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You know, he might be right about this, but Alex Guerrero needs to STFU

"It was like Bill never really ... I think his emotions or feelings never evolved with age," Guerrero told the Boston Herald on Wednesday. "As Tom got into his late 30s or early 40s, I think Bill was still trying to treat him like that 20-year-old kid that he drafted. And all the players, I think, realized Tom was different. He's older, so he should be treated differently. And all the players, none of them would have cared that he was treated differently.
"I think that was such a Bill thing. He never evolved. So you can't treat someone who's in his 40s like they're 20. It doesn't work."

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/32263024/new-england-patriots-coach-bill-belichick-never-evolved-tom-brady-aged-trainer-alex-guerrero-says
Listening to snake oil merchants engage in armchair psychoanalysis is deeply amusing.

Interestingly, and almost certainly not coincidentally, this follows the Glob article featuring Brady's father throwing shit into the fan. TB needs to tell his proxies to STFU, or put on his big boy pants and come out to fight his own battles.
 

snowmanny

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I don’t exactly get the beef with Belichick anyway. He tried to bring in more weapons in 2019 but it didn’t work and that team was doomed by the OL anyway. And that 2020 team wasn’t winning the Super Bowl with Brady. So I guess they could have signed him for whatever and they would have been a legitimate contender this year, but where is the actual harm to Brady in anything that happened at any time? It’s just whining. If the Patriots win a Super Bowl before Brady retires is Belichick “vindicated”? I love Brady forever but this is all chicken shit.
 

jacklamabe65

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I don’t exactly get the beef with Belichick anyway. He tried to bring in more weapons in 2019 but it didn’t work and that team was doomed by the OL anyway. And that 2020 team wasn’t winning the Super Bowl with Brady. So I guess they could have signed him for whatever and they would have been a legitimate contender this year, but where is the actual harm to Brady in anything that happened at any time? It’s just whining. If the Patriots win a Super Bowl before Brady retires is Belichick “vindicated”? I love Brady forever but this is all chicken shit.
Yup. 100 percent correct.
 

RG33

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I don’t get why people are pissed at Guerrero and/or Brady’s Dad talking about this stuff. It seems pretty natural to me that they would be in the weeks leading up to the what is likely the most anticipated “return” game in NFL history.

Personally, I don’t care what any of them or even Brady himself says. They were 20 great years, the guy was a legend, we were lucky to have him. He could say “Boston sucks and is full of elitist racist asshole messageboarders”, and it wouldn’t bother me. He is gone. Not my problem. Thanks for the memories.
 
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To be clear: I love Belichick. I wouldn't trade him for any coach or these last 20+ years for anything. Having said that...

From all of the reporting over the last couple years, it seems pretty clear to me that Brady wanted to stay, and made that clear for a while, and that BB didn't want to risk the one or two years of sudden decline that NEVER CAME. I appreciate the "a year early rather than a year late" of it all, but if there was ever a time to make an exception - for ANYONE IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS - it was with TB12. Given the craptastic-ish weapons around him - regardless of whose fault that was - it seems, to me anyway, that for Belichick to have judged Brady to be at least "too close to done" to sign to...say...a 3 years 80 mill deal is pretty poor judgment. Add that to the iffy drafting, the Harry-over-Deebo/AJ Brown, the 2nd rounder for Sanu, it hasn't exactly been the "cover yourself with glory"-est of times for the GOAT coach. Having said THAT...

Mom? Dad? Please don't fight.
 

BaseballJones

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I dunno man...

Patriots under Brady in Brady's 20s:
- 70-24 (.745)
- 5 division titles out of 6 seasons
- 3 SB appearances
- 3 SB championships

Patriots under Brady in Brady's 40s:
- 36-12 (.750)
- 3 division titles out of 3 seasons
- 2 SB appearances
- 1 SB championship

So what do I know? Seems like BB evolved just fine with Brady as Brady got older. Certainly well enough for them to continue to be immensely successful together.
 

