ESPN hitpiece on Patriots (Rift with Brady/Belichick/Kraft) - Merged

[AtomicDawg]

He had ONE MEETING with him so that makes him buddy buddy kissy kissy????? GTFOH!

I’d believe Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan were good friends before I buy Belichick and Goodell as a gruesome twosome.

 

[Triumph]

Well Fellers, it was a great run.

I can totally believe this story. The Pats have drifted off course regarding the Patriot way. Like the NEP airplane with all the Lombardi BS painted all over it. The Pats have never been about the accomplishments of the past and always about winning the last game on the schedule.

Belichick has always ruled by the creed of what is best for team. No player is bigger than the team. BB would trade Brady tomorrow if he became a factor in losses and Brady knows it. Kraft would not part with Brady because he is the goose that laid the 7 golden super bowl eggs. What Brady wants. Brady gets. Simple as that. Remember when the Bruins got rid of Bobby Orr? People in NE are still pissed off over that. Kraft does not want to be the guy trades away the Bobby Orr of NE football.

I have suspected for some time that the Bradys are a little nuts about this optimum fitness stuff. They lived in a billion dollar California 10 car garage mansion and had a chicken coop in the back so Gissele and Tom could have day old eggs for avocado omelettes. Brady probably has his water imported in from the melting glaciers in Swiss Alps because Alex Gureero told him he would play 5 more years.

Every great run comes to a close. Johhny Carson calling it quits. Areosmith ruled NE and the rock world for decades. Today, they sound like a bunch of alley cats fighting around the garbage cans. Vitamin drinks are not going to stave off father time.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Ok....I'm about to read it. This should be interesting.

 

[upstater1]

My reaction after reading this, "That's all you got?" Really, you tried to write a hit piece and just wrote that Brady is slipping because he missed wide open player in the Chargers game? LOL. Or that they drafted a QB to replace Brady? Yes, they did that. They had to. Also drafted Mallet and Brissett and O'Connell! Yes, all of this is true. And known. And not part of the some grand conspiracy. He also wrote that Brady is worried that Belichick would one day trade him. In fact, Brady has openly uttered those words in the past! On TV. And Wickersham then says Brady was overruling the Patriots trainers about weightlifting. Uh--Brady has openly ridiculed players for training incorrectly. On TV. So of course anyone that comes up to him, he's going to tel them: "You're training incorrectly!" Yes, I believe all of that. He is doing what he believes. What do you want him to do? Lie to them? He's only a QB. If a player is dumb enough to think Brady and no Belichick is the coach, that's on the player. Not on Brady. And if a reader is dumb enough to believe that Belichick doesn't realize that, he's an idiot. Belichick is not going to blame Brady for doing what has made Brady successful. That's idiotic.

Honestly, I'm shocked that this collection of anecdotes is the best they could muck up behind the scenes.

The only part I found to be totally and completely unbelievable is the part about Belichick and Goodell fishing together on his 7 rings boat. Now that is total BS!

 

[fightingirish595]

Not sure what to believe. But I have a hard time believing everything is fine. I think something is going on. Not sure how bad.

Doesn’t sit well with me. I just hope it ends well

 

[Deus Irae]

Well Fellers, it was a great run.

I can totally believe this story. The Pats have drifted off course regarding the Patriot way. Like the NEP airplane with all the Lombardi BS painted all over it. The Pats have never been about the accomplishments of the past and always about winning the last game on the schedule.

13-3 and the #1 seed, and winning the last game on the schedule, is drifting off course?

 

[MitchKumstein]

Mike Reiss on whether he is allowed to comment on Wickersham's tales:

Reiss is the one I'll believe. He's the guy that's been in the Patriots locker room for 20 years, who knows Belichick, Brady and Kraft. In fact, with Reiss' knowledge and inside track with The Patriots, its curious why espn didn't ask him to write this 'expose'. Perhaps he wouldn't tell them what they wanted to hear?

 

[Ivan]

This. Any time you're dealing with sources, there's always a portion of any account that's exaggerated. People have their own agendas and only see part of the story. That doesn't mean the phenomenon being described isn't true.

Feel free to show us your examples of good journalism in this article?

 

[AtomicDawg]

Well I’m into sports nutrition and fitness.

But when I’ve read quotes from Brady that says “If Lebron worked out the way I do” tell me he’s brainwashed.

