Brady to Patriots: Signing No. 1 wideout critical

[the taildragger]

guys, not sure about the whole underpaid/overpaid tangent or the whole protest aspect of missing practices (it was just precautionary), but from a political perspective, try to think about this for one second from HIS PERSPECTIVE as the team leader.

For the record, I think Deion's asking for too much, and I think the club is offering too little -- that's how these things usually work. He'll show up in September with a new deal somewhere in the middle (just a hunch).

Tom's top receiver is making NATIONAL HEADLINES every day and he's sitting there like mr. corporate ass clown. He had an obligation to come out strong enough for the other guys on the team to buy in...i.e. "one thing I'm not is full of crap."

this is the same reason he went in front of the media damn near in tears after lawyer was cut.

tom's the mediator here...the "anti-favre"

make sure you let the last line in that article set in...we already know how great he is ON the field, but his leadership off the field has always been right there with it.

When the chips are down and you walk into an NFL huddle, you either command the unconditional respect and trust of your teammates, or you don't. If you don't, you're not going to last very long.

The one thing Tom and Drew have in common is they both understand the politics of team chemistry and were stand up guys when it came to the cold harsh reality of the FA/cap world...would it surprise anyone if Tom learned some of that from Drew?

this will sort itself out, and in a cold day in January, we'll all be glad that Tom took up for his teammate.

 

[Yankees/Colts]

At $10 million he is severely underpaid. He's worth $15 million in my book. More than Peyton, that's for sure. How can you say he's not underpaid when a guy that's not nearly as important (Branch) thinks he's worth only $3 less than Brady.

Brady is the most underpaid player in the game.

Didn't your guy Miguel just report that Brady has the highest cap number in the history of football?

Brady IS making 15 million this year. Peyton is the one making 10 million.

Read and learn: Brady did not take a hometown discount. He is NOT underpaid. This is a myth. An understandable one, but a myth. He's paid competitively for his position. It was a good deal for BOTH sides.

It was a good PR move.

 

[Patjew]

I have to presume this too, but it's a little odd. The tone of the article isn't like a regular one-on-one. And why choose this guy?

I doesn't read like a 1 on 1 to me- sounds alot more like he took quote excerpts and built and article around them- or, more likely, vice versa.

My opinion is that if Brady considers Branch a tier-1 WR, then he is. There may be better WRs in the NFL, but they would not necessarily play better than Branch does with Brady, especially in the first season or 2. And that's all that matters to me. Don't underestimate the importance of the comfort and confidence that Branch provides Brady.

I have mixed feelings about the hold out and hope that it gets done one way or another. If Brady speaking out helps it get done, that's fine with me.

 

[upstater1]

Didn't your guy Miguel just report that Brady has the highest cap number in the history of football?

Brady IS making 15 million this year. Peyton is the one making 10 million.



It was a good PR move.

Why do I have to do this? Why?

Can you understand that Manning and Brady didn't sign 1 year contracts? Why is that so difficult to understand?

Manny Ramirez was paid $12 million a few years ago. That didn't change the fact that his contract was worth an average of $20 million a season.

Why must we have these silly arguments at all???

You want to know something? I hope Brady counts for more than $30 million this year. I hope his entire bonus is wiped out, and that he costs us $1 million for the next 3 years while Peyton sucks the Colts cap dry to the tune of $20 million a year.

This is HOW an average contract works. Brady is averaging $10 million a year. Do you know how much Peyton is averaging?

 

[patsox23]

Again, guys, a lot of us - myself included - thought Brady's deal was a huge hometown discount, due primarily to bookkeeping issues that obscured the full value of the deal. It's not like he's wildly overpaid or underpaid. But this idea that we got a huge break on the deal is a HUGE myth that continues to be put out there.

 

[edgecy]

No counter offer, asking for promise to not place franchise tag on him...

I hate to say it, but I think this will be the last year we will see of Deion. It's hard to want to stick around when your buddy DG got a great deal from the Titans. I just wish all this would be happening under the radar instead of a fight over the media.

Oh well. But hey, I heard Reche is doing real well :singing:

 

[Clonamery]

tom's the mediator here...the "anti-favre"

make sure you let the last line in that article set in...we already know how great he is ON the field, but his leadership off the field has always been right there with it.

When the chips are down and you walk into an NFL huddle, you either command the unconditional respect and trust of your teammates, or you don't. If you don't, you're not going to last very long.

Your message is well-taken and goes to the heart of the matter.