BusRaker

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"It was like Bill never really ... I think his emotions or feelings never evolved with age," Guerrero told the Boston Herald on Wednesday. "As Tom got into his late 30s or early 40s, I think Bill was still trying to treat him like that 20-year-old kid that he drafted.
"Bill should have never kicked me out of the band" Guerrero told Rolling Stone Wednesday. "As the roadie that was hooking up the group late into their 30s and 40's, I think Bill was still trying to treat them like the 20 year old kids he signed."

Actually maybe I like the "ex-girlfriend/boyfriend from a decade ago" that you broke up with making supposedly "objective" opinions about you.
 

rodderick

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I don’t exactly get the beef with Belichick anyway. He tried to bring in more weapons in 2019 but it didn’t work and that team was doomed by the OL anyway. And that 2020 team wasn’t winning the Super Bowl with Brady. So I guess they could have signed him for whatever and they would have been a legitimate contender this year, but where is the actual harm to Brady in anything that happened at any time? It’s just whining. If the Patriots win a Super Bowl before Brady retires is Belichick “vindicated”? I love Brady forever but this is all chicken shit.
The beef is in Brady's mind Bill thought he could win without Tom and didn't believe he could sustain a high level of play into his 40's and wasn't willing to guarantee him anything except year to year contracts. If "they didn't believe I was good enough and the coach wanted me replaced" is just whining, so is every sports grudge in history. And I think at this point we can say with reasonable certainty Bill had thoughts of moving on starting from 2014 (and all those stories about Patriots coaches going on about how they could win with any top 15 QB reenforce that notion).
 

snowmanny

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The beef is in Brady's mind Bill thought he could win without Tom and didn't believe he could sustain a high level of play into his 40's and wasn't willing to guarantee him anything except year to year contracts. If "they didn't believe I was good enough and the coach wanted me replaced" is just whining, so is every sports grudge in history. And I think at this point we can say with reasonable certainty Bill had thoughts of moving on starting from 2014 (and all those stories about Patriots coaches going on about how they could win with any top 15 QB reenforce that notion).
OK, I get that the beef is in Brady's mind and he uses that stuff to motivate himself. But there's no doubt that Brady ended up in a way better situation in 2020, and the Patriots really were no worse off for not having Brady last year. As for going forward I guess we will see, but Brady has lost nothing except the beautiful New England weather.

And the Pats are quite possibly in a pretty good place too, by the way.
 

rodderick

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OK, I get that the beef is in Brady's mind and he uses that stuff to motivate himself. But there's no doubt that Brady ended up in a way better situation in 2020, and the Patriots really were no worse off for not having Brady last year. As for going forward I guess we will see, but Brady has lost nothing except the beautiful New England weather.

And the Pats are quite possibly in a pretty good place too, by the way.
I'd argue it worked out wonderfully for Tom and I doubt he regrets the way things turned out. I also think he wanted to stay with the Pats and would have done so were they willing to give him a contract that reflected any kind of trust in his future performance after 2017. We also have no clue what went on behind the scenes with the whole Jimmy G ordeal and how that could have potentially soured Bill and Tom's relationship.

And yes it is silly for him to hold onto this grudge so publicly still, but that's his personality. I genuinely think the whole "they don't love me enough" kind of stuff affected him in the end. The guy is super sensitive.
 

CaptainLaddie

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As someone who has a Brady avatar and is currently wearing a Brady t-shirt.... man, I dunno. It's fun getting to root for him on a team with 2007 type offensive weapons again. I wish his team would STFU, but whatever. He went from a team that, other than an old Edelman and James White, basically had nothing. He wasn't winning here again. Moving on to a team where Evans, Godwin, Gronk, and (honestly) Fournette were all better options than the first in NE was a smart move.

Mac's our guy now, and I'm excited. The game next week should be fun.
 