I know he’s trying to push his business and I get it, but theres more than one way to skin a cat.

And the one thing this “rift” all starts with Guerrero.

Says Brady pressured players to use TB12.... after the SB51 comeback everybody was jumping on the TB12 method. At one point Hanley Ramirez even jumped on board.....he didn’t pressure anyone, people wanted to be like TB, and for good reason.

I need to find one relevant person within this organization that would talk to the guy who wrote a hit piece on Brady when he won the first court case during Deflategate. This guy is something else.

 

[fightingirish595]

I hate this article. I don’t know how much to believe, but I hate it anyway.

Some of it makes more sense than I had anticipated last night, but a lot of it reeks of exaggeration and possibly even some desperation.

All of this

 

[PF_SU]

There are times when you can only get anonymous sources, and I can accept that, as long as due diligence was done, the difficulties are acknowledged, and admissions of possible problems are made. However, using anonymous sources to do things like coming to the conclusion that a talk and hug on one day is the reason for happiness days later, when you've got nothing remotely concrete to support that claim, is journalistic malpractice.

Of course there are times when you need anonymous sources. However, I have never liked that style of "reporting" when anonymous sources are blended and used to write a story that includes a lot of conjecture and wanders into the territory of fiction in how it is written.

The writers responsible know exactly that the public yearns for background stories, how people think, what will happen etc. like as if they are watching a soap opera. And they give them what they want to increase sales and clicks. However, in doing so they go from facts and what can be plausibly deduced fro these facts into story-telling and stop being "journalists".

And seeing the reactions of some of Wickersham's colleagues about his "fantastic investigative work" tells me that a lot of them have forgotten about what their job as journalists should be about.

 

[AtomicDawg]

LMAO!!!

 

[stcjones]

If we put the tag on him ....that would have been the only way....I just feel like Jimmy has the stuff to be legendary....but like someone said on here ....small sample size so far....but a qb like that doesn’t come along too often and who knows how long Brady will actually be able to play at a high level....

Please tell me how you keep Jimmy without

A. Trading Tom Brady in the midst of an MVP season

B. Pay 45-50$million to one position.

that is the logical explanation right there. Jimmy wanted to play and they had to choose between the two. I still dont get how people think we were keeping both. Logistically it didnt make sense once Jimmy turned down their bridge deal offer. They kept him this season to see how Brady looked, and once it looked like there was no decline they shipped Jimmy off.

 

[farn]

Jerry Thornton touches on something I DO believe is true : BB and Brady were never buddies, they were coach/player who wanted to win. I bet that is still the case. People always want everybody to love one another. BB and Brady have winning in common. Other than that, on a personal level, they are no doubt not very compatible.

As long as they stick to winning (a constant for so many years) that is good enough for me.

 

[Clonamery]

Mike Reiss on whether he is allowed to comment on Wickersham's tales:

Oh no, an ESPN scribe that thinks. How dare he!

 

[VegasGuy]

Not sure if there's much to add after twenty four pages of responses here.

My opinion? There's some truths in the story, but as usual, everything is being blown out of proportion.

 

[Deus Irae]

Of course there are times when you need anonymous sources. However, I have never liked that style of "reporting" when anonymous sources are blended and used to write a story that includes a lot of conjecture and wanders into the territory of fiction in how it is written.

The writers responsible know exactly that the public yearns for background stories, how people think, what will happen etc. like as if they are watching a soap opera. And they give them what they want to increase sales and clicks. However, in doing so they go from facts and what can be plausibly deduced fro these facts into story-telling and stop being "journalists".

And seeing the reactions of some of Wickersham's colleagues about his "fantastic investigative work" tells me that a lot of them have forgotten about what their job as journalists should be about.

The widespread merging of reporter and columnist has not served the media well.

 

[VegasGuy]

Oh no, an ESPN scribe that thinks. How dare he!

Well I really hope he makes his response public.

 

[AtomicDawg]

Feel free to show us your examples of good journalism in this article?

Peter King thinks it's excellent journalism.



And how could he not....I mean...

 

[Ivan]

Got to laugh my ass off at those who have been trashing Brady and Belichick for years, Rhodypatriot,Triumph etc etc taking a victory lap based on an ESPN hit piece. Like Borges they have been proven 100% wrong for years and years and now they think this validates everything they were wrong about.

Wrong again, and that will be the end result of this piece of garbage.