Wickersham and others drop numerous bombshells on Belichick/Brady relationship

[upstater1]

Not defending it as not a good look but am ok with it. As of the offseason in 2019 the team wanted him gone after he made them into 6 SBs winners from nothing. I would be pissed too and would look to land somewhere else.

First, they gave up 3 points in that Super Bowl. He didn't make anyone into anything.
Second, they gave him a contract; they didn't want him gone.
You can't have it both ways: you can't say he was gone AND he wanted to stay until the moment he drove to Kraft's house and told him.

 

[upstater1]

This article doesn’t make Kraft look very good either, and Kraft just spent 3 days negotiating with Bill a solution (that likely cost him a lot of money and not being able to get compensation) that would make the split look amicable and be good optics for Kraft. Why would he be behind this article which makes them all look bad (except Brady). Especially when it paints him as a meddling owner?

Kraft wasn’t the source on this one. I imagine he spoke to Brady’s Dad for the Brady and Tampa stuff and probably has a few sources in Patriots coaching and management.

It's all cobbled together. A lot of that comes from the Krafts. They've been engineering this.
Did it backfire on them that the reporter's also consulted other sources? Sure. I mean, they invited the Bradys to dinner and everything, but that didn't stop Tom Sr. from giving quotes, even though it made Kraft into collateral damage

 

[Horace's Ivories]

Ian needs to seriously consider banning gifs on this forum, theyre 99% of time used in the most corny/disruptive way in threads.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

It sucks that we won't have the opportunity to simply enjoy the greatness that we all enjoyed. Thanks to the media and the egos of the chief protagonists all we are left with is memories of the GOAT QB who ultimately became a diva and wanted to get away from the GOAT HC who helped him become successful, the GOAT HC who couldn't check his ego to find common ground with the GOAT QB when things got dicey and an ownership group who is more focused on how they look than making difficult decisions which led to behind the scenes meddling which ultimately brought it all crashing down. The fact that the GOAT QB and the GOAT HC were so good for so long that it made any normal succession planning impossible and took too much attention away from the team owners did not help the situation. I look forward to the next chapter once the pent up vengeance has been achieved by all parties. I hope that all will retain their dignity in the end.

I was just going to make a similar post to yours, but you said it well. Everyone has to know with billionaires and millionaires and great athletes there's going to be some discourse with egos clashing, the fact that they held it together as long as they is a miracle, now were back to square one and I'm a Mayo fan, don't care about the past.

 

[Dedhampatsfan]

Unless he had a specific agenda to get out there, and usually Ian Rappoport was given a tidbit - the contract info this year for example... I thought there was another reporter he used this way, but i can't recall the name

Michael Holley maybe?

 

[50-yard-line]

Again, you still think that Kraft didn't want to spend and he hamstrung Belichick. You don't know that. Belichick may have been the one who was against spending. Even years where they did spend, Belichick always seemed to go for the bargain players and not the top

He took the two top TEs on the market, one of the top WRs available, another WR, and one off the two best defensive players on the market in the one year they had gobs of money.

 

[RicoG]

Given the extensive history he has of making dramatic accusations against BB that remain unsubstantiated by a single local reporter (e.g., the one about the video board at the stadium) I’m not prepared to take Wickersham’s word for a single thing unless it is substantiated by a credible reporter.

There is not one shred of truth IMHO that BB thought Brady was done. Although I certainly question plenty of his decisions, I refuse to believe that BB is that obtuse when it comes to analyzing Brady.

Wickersham is a hack with an agenda against BB, and we know Tom Sr. has one as well (to the point that Tom Jr. was forced to apologize for his Dad a couple years ago). And given their history ESPN’s credibility in this topic is highly questionable.

BB thought Brady was almost done, that's why he only wanted to sign him year to year. Essentially, Brady would have been on a prove it deal until he retired or jumps to another team.

 

[RicoG]

She was sure easy on the eyes.

 

[RicoG]

We are on to Mayo

Mayo is just the fall guy. There simply is next to no talent on offense. It will take at least 2 more years of being a bottom dweller to get some talent, and that is if the Pats draft well. Then after a couple losing seasons, Mayo will take the blame and get fired. It will be the next guy that will be expected to take the Pats back to the promised land.

 

[aluminum seats]

The reactions to so much of the stuff, it just feels like people who have never had a long-term relationship before. **** happens

 

[Pape]

Michael Holley maybe?

no, it was one of the smaller-distributed beat reporters... thinking the last name began with an A, but don't quote me on that, my memory fails me... maybe in six months i will be driving down the road and it will hit me... or not lol

 

[alvinnf]

Mayo is just the fall guy. There simply is next to no talent on offense. It will take at least 2 more years of being a bottom dweller to get some talent, and that is if the Pats draft well. Then after a couple losing seasons, Mayo will take the blame and get fired. It will be the next guy that will be expected to take the Pats back to the promised land.