Cotillion

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I still think Brady was never coming back cause the circumstances needed for him to come back could never happen, and I think he was also keenly aware of it. Part of the whole chip on his shoulder thing was also "Belichick is a HoF coach" etc... so I think he kind of relished going somewhere and trying to prove that he could do it without Belichick.

versus grinding out another 2-3-5 years under the Belichick system of constantly worrying about the next year. Would this be the year they let me go? He had already done that for 20 years... why keep grinding that way? When other opportunities exist?

I think he relished the chance.

Would he have stayed? Maybe but never under any circumstances that Belichick would have agreed to. So they were always destined to break up.

It was either end ignominiously with a final benching at some point by Belichick where Bill chose to move on or for Brady make the choice to leave on his own terms before that happened.
 

AlNipper49

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None of this stuff is true. Brady didn’t leave for any reason other than he wanted to. He was with BB for 20 freaking years. I bet for 19.5 of those that he loved BB and everything about him. The other .5 captured the same amount of time as any other human spending 20 years working with another human.

People are not reporting on it because the truth is boring.

In other words, who gives a fuck what Brady’s trainer thinks? His perspective could be as clouded and as biased as anyone else could possibly be. It sure makes for a nice ESPN headline though. But that’s why ESPN is there - to make you dumber about something that you care about.
 

joe dokes

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None of this stuff is true. Brady didn’t leave for any reason other than he wanted to. He was with BB for 20 freaking years. I bet for 19.5 of those that he loved BB and everything about him. The other .5 captured the same amount of time as any other human spending 20 years working with another human.

People are not reporting on it because the truth is boring.

In other words, who gives a fuck what Brady’s trainer thinks? His perspective could be as clouded and as biased as anyone else could possibly be. It sure makes for a nice ESPN headline though. But that’s why ESPN is there - to make you dumber about something that you care about.
This is mostly where I am. The game could end as a 2-0 Bucs win with Brady throwing 12 INTs and the headlines will be about "Brady's revenge." I don't doubt that BB knew Brady was still "good enough" (or "great" or "elite" or whatever pellets fall from Stephen A. Smith's assmouth.) But given where the team was and where it was going, BB also knew (or was at least pretty sure) that Brady's continued elite-ness wasn't enough. To me, it will always be that simple. BB's no moron. At some point he, like every other successful team lately, had to build a team around a hopefully really good QB on a rookie contract, because having a great QB on a veteran mega-deal doesn't allow for replacing an aging core.
 

rodderick

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This is mostly where I am. The game could end as a 2-0 Bucs win with Brady throwing 12 INTs and the headlines will be about "Brady's revenge." I don't doubt that BB knew Brady was still "good enough" (or "great" or "elite" or whatever pellets fall from Stephen A. Smith's assmouth.) But given where the team was and where it was going, BB also knew (or was at least pretty sure) that Brady's continued elite-ness wasn't enough. To me, it will always be that simple. BB's no moron. At some point he, like every other successful team lately, had to build a team around a hopefully really good QB on a rookie contract, because having a great QB on a veteran mega-deal doesn't allow for replacing an aging core.
He's getting 25 million a year, man. And having Brady on big bucks never prevented Bill from fielding a competitive team and rebuilding on the fly for 20 years. This was all about a lack of belief on Brady's ability to hold up at his age, which is perfectly understandable, I'd be weary to give many guarantees to a 40 year old too, but let's not act like giving Tom 3 years 90 million or whatever in 2018 was going to be an impediment to field a contender.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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I thought Brady chose to leave. Was that narrative not true? There seems to be this idea now that Belichick didn’t want Brady around anymore and decided to let him go…but this completely is at odds with what all the parties have been telling us the last few years. So, what gives?
 

Justthetippett

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Things fall apart. Who hasn’t wanted a professional change and different challenge? I actually think it humanizes both BB and TB12 that things went the way they did. Tom is clearly thriving. It would be great if Bill could too. That way the silly chatter would cease. Really I’m just irrationally angry at Antonio Brown because I think he could have made a real difference on the 2019 team and then who knows what happens.
 

