N'Keal Harry seems to have picked the right mentor

robertweathers said:

Gotta wonder if JE had a hand in this.

As of Thurs Harry hadn't spoken to Tom.

Since then Jules backchannels Tom to let know he's the real deal, great kid, etc and Tom hits the kid up to play catch with him and JE.

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reflexblue said:

If i had grown up watching the GOAT i would jump at the chance to play catch in his back yard, even on a holiday. I don't think it was a tough decision on harrys part.

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vuudu said:

The success of all the other receiving players is predicated on the number of reception and TDs which depends on gaining Brady's trust. Only way you gain his trust is to work with him and the more he trust you, the more he will throw to you and the more money you will make. Is that the nature of your work? This relationship is unlike any other.
What I was driving at is that OTAs are there for just this purpose, if he has a bit of this time on his hands, he can surely lead the new receiving team at the facility too and help them out just a little bit. No? He captioned his post as a family affair so I guess all other receivers not invited to his house should know where they stand.
Offense was not intended, but if my livelihood depends on me establishing a relationship with you, I will feel as the players say 'some type of way'.

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varjao said:

I respect Brady’s rights to not attend OTAs but if wants to develop a rapport with Harry, I think that should be the place to do it, not a private workout. Harry is an asset that belongs to the Patriots organization and a huge investment was made on him, imagine if he gets injured running in a back yard instead of a proper and treated football field. I hope they got BB approval.

Its different with Edelman, he’s a 10 year veteran who knows his thing.

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Galeb said:

You are free to disagree with Brady's decision to skip OTAs, but realize that you're doing it with a tiny fraction of the information that Tom Brady has. You have no idea what he's gone through, and it is extremely unlikely you will ever give nearly as much to an organization as Brady has given to the Patriots.

Regardless, this has no bearing on who Tom chooses to work with on his own time. If you are another wide receiver that wasn't invited, there are different lessons you can learn from this. You can look at it from the perspective of an entitled victim, and believe Brady owes you everything that he chooses to give to another. Or you can choose learn from it and take a perspective like, "Perhaps if I put in the time and effort and display such a great attitude, I'll get invited work out with Brady in his private time some day."

Holding strong opinions about the behaviors of others when they aren't hurting anyone is one of the biggest problems in our society. Life sucks a lot less when one isn't stuck in perspective of entitled victimhood. You can choose to not give your power away.

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You think it’s just an OTA in the spring time and it’s not that important... The truth is, this lays the foundation for the start of training camp and if you have a good training camp, it usually means a good start to the season. A good start to the season leads to good position entering the second half of the season. Everything ends up having some significance to it. ....

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patfanken said:

I agree with you. There is a reason why no rookie WR in the BB era has EVER had more than 520 yds receiving. BTW- the guy who holds the record is Aaron Freakin' Dobson. So it that doesn't scare you straight I don't know what will. That's a 20 year history we are talking about.

We know that given the fact that Harry will likely get a lot of snaps this season and see his fair share of targets, he DOES have a good chance to break that record. However that being said, some people are talking like a 1000 yd season is more likely than not....and that's CRAZY. 6-700 yds would be a fantastic rookie season for Harry. To think he would actually double the current rookie record is entering yahoo fanship land.

Let the kid be a rookie and lets give him rookie expectations.

BTW- as to your Manning observation. I rarely miss an opportunity to dump on Peyton, but in this case I feel the need to point this out as a former coach. Tony Dungy was a big believer in perfection football. He believed on defense if his players lined up in the same place almost all the time and he simplified their responsibilities and they kept seeing what the offense is trying to do to them, their EXECUTION of those responsibilities would improve as the game went along. If he asked them to do a lot of things that looked great on paper but weren't executed in a game what good were they.

That's a legitimate school of coaching thought. Its a fact that simplicity creates better execution. Dungy won a LOT of games with his Tampa 2 defense, and that same philosophy ran through on the offensive side of the ball. Maybe the Colts ran a limited route tree, but they executed those routes VERY very well. To the point when even when you knew what was coming it was almost impossible to cover it. Manning put up enormous numbers in that kind of system (which I bet was a lot more complex than what we'd like to think. )

It was the same philosophy that made Unitas to Berry such an impossible combination to cover.

Now I'm going to rant a bit.

Now the Pats use a philosophy that is almost diametrically opposed to that....basically. Every week can see them in a completely different game plan on BOTH offense and defense, depending on who they are playing. Makes a lot of sense right? Ever ask yourself why doesn't every other team do the same thing? Why does it seem like its only the Pats that can manage to do it so successfully?

There is a reason, ya know. It's HARD to do. VERY VERY hard! Don't you think others haven't tried this approach. They are certainly trying to do it in Detroit and in Tennessee, and we'll see it up close in Miami this year. And I'm sure there have been many others who have tried it over the last 20 years to varying degrees of success.

