Wickersham book discussion

[Pats1971]

Unnamed sources can get facts right, but I won’t take any of their opinions or interpretations with any seriousness. Wickerscam has legit scoops, but the sensationalizing between the lines with innuendo is where he veers off course.

I believe it is factual that Alex Guerrero was at one point removed from team activities. I believe that Tom Brady did not meet with Bill Belichick when he left. I believe Bob Kraft said those specific words about Belichick.

What I don’t know is any of the context behind any of these things, and I don’t trust a sensationalizing writer to fill in the gaps. Example, is Kraft just pissed about something and joking around when he light heartedly calls Belichick an *******. Is he busting balls? Is he saying it as though he’s confessing his deepest secret, dead serious?

Again, I go back to Wickerscam’s tweet yesterday. He quoted Belichick claiming that he had done everything over 20 years to please Brady. I looked up the quote; Belichick was talking, very specifically in response to a question, about how he would prepare Brady for the season with reps, practice, etc. It had nothing to do with the context Wickersham was attempting to jam it into. The guy is well connected with stories, but he’s also a dishonest hack when it comes to context and details. His agenda is to sell and get clicks, not to report accurately.

Well thats the thing. He is trying to sell a book. He only has to say unnamed source and he can word it however he likes. He can use whatever context he wants. He is going to word it to get the most heat and the most clicks and the most sales. You ever wonder why he does not write about any other teams?

 

[RobertWeathers]

Unnamed sources can get facts right, but I won’t take any of their opinions or interpretations with any seriousness. Wickerscam has legit scoops, but the sensationalizing between the lines with innuendo is where he veers off course.

I believe it is factual that Alex Guerrero was at one point removed from team activities. I believe that Tom Brady did not meet with Bill Belichick when he left. I believe Bob Kraft said those specific words about Belichick.

What I don’t know is any of the context behind any of these things, and I don’t trust a sensationalizing writer to fill in the gaps. Example, is Kraft just pissed about something and joking around when he light heartedly calls Belichick an *******. Is he busting balls? Is he saying it as though he’s confessing his deepest secret, dead serious?

Again, I go back to Wickerscam’s tweet yesterday. He quoted Belichick claiming that he had done everything over 20 years to please Brady. I looked up the quote; Belichick was talking, very specifically in response to a question, about how he would prepare Brady for the season with reps, practice, etc. It had nothing to do with the context Wickersham was attempting to jam it into. The guy is well connected with stories, but he’s also a dishonest hack when it comes to context and details. His agenda is to sell and get clicks, not to report accurately.

I will read his book and what i'll try hard to do is try to decipher his interpretation of reality and match it to what I believe to be true.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Well thats the thing. He is trying to sell a book. He only has to say unnamed source and he can word it however he likes. He can use whatever context he wants. He is going to word it to get the most heat and the most clicks and the most sales. You ever wonder why he does not write about any other teams?

I won’t be buying it, but I’d buy a book like this written by a reputable author known for accuracy and objectivity. Of course, I’m sure I’m in the minority. Ultimately, Wickersham will just muddy the waters with scandal fatigue type of stuff where no really cares anymore. It’s kind of like how there were 100 stories and rumors about Shaq and Kobe, and after awhile you just assumed everything was a lie, or true, but you were just tired of hearing the noise about it so avoided it.

 

[Fuzz]

Unnamed sources can get facts right, but I won’t take any of their opinions or interpretations with any seriousness. Wickerscam has legit scoops, but the sensationalizing between the lines with innuendo is where he veers off course.
…

I think this is one situation where his actual name fits better than any nickname we can come up with.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I think this is one situation where his actual name fits better than any nickname we can come up with.

Lol…yeah, I realized that after!

 

[venecol]

Yea

I've read this jerkoff over the years...he's an entitled little punk behind those geek glasses. I can tell no one has ever punched him square in the mouth in his life. If they had he would NEVER be running his yap like he does today.528 pages of sewerage IMO.

Yea, unfortunately his book is hitting the NY Times Top 10 Best Sellers list.

 

[Biffins]

• In the lead-up to Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles, Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia traded heated words at practice over the former Super Bowl hero's lack of effort. Butler was demoted. At the team party after New England's loss, Butler responded to teammates asking why he was benched by saying, "These dudes," referring to the coaches, according to the book, "these mother f---ers."

Sorry... if this is why this happened this is still not an acceptable reason.

lack of effort in practice?!?! wtf man. Wasn't he sick?

 

[ausbacker]

Most of this stuff is either things we already knew or just fluffing up of crap people say in private to each other. Yeah I'm sure Kraft has bad-mouthed Bill to his buddies several times over the past >20 years. I've been with my wife for over a decade, I love her to death but I've definitely said a negative thing or two in confidence to a friend at times. It happens. We knew Brady wanted out in 2017 after the Eagles SB, it's not news. The Butler stuff is still weird, I honestly just can't spare another thought over it because everyone involved is so iron-lipped about it. Butler is retired so you'd think he would've said something by now if it was seriously as simple as "I **** talked Matt Patricia."

