ESPN plans a nine-episode series, called Man in the Arena, on TB

Steve:Section 102 said:

Parcells rules of QB's: No celebrity quarterbacks.

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Parcells is an ahole, a hypocrite and a coward. Left his squad hanging out to dry when it mattered most.
Fook Parcells and anything he says.

TheRainMaker said:

2007 will be interesting.

Malcolm Butler bowl too.

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I think you could frame a really interesting Pats doc starting from the moment Malcolm catches the INT in 49 and ending with him crying on sidelines in 52. So much success and drama in that timeframe.

Oh god find a way to compare it to the ‘84-‘86 Celtics and I’m Bill Simmons

Le Numéro Douze said:

I will watch, but it is going to be a puff piece like The Last Dance. Tommy making Tommy look good. Like Michael tried to do (and he came off as such a prick, IMO).

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Where the hell have you been? His last 20 years in NE has been a "puff piece". Seriously though, how hard do you have to try to make Tom Brady look good even if it's by himself? He's always been his own toughest critic even compared to all of his haters. The guy is one of the most iconic athletes of all time.

PatsFanSince74 said:

Come on people! High School History. I just quoted it above. Teddy Roosevelt.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

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We covered TR extensively in high school, he was one of the greatest Presidents ever in my opinion (although probably a lot of the resident nut jobs on here would despise him if they knew what his core principles were).

That said we never covered that speech, I feel ripped off now. Thanks for the lesson. We focused more on the story of history and why one event leads to another than just memorizing dates and such though. Also the doc title obviously has multiple meanings and my guess is they’ll be covered when it comes out.

PatsFanSince74 said:

put it this way...nobody is ever going to make a nine part series about Goodell

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I'd love to see a documentary on Goodell - Mediocrity and Kneepads

Probably in the minority here but I liked the old Brady better.. this "legacy series" on a career that is not over it a tad premature..

Gotham Chopra is doing this so it probably will be good..

It almost seems as though Brady is "unleashed" in "Tompa Bay or Tampa Brady" to market himself now and in the future...

Jlaff said:

I'd love to see a documentary on Goodell - Mediocrity and Kneepads

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Phillip Seymour Hoffman would have been great for the role just play it the same as he did his character in Boogie Nights.

everlong said:

I really enjoyed TLD and it's the first thing I've watched on ESPN in years because of their anti-Patriots bias. All I could think was I wonder if Brady will do one now that he's out of NE. Question answered.

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The only question I need answered:
“What happen to Malcom Butler?”

ChrisR2223 said:

You can dislike it but Bill despises players who act bigger than the team

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do you think TB12 acted bigger than the team?
Do we even know if BB gave any thought to Alex G or the TB12 methods spreading to other players as @Ice_Ice_Brady mentions in his post?

fnordcircle said:

Tom is my Messiah and I hope He withholds his knowledge from you vipers who have forsaken him.

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Brady is a Buccaneer now. Aaaarrrgh, Matey.

PittPatriot said:

The only question I need answered:
“What happen to Malcom Butler?”

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I have others but that's a really good one.......that the likelihood of being answered is next to zero. I have to think it will be addressed but the answer will be stock Patriots rhetoric. If Brady starts answering questions like that about other people it won't go over well with people who were in the locker room, the organization and even many Patriots fans.

I think were more likely to get a healthy defense of spy gate and an even healthier one of deflate gate. I'm hoping he slams the likes of Goodell, Pash, etc, but I hope more than anybody else Troy Vincent gets it. He doesn't get enough attention as a villain. Total Shula crony who has acted in the worst interest of the Patriots repeatedly. Also a turncoat on the players union.

The question I'd like answered was supposedly Brady told McDaniels on the sideline in SB 42 we need to do something different to slow down their rush. To which JM said just stick to the plan. It drove me crazy in that game that they didn't start chipping more like they did with guys like Givens or going to a two back set where one could be a WR or TE and start slowing down their rush. Instead he went business as usual and it wasn't working that day.

I doubt this is coming up. He's not throwing Josh under the bus but I believe this is true and is why I don't want JM as Bill's ultimate replacement. I think JM is a really great creative play caller but like Mike Martz he can get locked into his philosophy and miss the big picture of what it takes to win a big game.

MrTibbs said:

Too Soon.........The Story hasn't ended.

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Tom vs Time did the same thing. What's the rush?

PatsFanSince74 said:

put it this way...nobody is ever going to make a nine part series about Goodell

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That depends on the genre. If they do a remake of an older tv show and call it 9 Ways to Die, I'll be glued to the set.

fair catch fryar said:

Where the hell have you been? His last 20 years in NE has been a "puff piece". Seriously though, how hard do you have to try to make Tom Brady look good even if it's by himself? He's always been his own toughest critic even compared to all of his haters. The guy is one of the most iconic athletes of all time.

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Exactly. I was there and I know he was great and did great.

I hope the show is fun and engaging and makes us learn new things.

I guess The Last Dance soured me on that type of stuff... especially self-produced stuff. Tom vs Time was great though, so we'll see.

jimnance said:

Parcells is an ahole, a hypocrite and a coward. Left his squad hanging out to dry when it mattered most.
Fook Parcells and anything he says.

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The fact that there are Pats fans who want to credit Tuna Sh!t for our recent success and, God forbid, put him in the Pats HOF, frustrates me to no end. He joined the Giants when Bill Belichick was already there and never won without him. In a way, those fans are stealing Bill Belichick's thunder.

Jangles said:

He came off as the GOAT

The Last Dance was one of the best things to ever be shown on ESPN

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I thought it was great — and Jordan came off like an ass.

he also looked really unhealthy. Yellow eyes. Liver issue? Sad.

I think this is kind of premature.

Every 20 years or so there is a massive nostalgia surge and Jordan’s last season was 22 years ago. Jordan’s place in history has been cemented and reinforced and the nostalgia factor is high. Also the timing was amazing with a pandemic.

I can’t see this being as valuable while Brady isn’t retired and is still gracing the world with his skills, than Jordan who has become an untouchable sports god and this is the most high profile thing he’s done since retirement.

I guess strike while the iron is hot. I’m interested but I can’t see this being much more than a better producers Tom vs Time

There are a lot of either/or arguments being made here about things that can actually be true at the same time. For example:

• Brady can be an excellent teammate while also being extremely focused on promoting himself, to the point of making many of us uncomfortable and even dislike him as a person (while still appreciating his career here).
• He can be "all about winning" while also managing his career to be "all about business"
• This video series can feel too soon to many of us, while also being a well-timed tactic in his overall strategy to promote TB12 and his legacy.
• He can be at odds with ESPN while also using them to get this done.

The only emotional investment I've got in this is about giving him a platform to directly dispute all of the cheating BS. But I'm afraid that doing it while trying to launch a new business relationship with the people of Florida will get in the way of that. He's far too focused on the TB12 business promotion to put it in jeopardy.

sb1 said:

Maybe that’s part of what this is. ESPN’s mea culpa to Tom in a way giving him a national platform and the opportunity to put that nonsense to bed for good.

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When ESPN promotes you they treat you Witt kid gloves. All the ESPN talking heads ball washed Jordan non stop, even the ones who said they liked Lebron better in the past. WWE also gets shielded from criticism from ESPN because of their deal. The whole NBA/China situation was massively deflected by ESPN

Will the Diva talk about how Bill hurt his wittle feelwings?
They may have to add a few filters to lower the glare from his over-whitened teeth.