I guess the same could be said about the QB. That is if we consider Cam as just a placeholder.

 

[Betterthanmost]

The Krafts are quickly going to realized what irrelevance means. BB sure has made mistakes but he was very close fixing all of them.
The Krafts acted like fans vice clear thinking owners. They should watch Manchester United to see the future they are going to get, changing coaches every 2 to 3 years.

 

[mgcolby]

Ian needs to seriously consider banning gifs on this forum, theyre 99% of time used in the most corny/disruptive way in threads.

 

[raduray]

Can we make this the last thread on this forevah and evah?

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

 

[VJCPatriot]

Wickersham should go write a 50 shades of Belichick novel and shut the **** up. Another coward with no sources piece.

Yes, because all journalists with integrity reveal their sources, right?

This story was written and reported by ESPN Senior Writers Seth Wickersham and Wright Thompson, with additional reporting by Senior Writer Don Van Natta Jr. This story is based on interviews with more than a dozen team and league executives, owners, confidants, coaches, and others with first-hand knowledge of conversations.

Cited from the article itself: The last days of the Patriot Way

The BB advocacy group sounds pretty butthurt right now about the truth finally getting out there.

Let's face it, BB's downfall started with his arrogance and his decision to get rid of Tom Brady.

BB told Kraft that Brady was washed up. He was wrong. Brady winning a championship with the Buccaneers in his first year away from New England revealed the truth to the lie.

And even though BB's descent started with getting rid of Brady, he would STILL be here if he had been successful afterwards.

But instead he ran this team into the ground just 4 years later. It was Bill's disastrous drafting decisions, free agency decisions, and coaching staff decisions that finally brought him to a rock bottom 4-13, losing in Germany, losing to the Jets, etc. and finally gave Kraft no other choice but to let him go.

 

[upstater1]

Mayo is just the fall guy. There simply is next to no talent on offense. It will take at least 2 more years of being a bottom dweller to get some talent, and that is if the Pats draft well. Then after a couple losing seasons, Mayo will take the blame and get fired. It will be the next guy that will be expected to take the Pats back to the promised land.

This is all possible:

1. Sign Tee Higgins in FA
2. Sign a vet QB
3. Draft QB Drake Maye or Caleb Williams
4. If one of the 2 QBs isn't there, draft Harrison
5. If QB Williams isn't there and someone gives you 3 first round picks plus you don't fall any lower than 9th, then take the trade, pick a WR like Odunze, a tackle like Alt or Fashanu, or a TE like Bowers.
6. Take a tackle in the 2nd round.
7. Take a WR or another tackle with the extra 3rd round pick.
8. Or, trade a 2nd or 3rd rounder for QB Justin Fields

There are so many things you can do between the draft and FA to end up with 2 WRs, 2 QBs, 2 LTs in the draft.

You just gotta be willing to spend $$.

The only hitch to all this is that you don't really want to go into the season with a 2nd round rookie LT, but guess what? You have to.

 

[upstater1]

Yes, because all journalists with integrity reveal their sources, right?

This story was written and reported by ESPN Senior Writers Seth Wickersham and Wright Thompson, with additional reporting by Senior Writer Don Van Natta Jr. This story is based on interviews with more than a dozen team and league executives, owners, confidants, coaches, and others with first-hand knowledge of conversations.

Cited from the article itself: The last days of the Patriot Way

The BB advocacy group sounds pretty butthurt right now about the truth finally getting out there.

Let's face it, BB's downfall started with his arrogance and his decision to get rid of Tom Brady.

BB told Kraft that Brady was washed up. He was wrong. Brady winning a championship with the Buccaneers in his first year away from New England revealed the truth to the lie.

And even though BB's descent started with getting rid of Brady, he would STILL be here if he had been successful afterwards.

But instead he ran this team into the ground just 4 years later. It was Bill's disastrous drafting decisions, free agency decisions, and coaching staff decisions that finally brought him to a rock bottom 4-13, losing in Germany, losing to the Jets, etc. and finally gave Kraft no other choice but to let him go.

Wrong 100%

 

[Kasmir]

Kraft is an idiot for taking Bill's word that Brady was in decline. That's Bob's fault. In any case thank goodness its over and we're moving on.

Kraft should have explained to Belichick that Brady was different and he wasn't going let him dump him like he had other aging stars, and the franchise needed to see that the GOAT retired as a Patriot. Belichick might have grumbled but he wouldn't have quit -- and it would have saved his ass and his reputation, especially if they retired together after Bill caught up with Shula.

 

[TomPatriot]

He took the two top TEs on the market, one of the top WRs available, another WR, and one off the two best defensive players on the market in the one year they had gobs of money.

Exactly. One reason why he’s gone.