One thing is for sure about Tom Brady, you can't say he doesn't want to win.

And I am thankful everyday as a Pats fan that he is on my team. Silent leader or vocal leader.

 

[bucky]

I'm sure both Branch and all the other players in the locker room will appreciate Tom's comments. They are in stark contrast to Brett Favre who by many accounts lost the Packers locker room by taking the opposite stance on Javon Walker last summer.

That is really all you can take from this.

It will have zero impact on whether or not Branch gets a new deal or not. The Pats simply don't make emotional decisions about business issues and Brady's desire to have them lock up Deion will mean nothing to them.

This is exactly right. Everyone else is just making way too much of this. Brady is one of the guys and he supports his teammates. 2 years ago, before the Carolina SB, he said Antwain Smith was as good as any RB in the NFL and that he wouldn't want anybody else back there. That's just the way Tom is and that's EXACTLY what leadership is all about. I don't know if this will impact Branch's side of the negotiations, but I'm pretty sure it won't influence BB & SP one iota.

 

[SoonerPatriot]

What this says to me is Brady came out to camp, took a look at what he's going to be throwing too w/o Branch and decided it wasn't up to par. And it isn't, unless you're one of those deluded into thinking Reche Caldwell is an upgrade over Givens or that Bam Childress can somehow put it all together this year and become a difference maker, or that Chad Jackson is going to be rookie of the year.

Good for Tom. At least somebody understands just how painfully average this group is w/o Branch.

 

[SoonerPatriot]

I doesn't read like a 1 on 1 to me- sounds alot more like he took quote excerpts and built and article around them- or, more likely, vice versa.

My opinion is that if Brady considers Branch a tier-1 WR, then he is. There may be better WRs in the NFL, but they would not necessarily play better than Branch does with Brady, especially in the first season or 2. And that's all that matters to me. Don't underestimate the importance of the comfort and confidence that Branch provides Brady.

I have mixed feelings about the hold out and hope that it gets done one way or another. If Brady speaking out helps it get done, that's fine with me.

Actually, The Globe or Herald had an item about Brady spending time with an SI reporter this past weekend.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

"I hope he's here another 5-7 years," Brady said, "but that's not up to me. The player-club dynamic has changed so much over the years. I know that Deion's the best guy in the world to have around; I also know that Coach Belichick and [vice president of player personnel] Scott Pioli are very disciplined, and the decisions they make are very black-and-white.

"I have a lot of confidence that this is going to get worked out, I really do."

It was reported yesterday that Tom did a sit down interview with Sports Illustrated on Sunday. I'm sure this was just the preview snipet which was released because it dealt with Branch who is in day 5 of a holdout.

Tom took a lot less to stay and play with these guys, and that's not bookeeping. It was their idea to get him locked up long term, yet Kraft said on national TV after XXXIX, if he wants Manning money we're going to have a problem. Manning's deal voided out to 7/$98M with a $34M signing bonus and $19M in roster bonuses in 2006 and 2007 and salaries in the mid teens thereafter. Tom's deal is 6/$60M with $14.5M in signing bonus and a $12M roster bonus this season and low salaries going forward and $3M roster bonuses in 2008-2009. Manning's first 3 year take home is $45M, Brady's will be $37M. Unlike Peymeaton, Brady leads by example - but he knows it would be counter productive for him to assume the company line on contracts. He will never ask a player to take less "because I did". Players have a saying in this league with non-guaranteed contracts - it could be over any time so when you leave the NFL be sure you have plenty of memories and money. We may have too many guys on the roster already with lots of what are usually once in a lifetime memories if your lucky.

Tom can say these things without hurting his relationahips or the feelings of Belichick and Pioli. They understand it's a business. And they understand the difficult position he is in as THE leader of this team. Players are more sensitive and emotional and while they too say it's business it most don't really appreciate it as a two way street when operating under a cap. They want as much money as they see some other guy get (regardless of whether that guy has earned it or not) because to some extent all but a handful measure success and respect via their paycheck. But on some level they all understand that every dollar that goes to holding on to a particular talent is a dollar that will not be available to hold on to them or the guy next to them.

Branch has been getting fairly crucified here and in the media (save Borges) for the last couple of weeks than. I think Tom was just trying to balance the scale a little for a guy he knows on some level has to come back one way or another. Heck, we won a SB in 2003 and Branch didn't play 'til week 9. Last season he played in 15 games and we didn't even get a sniff. Warfield's opinion aside rolleyes he is what he is, and what that this is the best we have. But overpaying to keep him happy would have a far more negative effect down the road than not having him for some or even most of this season. Brady was devastated when Lawyer was cut, and after pouting for a week and getting his ass kicked by the Bills he went out and won another superbowl. And it was the replacement SS who told him and his teamates to quit blubbering and get on with winning. Perhaps a replacement WR will lead the way this time, and that is what Deion needs to be mindful of.