This books sounds like Real Housewives of NFL gossip-mongering crap.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

But I’ll add this: there have been plenty of opportunities for Bill, Kraft, Patricia, whoever to dump the Butler details on a reporter and tell their side of the story about how Butler was so bad. Whoever is sourcing all this info to Wickersham would surely have something to prove this wasn’t a ridiculously high cost to make a tiny point about effort, preparation, focus or practice. That there’s nothing here besides some reference to Butler being lazy/unfocused just reinforces further the likelihood they made a horrendous and embarrassing mistake.

 

[venecol]

I won’t be buying it, but I’d buy a book like this written by a reputable author known for accuracy and objectivity. Of course, I’m sure I’m in the minority. Ultimately, Wickersham will just muddy the waters with scandal fatigue type of stuff where no really cares anymore. It’s kind of like how there were 100 stories and rumors about Shaq and Kobe, and after awhile you just assumed everything was a lie, or true, but you were just tired of hearing the noise about it so avoided it.

Sally had our back during Deflategate, blasting Goodell. She did better than Kraft. I trust her judgment.

 

[Biffins]

I did the math once now revising....

In 2000 the average NFL team was worth $423B
In 2021 the average NFL team was worth $3.5B

That is 8+x increase in valuation over a 21 year period.

In 2000 the NEP franchise valuation was $464B
In 2021 the NEP was worth $5B

That is a 10+x increase in valuation over a 21 year period.

They way I see it, BB and TB12 have made Orchids of Bob $1.5B.

No. If you are right with the math, Pats were 464/423 = 9.7% premium to avg franchise. So should be worth 3.5 x 1.097 = $3.83b today. If they are worth $5b, then BB/TB12 made him about $1.2b more.

But your point completely still stands. It's still a ton of moolah!!

 

[Biffins]

Sally had our back during Deflategate, blasting Goodell. She did better than Kraft. I trust her judgment.

Yikes!!

 

[Biffins]

He didn't violate a team rule. It wasn't disciplinary. Malcolm was not prepared to play at the level they needed so they didn't play him.

He was drained from the flu and couldn't get up for the game.

And instead they played Bademosi and Richards. I'd have taken a one-legged Butler over them.

No matter how you slice it, Pats coaching staff doesn't cover itself with glory over the decisions made.

 

[gobesmug]

I dont think they would have won the superbowl with that qb (as you said), but I'm sure they wouldn't have collapsed the way they did. This franchise relocation was waaaay different than any others that have ever happened. It brought the city of Cleveland to a halt.

I just take exception to the notion that Belichick crashed and burned as the coach of the browns. He brought them to respectability before circumstances beyond his control doomed him. His record as the Browns HC is still the best the Browns have had from completed tenures since the 90's.

The Browns became the Ravens and the Ravens have been extremely successful.

Brian Billick won a Superbowl not so long after Bill was gone.

I do think Bill helped set up that team though.

 

[gobesmug]

Sounds like something out of "Billions"

I don't think it was anything like that.

But is it a stretch that Malcolm didn't want to hurt his value by trashing his former boss for a coaching decision?

I mean, how many coaches want to sign a player that will take private info and make it public when they get upset?

It was financially beneficial for Butler to handle it the way he did

 

[Biffins]

Yeah. I don't really have a problem with that if that's how it went down. Some people don't want to show a lot of emotion in public and that's fine.

or they are like BB who doesn't give a rat's ass.

 

[bigballas]

Dang how did the NFL drop so drastically in value?

423B down to 3.5B?

Probably the whole cancel culture and Trump mafia that stopped watching and took the money

 

[farn]

This stuff on Bill was not mild IMO. It was scathing. Especially the quotes from Kraft.

Is it though ? I don’t generally care about my colleagues and don’t befriend them. But if they are competent, I’m satisfied.

Kraft can both dislike BB’s style and personality and love his winning ways. Both can be true.

I’d rather win with someone difficult than lose with a nice guy. It’s pro football. Not tea time at Windsor palace.

 

[Biffins]

This stuff all reads like complete fantasy stuff.

How come this one guy has heard all these juicy headline grabbing stories from all over the country, but no one else seems to have heard any of it.

That's why he's writing a book about it. To share it! duh!

 

[gobesmug]

People talking about Belichick leaving after this season. Could you imagine that ****? We’ve all talked about following in the footsteps of Brady, but who the hell do you get to follow the footsteps of Bill? There would be no hope in sight for years.

Replacing Bill is a lot easier than replacing Brady.

Not that replacing Bill would be easy but in comparison to the GOAT of GOATs at the most important position in all of football, QB.

Bill caused Brady to leave. If Bill leaves after multiple losing seasons those won't be that difficult to follow.