital this year to trade for a QB that will cost in the same range as Brady would have and will be not as good.

It’s clear that cap wise, it was complicated to resign him after the 2019 with the dead money but not impossible. They key was to just fit him under in 2020 with all the cap space we have this year but in my opinion to do that you would have to resign him for a two year extension which Bill clearly didn’t want to do. Like many have said the key was to sign him to a multi year deal before 2019.

 

[Pape]

Sorry, I don’t get how you don’t get it. Brady was open to coming back to the Pats in 2020, he wanted a no tag clause because he, after, 19 years wanted an equal say in the matter. BB and Kraft decided to make no offer to him to come back 2020 and the decision to leave is about Brady wanting out and not BB and Kraft deciding to move on?

The no tag clause assured he was free to go. The 2019 deal was done because he had no leverage. One more year, then doneski.

He played 2019 with one foot out the door.

 

[Satchboogie3]

Oh damn, Belichick should have sprinkled some magic Brady dust on the defense more. I guess we know who to credit for the absolutely incredible first half defense of 2019. Thanks Tom!

You realize football is played by actual human beings, right? Leadership and belief is real. Tampa isn't the first team defense to talk about how a great QB and leader changes their confidence and the way they play. They know they always have a shot if they give their QB a chance, whereas playing with a lousy QB they feel they need to win the game on defense and it effects them negatively. Brady just takes it to another stratosphere. Hell, it's clear he even effects other teams players and coaching decisions...

 

[Lagaffe_07]

The no tag clause assured he was free to go. The 2019 deal was done because he had no leverage. One more year, then doneski.

He played 2019 with one foot out the door.

In the end, it’s my honest opinion that it wasn’t even about the weapon or about the money. After 20 years Brady simply wanted to feel that Bill wanted him here.

With all the stupid one year deal Brady felt that Bill didn’t really wanted him here. So in the last contract he managed to include this no tag close which had two purposes in my opinion.

1. Allow Brady to leave
2. Put the pressure on Bill to force him to make a move if he wanted to keep Brady

In the end, the no tag clause was the last attempt to see if Bill really wanted him or not. Because if Bill really wanted Brady to stay he would have offered him a contract way before the free agency opening or at least they would have talked about it

 

[catent]

When Max Kellerman can give credit and has better takes than Pats fans. Stupid ass conclusion and you know it. No way they get to the NFCCG without him and the Pats’ 3-headed QB monster combined can’t even begin to tug on Brady’s cape.

Who is the Pats' "3-headed QB monster"?

 

[catent]

The Bucs defense has literally said the exact same thing your friend said all season long. And they’ve been saying it all week. Lavonte David even went on Cowherd to talk about Brady’s impact on the locker room, defense, and culture. JPP, Shaq Barrett, and Whitehead said it again yesterday. Devin White said it last week. Maybe you can tell them they’re lying?

If you're calling others out for "stupid ass conclusions", I'll do the same. This is silly.

I'm sure Brady's presence has inspired the Bucs' players (given his stature), and I'm sure Brady's leadership has contributed to the Bucs' culture and has helped to bring out the best in certain players, yes.

But . . . Tom Brady is one quarterback on a team with 52 other players on the roster, and 21 other players (including offense/defense) on the field at any given time. Brady's presence and leadership, while certainly a positive, does not make a bad defense good, nor a good defense great.

The Bucs' defense is great not because Tom Brady, the quarterback, is elevating their team's defenders to great heights due to his presence/leadership. Rather, the Bucs' defense is great because they're extremely talented and athletic across the board.

Their defensive line is star-studded. Their linebackers are star-studded. Their secondary is the weakest part of the defense (relatively speaking), and yet they're still athletic, long, aggressive, and talented.

Again, I'm sure Brady has been a positive influence for the Bucs, but he is very low on the list of reasons why the Bucs' defense is great.

 

[catent]

You realize football is played by actual human beings, right? Leadership and belief is real. Tampa isn't the first team defense to talk about how a great QB and leader changes their confidence and the way they play. They know they always have a shot if they give their QB a chance, whereas playing with a lousy QB they feel they need to win the game on defense and it effects them negatively. Brady just takes it to another stratosphere. Hell, it's clear he even effects other teams players and coaching decisions...

Sure, but one individual (particularly one that does not actually play defense) does not make a defense great.

I'm sure Brady has inspired and elevated the team with his presence and leadership, but he is not the reason that defense is great.

The reason that defense is great is because they have a wealth of talent and athleticism across the board, particularly in their front-7. In other words, the Bucs' defense is great because they have a lot of great players.

Suh, Vita-Vea, Barrett, David, White . . . it's remarkable how loaded their front-7 is. The Bucs are an exceptionally talented team.

 

[venecol]

Who were the available Qb's?

BB took a gap year. he's clearing brady and brown off the books this year, he's got no major investments to worry about, over 100mil in cap space.

All of these arguements are silly.

Brady went to an absolutely LOADED team, and convinced them to sign antonio brown who is one slightly over cooked piece of toast away from his next meltdown.

Why don't we wait until after Brady is off the patriots cap and Bill actually has a chance to put a team together before we start burying him?

There were a bunch of available QBs in 2020: Bridgewater, Rivers, Mariota, Dalton, even Flacco would've been better than Cam.

Sounds like you're saying that BB purposely didn't care about a QB but rather just wanted to clear the cap ledger. If true, then we should've ended up in the top 10 for the draft instead of at #15.

Whichever way you look at this, it was very poor planning.

 

[archstanton543]

There were a bunch of available QBs in 2020: Bridgewater, Rivers, Mariota, Dalton, even Flacco would've been better than Cam.

Sounds like you're saying that BB purposely didn't care about a QB but rather just wanted to clear the cap ledger. If true, then we should've ended up in the top 10 for the draft instead of at #15.

Whichever way you look at this, it was very poor planning.

How many of those players you listed would have come in on a $1 million incentive-laden contract?

 

[RobertWeathers]

Sorry, I don’t get how you don’t get it. Brady was open to coming back to the Pats in 2020, he wanted a no tag clause because he, after, 19 years wanted an equal say in the matter. BB and Kraft decided to make no offer to him to come back 2020 and the decision to leave is about Brady wanting out and not BB and Kraft deciding to move on?

It's a fact Tom was open about staying and Bill and Kraft were open about him staying here.

Just because two sides are "open" to something doesn't mean they are committed to it.

 

[1960Pats]

The Pats weren't going to win the SB with or without Brady. We all know that. Keeping him and letting him finish as a Patriot was the right thing to do.

 

[venecol]

Sure, but one individual (particularly one that does not actually play defense) does not make a defense great.

I'm sure Brady has inspired and elevated the team with his presence and leadership, but he is not the reason that defense is great.

The reason that defense is great is because they have a wealth of talent and athleticism across the board, particularly in their front-7. In other words, the Bucs' defense is great because they have a lot of great players.

Suh, Vita-Vea, Barrett, David, White . . . it's remarkable how loaded their front-7 is. The Bucs are an exceptionally talented team.

The 2020 Bucs D has the same talent than the 2019 D, yet in 2019 they were #28 in points allowed (28.1) and in 2020 #8 (22.2), a full TD/game. The #1 reason: Tom Brady.

Please don't tell me Brady didn't make the D better in the field by simply having better QB play and not putting them in difficult situations. They all recognize it.