Wickersham and others drop numerous bombshells on Belichick/Brady relationship

[Stu Pidassle]

Tom Currans source is Mayo.

At a minimum Mayo was complicit in the hatchet job on BB. Going forward he needs to stop feeding Curran info if he wants to maintain the trust of the players. The fact that Malcom Butler and Jamie Collins are such advocates for BB now, is testament to the need to protect players in the press.

agree with everything but the last part. BB isn't the kind of guy to air the dirty laundry, so to speak. At least while he is still active in the NFL. After that, who knows?

If he writes a book, I will be one of the first to pre-order it.

While I agree that BB almost always takes the high road with the press, he is vindictive. He, or his kids, will get the other side of the story out there at some point. As you say the book will be a must read.

 

[Nikolai]

To those who lamented BB's treatment of the media, observe the full power and force of the Boston and national media on the Patriots franchise. They've been waiting for this moment.

BB's career body is still growing colder and already, Bob, Jonathan, and Mayo have been dragged through the gauntlet, even though each of them have, supposedly, been cooperating with said media.

 

[1960Pats]

I love the winning. Honestly doesn’t matter much if all 53 hate each other, the coaches hate each other, and the owner hates everyone in the country.

Winning is awesome, losing isn’t. So glad I got to see decades of winning.

Do you feel like you have more patience with the losing after the dynasty years? I do.

And now I'm excited about the new beginning.

 

[1960Pats]

To those who lamented BB's treatment of the media, observe the full power and force of the Boston and national media on the Patriots franchise. They've been waiting for this moment.

BB's career body is still growing colder and already, Bob, Jonathan, and Mayo have been dragged through the gauntlet, even though each of them have, supposedly, been cooperating with said media.

All those people use the media and get used by the media. Bill's no different.

 

[1960Pats]

Well said. Suffice to say that a certain clique of posters here will lose sense of purpose when this tediously perpetuated Brady vs. BB drumbeat fades to nothing. In that respect, thank goodness for the passage of time and good riddance to their butthurt campaign.

And how exactly does that drumbeat help things?

Unfortunately for you and the other complainers, the TB vs BB debate will be here forever unless you cry enough to get it all silenced. Good luck with that.

 

[RIpats88]

That debate may never go away.

If I'm placing blame I'd give the edge to Bill. He's the one who worked with Brady daily and should have recognized that he wasn't done.

the only reason Brady looked done in 2019 and in decline in 2018 was that Bill saddled him with garbage offensive roster....

when brady went from 25td's in 2019 throwing to sanu/ben watson to 40tds in 2020 throwing to mike evans/godwin it was pretty obvious that it was all about the talent around him(or lack thereof) that Bill gave him.

and now bill built the offensive roster the same way...it didn't work with Brady but we were expecting it to work with someone far below brady's intellect and talent level.

 

[1960Pats]

Alpha males ..
None of this is very new...
Just a bunch if drama ...
Just because Brady won a Super Bowl in Tampa does
not mean he would have won another here ... for obvious reasons.

Winning didn't matter to me as much as seeing Brady finish his career here.

 

[RIpats88]

Winning didn't matter to me as much as seeing Brady finish his career here.

brady probably doesn't win another one here. but we went 7-9 with cam newton, and then 10-6 with mac jones. you telling me say Gronk still comes back after a year off (and he was still gronk of old in tampa).

we aren't at least in the mix both those years with brady? maybe 10 wins in 2020 and 12-13 in 2021.

not as talented as tampa. but we would've been a top team. and ultimately by letting brady leave all we got was 1 more year of bill and losing seasons...

 

[50-yard-line]

Exactly. One reason why he’s gone.

Look at what I was responding to - those WERE the top guys available. Some worked out, some didn’t, but it disproved the argument to which I responded.

 

[Tunescribe]

And how exactly does that drumbeat help things?

Unfortunately for you and the other complainers, the TB vs BB debate will be here forever unless you cry enough to get it all silenced. Good luck with that.

It helps nothing, that's my point. A certain segment here is terminally angry over Brady's exit, blames/hates BB/Kraft for it happening, and won't let it go. This is despite the fact Brady left four years ago and has since retired with Belichick now gone as well. It's not a matter of "crying about it to get it silenced." It's a matter of this small butthurt clique of posters continuing to dredge it up and intrusively whine about it ad nauseam when a majority of us have moved on.