I have some slight experience in this. I coached at the smallest school in the biggest school league. The ONLY way we could compete schools like Brockton, Newton, Quincy etc was to be the team that was totally unpredictable. One year playing an Arlington team that sent 4 kids to the big 10, between the our last game and Thanksgiving we put in a true triple option in 10 days. We had well over 300 yds rushing that game despite being totally outmatched on both LOS. We lost the game but we kept it close most of the game until a few fumbles (which were inevitable I guess) took us out of the game. One of my prouder moments as a coach.

But getting back to the point, I can guess what the Pats do to make it happen. While they align all over the place. Once the player gets to his spot, his FUNDAMENTALS and techniques will be the same ones he uses all the time. Easy to talk about, hard as hell to implement, otherwise every team in the league would do it.

HOW exactly Bill has managed to create this ability and make it work over such a long period of time is a mystery. It would be my fondest wish to go behind the scenes and what how it's done. It's not something you can get just hanging for a week or two. I have to believe its more complex than that, and has a LOT to do with the so called "harder than everyone work ethic" we hear so much about.

Now getting back to the point, there are a LOT of ways to coach football successfully. Dungy's ways works. Carroll's way works. BB's way works. They all have some things that one could find consistent in all winning programs. 1. Great leadership - though the visions might be different, the ability to get men to buy into that vision, whatever it is, could be the most important factor in the success of any coach. 2. Consistency - staying on message - having your players know what to expect and giving it to them. And continue to be consistent when you are both winning and when there is adversity.
3. Belief - When your players believe that your game plan gives them the best chance of winning they are more likely to follow your lead. It is especially effective when they lose and see WHY they lost. Where the breakdowns were and how they can get better.

That's another reason why players put up with all the crap they have to go through here. Guys who love the game, never stop wanting to be better at their craft. The prevailing view that most players believe that playing for the NE Patriots will make you a better player.

I'll stop here before this becomes long enough to be a book, I'd love to write about the Pats and this era.

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vuudu said:

Brady has given the Patriots everything he has and more, this is really about the OTAs for me. If he is there, he can help install the foundation for training camp. All the receivers can be model players and it is just not practical to host them in his house.

This is is not victimhood, this is about a legendary QB choosing to stay away from OTAs where he can help lay a strong foundation in a lot more people.
This is a slight issue to me, I see the good in at least him working out with some of the receivers. I just think he can make his life easier during the season if he gets to know more of the new guys as well.
You are right about attitude, if I was a new guy, I will definitely find my way to training with Brady before TC starts if he is not at OTAs and he still has some small time to throw. It is just the way I am wired, I never expect anything or feel entitled, but I always make sure the answer is at least a no vice just "feeling some type of way" and wondering.
You made this about me vice observing some of things going on at Pitt. I thought there were grown men playing this game, but some of the comments from the Steelers is just mind numbing.

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KontradictioN said:

God damn right. That’s how we like ‘em.

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vuudu said:

My only issue here is the appearance of favoritism, if he extended invites to all the receivers and they refused to go to where ever he is then my issue is baseless, but I wonder how some of the new additions feel, how Dorsett feels and the TEs.

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Ivan said:

Harry picked a good mentor but he’s also looking like a really good pick. It’s like a cross between Boldin and Fitzgerald, nothing homerific about that comparison.

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PatriotsReign said:

I don’t worry about fairness or professional athletes getting their feelings hurt. Most of us deal with similar issues at our jobs.

There are always “favorites” in every workplace and I don’t feel offended if/when I’m not included

I believe Brady is really focusing on NKeal. Even Julian is only there to mentor Harry. Dorset knows he’s just a role player. The best always get the most attention. And if you think about it, that’s the way it should be

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Galeb said:

You are free to disagree with Brady's decision to skip OTAs, but realize that you're doing it with a tiny fraction of the information that Tom Brady has. You have no idea what he's gone through, and it is extremely unlikely you will ever give nearly as much to an organization as Brady has given to the Patriots.

Regardless, this has no bearing on who Tom chooses to work with on his own time. If you are another wide receiver that wasn't invited, there are different lessons you can learn from this. You can look at it from the perspective of an entitled victim, and believe Brady owes you everything that he chooses to give to another. Or you can choose learn from it and take a perspective like, "Perhaps if I put in the time and effort and display such a great attitude, I'll get invited work out with Brady in his private time some day."

Holding strong opinions about the behaviors of others when they aren't hurting anyone is one of the biggest problems in our society. Life sucks a lot less when one isn't stuck in perspective of entitled victimhood. You can choose to not give your power away.

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PatriotsReign said:

”Homeristic” or “Homerish”
But not “Homeristic”

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SBLIII said:

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Ivan said:

But I said “ homerific,” not “ homeristic.”

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