BaseballJones

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None of this stuff is true. Brady didn’t leave for any reason other than he wanted to. He was with BB for 20 freaking years. I bet for 19.5 of those that he loved BB and everything about him. The other .5 captured the same amount of time as any other human spending 20 years working with another human.
Agreed. There's NO WAY that Brady would have stayed as long as he did if he wasn't enjoying it. And even now, when asked about his dad's comments (or Guerrero's...can't remember which), he said he loved BB.
 

BroodsSexton

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What if it turns out that they both realized it was better for both of them to part as friends—Brady to finish out his career at a loaded contender, and Belichick to have a chance to transition and rebuild—and Brady is just tweaking Belichick now because (1) he’s a grumpy old man and Brady thinks it’s funny to troll him, and (2) Belichick dgaf, Brady knows that Belichick dgaf, and Belichick knows that Brady knows he dgaf. So they both have a dry laugh at the world. And why do we care?

Because that’s where I am, as long as we’re speculating.

Oh yeah, and then Brady’s entourage takes its cues from Brady even though they’re all idiots.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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Impossible to determine, but it seems quite likely that Tom (and Gronk) needed a change of scenery and something new to motivate them. They got it and it has certainly worked out for them. Had a great thing here that everyone should be proud of; any comparisons or sniping towards those who were part of it seems petty and unnecessary. Gronk, Brady, Belichick should always be heroes in NE, anything that potentially puts that at risk just saddens me more than anything.
 

Captaincoop

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I thought Brady chose to leave. Was that narrative not true? There seems to be this idea now that Belichick didn’t want Brady around anymore and decided to let him go…but this completely is at odds with what all the parties have been telling us the last few years. So, what gives?
Didn't the Pats make basically the same offer as Tampa? I guess we'll never fully know the truth, but in my mind, Brady wanted nothing to do with a reload/rebuild that had to happen in New England, so he jumped to the best possible situation for him and it worked. Congrats, but also STFU.

Meanwhile, Belichick stayed in NE for the rebuild, which I appreciate and am rooting for.

But one thing to remember is that Brady wasn't going to have a 50-TD Super Bowl season in New England. He walked into a perfect situation in Tampa that became even more perfect when Gronk decided to conveniently unretire and force his way to Tampa, and Tampa was willing to sign Antonio Brown as well. Suddenly Brady was mister commitment again, recruiting free agents, mentoring young players, and showing up to voluntary training again.

Edit: I should have said "consider", not remember, because who knows for sure what would have happened.
 

BroodsSexton

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Oh and by the way, if they both find independent success it’s better for each of their legacies as well. Though I sort of doubt that was motivating.
 

joe dokes

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He's getting 25 million a year, man. And having Brady on big bucks never prevented Bill from fielding a competitive team and rebuilding on the fly for 20 years. This was all about a lack of belief on Brady's ability to hold up at his age, which is perfectly understandable, I'd be weary to give many guarantees to a 40 year old too, but let's not act like giving Tom 3 years 90 million or whatever in 2018 was going to be an impediment to field a contender.
I only act that way because I think BB thought it to be the case. I dont want to get into the whole "how did he get there" / drafting questions/issues, but I think BB looked at the roster, the ages of some critical players, and the lack of adequate replacements and concluided that he was going to need biggish money to spread around to several players to patch holes. (Of course, I only think that because that's what he did. Whether that was his plan all along, or if it was foresight on his part to know in 2018 or 19 that he was going to have to do it before the '21 season is an open question).
 