That majority, including myself, agrees that letting Brady go in 2020 was a mistake. Most of that is on Belichick and Kraft. Tom was complicit to a degree, a component of this tedious soap opera that gets glossed over. It happened. It's finished. Continuing to bash and belittle Belichick over it just pollutes the forum and serves no purpose beyond venting the butthurt. We have a new regime now, time to turn the page toward things hopefully a lot more positive.

 

[50-yard-line]

Do you feel like you have more patience with the losing after the dynasty years? I do.

And now I'm excited about the new beginning.

I like, and share, your attitude.

 

[Rob0729]

brady probably doesn't win another one here. but we went 7-9 with cam newton, and then 10-6 with mac jones. you telling me say Gronk still comes back after a year off (and he was still gronk of old in tampa).

we aren't at least in the mix both those years with brady? maybe 10 wins in 2020 and 12-13 in 2021.

not as talented as tampa. but we would've been a top team. and ultimately by letting brady leave all we got was 1 more year of bill and losing seasons...

Yeah, the Pats would have been much better with Brady, but they didn't have the horses to be a real Super Bowl contender. That is the only reason I give Belichick and Kraft a little leeway about letting him walk.

But I don't know if Gronk would have come back if Brady stayed with the Pats. I think Gronk was done with Belichick and that was a big factor for his retirement after the 2018 season. Gronk was never happy with the Patriots structure and when he was younger, Belichick bent over backwards (at least for Belichick) to accommodate him. As Gronk got older and more injury prone, Belichick took away a lot of the special treatment. And of course, Gronk was not happy that Belichick tried to trade him either.

 

[Noexcusesfornumber5]

Winning didn't matter to me as much as seeing Brady finish his career here.

Brady disagrees with you, that's why he got on the boat.
BB lined up the following receivers for Tugboat Tommy in 2019:
Antonio Brown
Julian Edelman
Josh Gordon
Rex Burkhead

Is that not enough, or did he need more?

Explain to all of us why it's ok for Brady to get on the boat with Ross while he's still under contract with the Pats. I'd like the league to explain to me why that was ok, but we had to lose picks (the same ones that people hold against BB for being a "terrible finder of talent") for an absolute crime against his own team. How did the Dolphins escape that one?

This is nothing but a Seth ****andSham article. Someone convinced me that he's been sitting on this spicy meatball for all this time. If he has been, then it makes Kraft look dumber than I think his.

 

[upstater1]

Nope, but we're getting Lavishka Shenault - half the production at a quarter of the price!

Ugh... People need to look at Devante Parker's numbers before Parker met Mac Jones.

The guy's career has been ruined by Jones. LOL.

Anyway, I hope we spend like drunken sailors. Bring in Tee Higgins.

 

[upstater1]

Agree with everything, though not quite with the line I bolded: IMO, Bill's downfall started when he benched Malcolm Butler... Yes they won #6 the following year, but it would fly into the face of human nature if the other players, Brady especially, didn't feel let-down, or betrayed, or back-stabbed by their HC putting other reasons ahead of the T-E-A-M...

LOL, the team played all out against much more talented teams in LA and KC, so that's quite a letdown.

"Other reasons ahead of the team?"

Like what? This was a discipline issue, which is all about the team.

 

[FCB02062]

It helps nothing, that's my point. A certain segment here is terminally angry over Brady's exit, blames/hates BB/Kraft for it happening, and won't let it go. This is despite the fact Brady left four years ago and has since retired with Belichick now gone as well. It's not a matter of "crying about it to get it silenced." It's a matter of this small butthurt clique of posters continuing to dredge it up and intrusively whine about it ad nauseam when a majority of us have moved on.

That majority, including myself, agrees that letting Brady go in 2020 was a mistake. Most of that is on Belichick and Kraft. Tom was complicit to a degree, a component of this tedious soap opera that gets glossed over. It happened. It's finished. Continuing to bash and belittle Belichick over it just pollutes the forum and serves no purpose beyond venting the butthurt. We have a new regime now, time to turn the page toward things hopefully a lot more positive.

is it ok to bash and belittle Belichick for his 29-39 record the last 4 years after a certain QB got kicked out of Jonathan City on rt 1 North?

 

[Triumph]

There is always 2 sides to every story.

