Brady is back….back again

Gash Prex

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DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Gray didn’t even ask him if he was coming back. He ist asked him what his timetable was for deciding.

The way that Brady answers, it makes you wonder if maybe Gray ambushed him. Like maybe Brady thought they had a deal on certain questions and Gray broke the deal or changed the question slightly. Because otherwise, it is hard to imagine Brady getting pissed about an obvious question.

Or it was just a performance. Brady acting pissed to nip the question in the bud and keep others from asking him repeatedly.
 

Mystic Merlin

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Gray didn’t even ask him if he was coming back. He ist asked him what his timetable was for deciding.

The way that Brady answers, it makes you wonder if maybe Gray ambushed him. Like maybe Brady thought they had a deal on certain questions and Gray broke the deal or changed the question slightly. Because otherwise, it is hard to imagine Brady getting pissed about an obvious question.

Or it was just a performance. Brady acting pissed to nip the question in the bud and keep others from asking him repeatedly.
This is where I’m at. Hard to tell what’s real or performative, but either way listening to the obsequious Gray try to defuse the tension is amusing.

Presumably Brady has editorial power over what makes the final cut, so the fact this bit stayed in the posted interview suggests he saw some value in telling everyone to fuck off and leave him be even if it wasn’t planned.
 

Marciano490

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Gray didn’t even ask him if he was coming back. He ist asked him what his timetable was for deciding.

The way that Brady answers, it makes you wonder if maybe Gray ambushed him. Like maybe Brady thought they had a deal on certain questions and Gray broke the deal or changed the question slightly. Because otherwise, it is hard to imagine Brady getting pissed about an obvious question.

Or it was just a performance. Brady acting pissed to nip the question in the bud and keep others from asking him repeatedly.
Who? Jim Gray, provocateur?

Wait who was the dude who got slapped for calling that QB Chrissy?
 

Marciano490

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Oh yeah. Jim Rome. That dude’s still on my tv sometimes. What an asshole. I hope that slap hurt.
 

Van Everyman

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It’s funny: I still think this dude is the best quarterback in the league given adequate weapons and line play. And I suspect he does as well. Every one of his “generational talent” peers—Mahomes, Allen, Rodgers, Jackson—basically needs elite weapons to be elite (except for maybe Jackson bc of his legs). When Tom has a down year it’s usually because his supporting cast was really, really bad and his line is made of Swiss cheese and rubber bands.

The problem is, it’s really hard to replicate what he had that first year in Tampa. A terrific defense. A bunch of young, hungry receivers. A elite running back on a prove it contract. A couple of HOF-caliber guys (Brown, Gronk) he can almost guess the route they’re going to run. And most of all, a coach that lets him call the shots.

My guess is he only runs it back again if he thinks he can do something like that in Vegas. My guess is that he and Vrabel wouldn’t get along.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Oh yeah. Jim Rome. That dude’s still on my tv sometimes. What an asshole. I hope that slap hurt.
I will go to my grave believing the Jim Everett attack was scripted as a publicity stunt to grow Rome’s name in an industry still in its infancy. It would be illogical for Everett to go on his show after the world was rallying around Rome calling him Chrissy otherwise. My only question would be if I’m Everett how large would the check need to be?

It follows an old adage taught me by wiseguys growing up, “If something doesn’t make sense to you and you’re trying to figure it out just follow the money trail.”
 

Marciano490

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I will go to my grave believing the Jim Everett attack was scripted as a publicity stunt to grow Rome’s name in an industry still in its infancy. It would be illogical for Everett to go on his show after the world was rallying around Rome calling him Chrissy otherwise. My only question would be if I’m Everett how large would the check need to be?

It follows an old adage taught me by wiseguys growing up, “If something doesn’t make sense to you and you’re trying to figure it out just follow the money trail.”
You’re telling me he got to slap Jim Rome AND get paid?
 

HomeRunBaker

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You’re telling me he got to slap Jim Rome AND get paid?
To my grave. Nothing else makes sense. Everett had no reason to go on a guys show who had spent the previous two months slamming him on national television relentlessly….knowing that his appearance would be marketing by Rome, would generate ratings, and be a very profitable endeavor that would bump up his career. If I had a guy killing me every day on tv why would I ever do the guy a favor like this? What is the only reason I’d do it?

It’s the only logical explanation.

Oh wait, you want more? How about Rome was never suspended for his antics and Everett never charged with assault or faced any legal action. Hmmmm
 

Marciano490

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Seems like he was probably too dumb to think about the ratings boost and figured he’d go up there and out tough guy Rome and show him to be a coward.
 

NortheasternPJ

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Gray didn’t even ask him if he was coming back. He ist asked him what his timetable was for deciding.

The way that Brady answers, it makes you wonder if maybe Gray ambushed him. Like maybe Brady thought they had a deal on certain questions and Gray broke the deal or changed the question slightly. Because otherwise, it is hard to imagine Brady getting pissed about an obvious question.

Or it was just a performance. Brady acting pissed to nip the question in the bud and keep others from asking him repeatedly.
Jim Gray is a Brady Employee I believe. Zero chance this wasn’t staged and agreed to before hand.
 

Traut

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What’s the point of having a podcast if you can’t answer that obvious question without being annoyed?
There’s something not right with Tom Brady at this point in his career. I have no idea if this is the guy he has always been or he’s evolved into this.

Maybe he used to have handlers who ran interference and now those people are gone? Maybe it’s too many blows to the head.

The guy we saw in New England doesn’t get angry at that question. He certainly doesn’t answer it. He probably chuckles and says some non answer like “I’m really enjoying watching the playoffs, spending time with my kids, and doing conditioning” or something.