Captaincoop

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I only act that way because I think BB thought it to be the case. I dont want to get into the whole "how did he get there" / drafting questions/issues, but I think BB looked at the roster, the ages of some critical players, and the lack of adequate replacements and concluided that he was going to need biggish money to spread around to several players to patch holes. (Of course, I only think that because that's what he did. Whether that was his plan all along, or if it was foresight on his part to know in 2018 or 19 that he was going to have to do it before the '21 season is an open question).
This feels right.

Brady looked awful in 2019 here with the talent we had and with his...level of engagement...at the time. Our skill position talent isn't great even with the payroll flexibility they have from the reduced QB salary. Now subtract $25M or whatever from the cap and see what it would look like. Brady was going to win here with that?
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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This feels right.

Brady looked awful in 2019 here with the talent we had and with his...level of engagement...at the time. Our skill position talent isn't great even with the payroll flexibility they have from the reduced QB salary. Now subtract $25M or whatever from the cap and see what it would look like. Brady was going to win here with that?
Brady put his house on the market before the 2019 season. He knew he was gone. I don't doubt he put in his full effort in his last season here, however. Once AB was gone, and Sanu got hurt and Gordon got suspended, the offense died right up.
 

BaseballJones

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Brady put his house on the market before the 2019 season. He knew he was gone. I don't doubt he put in his full effort in his last season here, however. Once AB was gone, and Sanu got hurt and Gordon got suspended, the offense died right up.
Well it's a fact that Brady didn't attend OTAs his last two years with the Pats. So he didn't put in the "full effort".
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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Well it's a fact that Brady didn't attend OTAs his last two years with the Pats. So he didn't put in the "full effort".
OTA's are voluntary and I will never think that skipping them means not giving a full effort, for any player.

It's churlish and rude to assume that a highly driven professional maniac like Brady has ever given less than his full effort over the course of his career. As he aged it made perfect sense to take more time off than usual over the summer with his original team to rest and recharge. Upon joining a new team he needed to get up to speed with their system so he once again participated in all offseason activities.

We've watched Brady for 20+ years. Anyone who thinks he ever mailed it in probably needs to re-examine some life priorities.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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He had been doing the same thing at the same place with the same people for like 20 years. It’s human nature that he was no longer as motivated, and was frustrated with the situation. I don’t think he should really be dinged for not giving max effort- he needed a new situation. I have a hard time blaming either side for how it ended; it was kind of inevitable. Blaming Belichick seems silly though; the extreme success in the last 20 or so games just wasn’t going to happen in New England- it had run its course, and heck, it’s not as if Belichick decided to move on, Brady was given the power to make that choice.
 

BaseballJones

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OTA's are voluntary and I will never think that skipping them means not giving a full effort, for any player.

It's churlish and rude to assume that a highly driven professional maniac like Brady has ever given less than his full effort over the course of his career. As he aged it made perfect sense to take more time off than usual over the summer with his original team to rest and recharge. Upon joining a new team he needed to get up to speed with their system so he once again participated in all offseason activities.

We've watched Brady for 20+ years. Anyone who thinks he ever mailed it in probably needs to re-examine some life priorities.
I know they're voluntary. He didn't have to go. But he always DID go. And so NOT going means he wasn't giving the same effort he did before.

Brady attending OTAs isn't just about Brady - it's about Brady working with new players, trying to help them acclimate to the Patriots. For what were probably legitimate reasons, Brady chose not to do that his last year with New England. Ergo, he didn't give the same kind of effort he *could* have, and that he *did* for almost every other year in his career to that point.
 

DJnVa

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You know those people that like being sad all the time? Like it's their thing?

I think everyone relitigating this every time something comes up are like them.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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I know they're voluntary. He didn't have to go. But he always DID go. And so NOT going means he wasn't giving the same effort he did before.

Brady attending OTAs isn't just about Brady - it's about Brady working with new players, trying to help them acclimate to the Patriots. For what were probably legitimate reasons, Brady chose not to do that his last year with New England. Ergo, he didn't give the same kind of effort he *could* have, and that he *did* for almost every other year in his career to that point.
OR, if he was feeling burnt out, or his age, he was taking care of his body and mind by taking a brief respite, which could also and reasonably be seen as giving a full effort.