Kraft forced BB to get rid of Jimmy. Who knows if Jimmy would have been more reliable in NE, but BB did what Kraft wanted because Brady complained to the CEO. Everything that I have read indicates that BB loved Jimmy and that he has tried to get him back post Brady.

The Pat's success started to become more about all Tom Brady, TB12 and Deepak Chopra and less about BB, the TEAM and the Pats way. So, I can see why BB gave Brady the shove to leave. I also have to wonder if BB really wanted to win a SB with 2 different QBs like Parcells.

Unless the landscape changes, for eternity the knock on BB will be that he was nothing but a great DC without Brady. So, I believe it's plausible that BB was aligning his ducks several years ago to make a SB run minus Brady.

 

[upstater1]

The Falcons don't need to go on a spending spree. They just need to sign Kirk Cousins to a 3 year deal.

If it's the Falcons, you know they're coming after Dugger.

It's imperative that the Patriots extend Barmore immediately because now they have competition for the guy if the Patriots let him get to FA next year.

 

[upstater1]

You can probably throw Jonathan on the pile of egos that RKK was dealing with. The conflict provided each with the motivation to do their job. The rush to get the dirt on BB out there to take the heat off the decision to go a new direction makes it tough for fans to feel good about the team. I am afraid that we will be in for another round of crap when BB decides its his turn to air the dirty laundry.

BB won't do that. He has to bury Goodell first. But BB will know how to let it leak out in other ways. The local media is going to come after Kraft for spending. Pay attention to that.

This is a double edged sword because I do think BB was more responsible for spending to the cap and not over than Kraft was. BB wanted a strong middle class, 22 players and depth everywhere. It makes sense to do it that way in a sport with so many men on the field. This isn't bball. Only the top players command huge guarantees that take you far over the cap.

I'm almost as concerned that Kraft will blow apart the team philosophy under BB and that he'll become a Daniel Snyder as I am that he won't spend.

 

[upstater1]

the only reason Brady looked done in 2019 and in decline in 2018 was that Bill saddled him with garbage offensive roster....

when brady went from 25td's in 2019 throwing to sanu/ben watson to 40tds in 2020 throwing to mike evans/godwin it was pretty obvious that it was all about the talent around him(or lack thereof) that Bill gave him.

and now bill built the offensive roster the same way...it didn't work with Brady but we were expecting it to work with someone far below brady's intellect and talent level.

I'd argue that it was Brady's frustrations that caused that whole debacle. We spent an enormous amount of resources trying to please him.

Gronk left, even Hogan was gone.

Look at who they brought in: draft pick for Demaryious Thomas, draft pick for Antonio Brown, Josh Gordon, 2nd rounder for Sanu upon Brady's demand, Phillip Dorsett, and even a 1st for N'Keal Harry, which is obviously Belichick's fault. You had Jakobi Meyers there who Brady refused to throw to. Hell, Newton threw to Jakobi for 60 completions and 700 yds.

They threw an incredible amount of resources at it, and I would argue they spent too much and it hurt them in the future.

One has to wonder since Brady had his eye on Miami if his petulance contributed to the sour vibes and the fact that he was headed down a bad road with a team losing all its talent to old age. That's definitely the vibe he gave off. He was constantly angry, this whole board commented on that. He was critiqued for not throwing to Meyers. But I wonder how his sense he was leaving for Miami contributed to that.

If he was po'd they cut Antonio Brown (which I bet he was) he needed to grow up and get some perspective.

I defended Tom back then and I still do for his frustrations. I didn't think it was a Tom problem, or a Bill "resources" problem. I thought it was an injury problem. The entire offensive line was injured, including Thuney. Ferentz and Karras were the starters. Shaq Mason stuck with it despite a tear in his MCL. He was the only one of the 4 still playing. Then our backups to the backups got hurt (Eluemenor?). And we ended up with a guy who had been eating cheetos on his couch the entire year (Named Marhsall Newhouse? if I recall correctly).

The vision I have of that year is Brady throwing the ball into the ground on purpose 1 split second after the snap because he saw the jailbreaks coming from Newhouse's side, and also McDaniels yelling at Brady for doing that. You couldn't really blame either of them.

The idea though that we didn't support the offense when we brought in 4 guys who were playing well elsewhere, and a #1 draft pick, and Dorsett, and Jakobi, and still had Edelman getting 100 catches+, that was more than enough.