Unfortunately it sounds like the one person who has overplayed his hand in all this is Jason Chayut. Perhaps he believed he could double or triple his talent stable by becoming the agent who finally brought the Patriots to their financial knees. Not gonna happen, and Branch and to a lesser extent the team will be the ones who potentially pay the price for his arrogance.

 

[upstater1]

Again, guys, a lot of us - myself included - thought Brady's deal was a huge hometown discount, due primarily to bookkeeping issues that obscured the full value of the deal. It's not like he's wildly overpaid or underpaid. But this idea that we got a huge break on the deal is a HUGE myth that continues to be put out there.

It depends on how good a player you believe Brady is. He's getting paid $10 million per. I think he's worth $15 million. That means he's underpaid.

If you think he isn't as good as Manning, then I can see that many fans would said he's not underpaid. I believe he is.

 

[fgssand]

Good to see Brady supporting his teammates and his guy - as BB said "who did you expect him to want signed, a safety?" Maybe BB told TB to say this in order to pull the team all together.

Maybe this will lead to some talk and they get this thing done.
The offer presented was fair, at least what I can tell from what his agent said was presented. However, as Curran ( I think it was Curran that said this) has said, maybe, once in a while, you have to dig a little deeper, even when not warrented? If the Patriots gave him a sign or retract deadline, I would not support that. I do not think they would be so stupid to back themselves into that corner.

Let's start a date Deion reports to camp poll.....I choose 8/15.

 

[Clonamery]

What this says to me is Brady came out to camp, took a look at what he's going to be throwing too w/o Branch and decided it wasn't up to par. And it isn't, unless you're one of those deluded into thinking Reche Caldwell is an upgrade over Givens or that Bam Childress can somehow put it all together this year and become a difference maker, or that Chad Jackson is going to be rookie of the year.

Good for Tom. At least somebody understands just how painfully average this group is w/o Branch.

Well, THAT assumes a lot about the front office.......

 

[BradyisGod]

I don't think it was before, but this is now the front page story on CNNSI with the heading "Brady is Boiling"

He sounded fairly calm headed in the interview.

Stupid Media.

 

[sarge]

I hate for there to be any bad blood between Brady and the ownership.

And to be fair, Brady didn't seem mad at the ownership according to any of the quotes they used. He seemed more upset about the situation.

But to me all this does is strengthen Brady's image with his teamates and in the huddle.

 

[5 Rings for Brady!!]

I mentioned on another thread that Branch likely wants a 5-6 year deal. With Brady mentioning specifically '5-7 year deal', you would have to think that Branch must have mentioned this to Brady, since they apparently are talking back and forth.

I still doubt that Brady set up the interview on Branch's behalf, but he also isn't going to back down from answering a question in an honest and open manner, which he did.

And, yeah, it is too bad that Branch's agent has burned bridges and muddied the waters because this whole disagreement might be over the length of the contract more than actual dollars, in Branch's mind. A signing bonus for a 7 year deal looks better than a 4 year deal, even at the same yearly cap hit, or lower.

Otherwise, Brady might have said 'I hope he gets paid better.'

 

[Patjew]

Actually, The Globe or Herald had an item about Brady spending time with an SI reporter this past weekend.

Well the Journal reported that the Examiner said that the AP claims that the Globe or Herald were full of BS about Brady spending time with an SI reporter.

 

[mavfan2390]

I think we're all missing the point here...

Branch has rejected the team's offer of a three-year extension worth nearly $19 million. He is being fined $14,000 for every day he misses camp.

Unless Branch puts down the pot, he is not going to be a Patriot for much longer. There is no way that BB/ Pioli/ Kraft are going to invest 7 million a year for an injury prone reciever, who is quite frankly replaceable whether Brady say so or not. I think we'll franchise him, and try to get something like a first rounder for him . Sad, but that's life.

 

[SoonerPatriot]

Well the Journal reported that the Examiner said that the AP claims that the Globe or Herald were full of BS about Brady spending time with an SI reporter.

Maybe I'm wrong. I just put 2 and 2 together. Brady talks with SI reporter. SI article comes out Tuesday. How silly of me.