It's OK to change routines as years go by in order to still give one's full attention and effort.
 

Captaincoop

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OR, if he was feeling burnt out, or his age, he was taking care of his body and mind by taking a brief respite, which could also and reasonably be seen as giving a full effort.

It's OK to change routines as years go by in order to still give one's full attention and effort.
No one is saying Brady mailed it in. They're just pushing back on the notion that Belichick screwed up by not committing more money to him for a longer period of time. There is no indication that the Brady/New England combination was going to do anything but continue to get worse, for a bunch of reasons.

That 2019 offense sucked, and I blame Belichick zero percent for wanting to move on.
 

BaseballJones

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https://boston.cbslocal.com/2020/04/08/tom-brady-started-skipping-patriots-otas-gisele-called-out-commitment-to-family-marriage-nfl/

Brady didn't attend OTAs because Giselle wasn't happy with how much time he was spending doing football stuff, and not spending enough time with the family. Now anyone who is married knows that if mama ain't happy, nobody's happy. So I totally get that he would do this for the sake of his family, and for the sake of himself.

But it doesn't change the fact that he skipped working with his teammates in order to focus on stuff at home.

I don't blame him for that. But he could have given "more" of an effort on the football side of things.

But whatever. I guess if we start with the premise that Brady would never do anything less than the max effort, anything he did - even if it was contrary to what he had been doing that was seen as max effort - can be viewed as also giving max effort, just in a different way. So arguing about this is probably pointless.
 

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No one is saying Brady mailed it in. They're just pushing back on the notion that Belichick screwed up by not committing more money to him for a longer period of time. There is no indication that the Brady/New England combination was going to do anything but continue to get worse, for a bunch of reasons.

That 2019 offense sucked, and I blame Belichick zero percent for wanting to move on.
I'm in agreement here, I don't think Belichick screwed up. It came down to the push-pull between planning for the current year and planning for the future, and as Brady got older that calculus became increasingly complex.
 

rodderick

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No one is saying Brady mailed it in. They're just pushing back on the notion that Belichick screwed up by not committing more money to him for a longer period of time. There is no indication that the Brady/New England combination was going to do anything but continue to get worse, for a bunch of reasons.

That 2019 offense sucked, and I blame Belichick zero percent for wanting to move on.
This is kind of where I am. Sure we can blame Bill for drafting poorly, for completely remaking a receiving corps that made Brady an MVP after 2017 and all of that, and I'm sure those were all factors that contributed to Tom's unhappiness in his final years, but at the end of the day those mistakes were already made and the guy was 42. It's completely reasonable that Bill wanted to move on, but he absolutely did want to move on, Brady feels he was pushed out for a reason, it's not like they really wanted him back and he was done with the franchise, neither side wanted the partnership to continue. I still believe 2020 would have sucked with Brady here and he'd probably have been miserable about it, but they could have put together a contender for 2021, but as long as you're going into a rebuild it makes sense to just find the next QB in the process. Tom isn't this baby prima donna and Belichick isn't a stuborn dumb dumb that just couldn't see how great Tom Brady was. The breakup was pretty rational on both ends, even though there was a tremendous amount of ego involved.
 

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https://boston.cbslocal.com/2020/04/08/tom-brady-started-skipping-patriots-otas-gisele-called-out-commitment-to-family-marriage-nfl/

Brady didn't attend OTAs because Giselle wasn't happy with how much time he was spending doing football stuff, and not spending enough time with the family. Now anyone who is married knows that if mama ain't happy, nobody's happy. So I totally get that he would do this for the sake of his family, and for the sake of himself.

But it doesn't change the fact that he skipped working with his teammates in order to focus on stuff at home.

I don't blame him for that. But he could have given "more" of an effort on the football side of things.

But whatever. I guess if we start with the premise that Brady would never do anything less than the max effort, anything he did - even if it was contrary to what he had been doing that was seen as max effort - can be viewed as also giving max effort, just in a different way. So arguing about this is probably pointless.
I've been married for 20 years. It hasn't been easy at times. I agree wholeheartedly that if mama ain't happy, then nothing will be right. So if Brady needed to focus on his family in the offseasons in order to make things right so that he could focus on football again, then that was the correct decision.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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This is kind of where I am. Sure we can blame Bill for drafting poorly, for completely remaking a receiving corps that made Brady an MVP after 2017 and all of that, and I'm sure those were all factors that contributed to Tom's unhappiness in his final years, but at the end of the day those mistakes were already made and the guy was 42. It's completely reasonable that Bill wanted to move on, but he absolutely did want to move on, Brady feels he was pushed out for a reason, it's not like they really wanted him back and he was done with the franchise, neither side wanted the partnership to continue. I still believe 2020 would have sucked with Brady here and he'd probably have been miserable about it, but they could have put together a contender for 2021, but as long as you're going into a rebuild it makes sense to just find the next QB in the process. Tom isn't this baby prima donna and Belichick isn't a stuborn dumb dumb that just couldn't see how great Tom Brady was. The breakup was pretty rational on both ends, even though there was a tremendous amount of ego involved.
2019 was looking fine until:

- AB got himself thrown off the team in 11 days because he's batshit insane
- Gordon got suspended
- and Sanu got hurt

Had only 1 of those things happened I suspect that 2019 would have ended far differently.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
SoSH Member
Oct 1, 2015
24,375
I've been married for 20 years. It hasn't been easy at times. I agree wholeheartedly that if mama ain't happy, then nothing will be right. So if Brady needed to focus on his family in the offseasons in order to make things right so that he could focus on football again, then that was the correct decision.
I don't disagree. But it can also be true that by doing that, he wasn't giving "max effort" on the football field. Him making sure Giselle was happy wasn't helping him get in sync with N'Keal Harry, that's for certain.
 

rodderick

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Apr 24, 2009
12,751
Belo Horizonte - Brazil
2019 was looking fine until:

- AB got himself thrown off the team in 11 days because he's batshit insane
- Gordon got suspended
- and Sanu got hurt

Had only 1 of those things happened I suspect that 2019 would have ended far differently.
Yeah, but AB and Sanu were opportunity/panic moves that don't often work out. Expecting big production out of wide receivers signed mid season to a complex offense isn't a recipe for success.
 

AlNipper49

Huge Member
Dope
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Apr 3, 2001
44,852
Mtigawi
Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. Maybe his 75% is still better than most 100%s. Maybe he was able to deal with outside variables efficiently and that was all just noise. Who the hell knows. Maybe sometimes shit just ends. Willie Mays plays for the Mets, Jordan plays for Washington, Gretzky plays for the Rangers. For 20 years to have occurred without one of those events happening is a testament to the folks who put these teams together and who played on these teams. That length of a career with one team is nearly unprecedented. During those times there were assuredly dings and dents as all relationships have. Sometimes crap just runs its course. Hell, if I was Brady I may have looked elsewhere. I'm loyal to a fault but you also only live once. It probably was not money, it probably was not a bump in a 20 year relationship. Maybe Brady just felt like leaving. That's the most likely answer by a rather significant magnitude. It's probably also the one that doesn't get headlines, so don't expect to get it in many places, particularly ESPN.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

Throw Momma From the Train
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May 20, 2003
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Yeah, but AB and Sanu were opportunity/panic moves that don't often work out. Expecting big production out of wide receivers signed mid season to a complex offense isn't a recipe for success.
Both were fine, AB was a very early season move. Sanu was doing very well but that high ankle sprain ruined his season (and apparently his career). He had 10 receptions in his second game in NE but got hurt in the next game against PHI and was never the same.