I really don’t know. Maybe we never really knew him here. He just seems off.
 

rodderick

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Tom can't keep going into every off-season without a firm commitment of either returning/retiring/changing teams and expect people not to talk about it. The fact that anyone cares in the slightest is recognition he's still relevant, if no one gave a shit then he should be annoyed.

I just don't get what he still has to play for at this point. Really you're going to Vegas now trying to duke it out with all the young guns in the AFC? And for what? Anything short of an MVP or Super Bowl championship does nothing for your legacy. In fact I'd argue had he retired this past off-season and the NFL world watched the Bucs go 5-12 with Blaine Gabbert or whatever his legend would have been enhanced. Just figure something else out, man. I'm the biggest Brady bobo there is and he's kinda lost even me, can't wait until I can actually be nostalgic about the guy without the monthly drama.
 

Average Reds

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I just don't get what he still has to play for at this point. Really you're going to Vegas now trying to duke it out with all the young guns in the AFC? And for what? Anything short of an MVP or Super Bowl championship does nothing for your legacy. In fact I'd argue had he retired this past off-season and the NFL world watched the Bucs go 5-12 with Blaine Gabbert or whatever his legend would have been enhanced. Just figure something else out, man. I'm the biggest Brady bobo there is and he's kinda lost even me, can't wait until I can actually be nostalgic about the guy without the monthly drama.
Brady is just like Unitas, Namath, Montana and just about every other great QB you can think of who hung on too long and became a shell of himself - he doesn’t want to let go of the game because this is who he’s always been.

My guess is that he wants a bounce back season so he can go out on his own terms. The only question is where? My guess (hunch, really) is Miami.
 

Justthetippett

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There’s something not right with Tom Brady at this point in his career. I have no idea if this is the guy he has always been or he’s evolved into this.

Maybe he used to have handlers who ran interference and now those people are gone? Maybe it’s too many blows to the head.

The guy we saw in New England doesn’t get angry at that question. He certainly doesn’t answer it. He probably chuckles and says some non answer like “I’m really enjoying watching the playoffs, spending time with my kids, and doing conditioning” or something.

I really don’t know. Maybe we never really knew him here. He just seems off.
He’s “going through some things” professionally and personally, and may be realizing that putting all his energy into football at this point in his life was not the best choice given the impact it’s had on other parts of his life, leading to guilt, anger, doubt, etc. He probably just needs to regain his balance. Honestly getting away and not doing any press would probably be in his best interests. As for playing, going up against the young guns might be exactly what he wants. I think it comes down to his own health and how his body feels, and whether he can find a good fit. LV is less risk in a way. He will obviously know the offense, and maybe they draft an heir apparent so it’s clear this is one or two more years and then it’s curtains.
 

rodderick

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Brady is just like Unitas, Namath, Montana and just about every other great QB you can think of who hung on too long and became a shell of himself - he doesn’t want to let go of the game because this is who he’s always been.

My guess is that he wants a bounce back season so he can go out on his own terms. The only question is where? My guess (hunch, really) is Miami.
Yeah, maybe the "issue" here is he's just not declining physically in the way his predecessors did, so it's not like he's looking helpless out there or getting injured and dealing with a lot of pain so it's harder to let go. I just think at this point it's likelier he goes to Vegas/Tennessee/Miami and has another 8-10 win season than leads a contender. Is that worth it?
 

tims4wins

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What's kind of weird about his response is the question wasn't "what are you doing next year", it was "do you have a timetable to figure it out". I feel like he could have answered that in a more diplomatic way.
 

Average Reds

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Yeah, maybe the "issue" here is he's just not declining physically in the way his predecessors did, so it's not like he's looking helpless out there or getting injured and dealing with a lot of pain so it's harder to let go. I just think at this point it's likelier he goes to Vegas/Tennessee/Miami and has another 8-10 win season than leads a contender. Is that worth it?
To us? With $350 million (or however much it is) waiting for us on the other side? No fucking way is it worth it.

To someone wired to compete and who probably can’t live with how this season ended? Almost certainly yes.

If he were a normal guy, he’d be retired and watching his kids grow up while surrounded by his supermodel wife and extended family. Sadly (at least in my view) Brady is not that guy.
 

tims4wins

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If he were a normal guy, he’d be retired and watching his kids grow up while surrounded by his supermodel wife and extended family. Sadly (at least in my view) Brady is not that guy.
Unsure if you're trying to imply this, but if he were a normal guy, he wouldn't have 7 rings. It's a huge catch-22.
 

rodderick

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To us? With $350 million (or however much it is) waiting for us on the other side? No fucking way is it worth it.

To someone wired to compete and who probably can’t live with how this season ended? Almost certainly yes.

If he were a normal guy, he’d be retired and watching his kids grow up while surrounded by his supermodel wife and extended family. Sadly (at least in my view) Brady is not that guy.
I think him not being a normal guy even in the context of high level NFL QBs is what has pushed him to playing until 45, but he has won without Bill, he has succeeded on his own elsewhere, the legacy is more than secure. Is it just "I can still throw the ball better than most of these assholes, why leave?", because I kinda can grasp that, I just feel like retiring without ever having failed would be a huge feather in his cap, but I guess guys at that level just think they 100% can't fail as long as they're not injured.
He should have retired 2 years ago when he was on top, and won the non-BB Lombardi.
I kinda think last offseason was as good a time as any, he came in second in the MVP race and had a real argument over Rodgers and then almost pulled off another insane playoff comeback. Everyone from the Lombardi winning team was coming back, retiring after the title was a really big ask. Now the whole "am I really going out after an 8-10 season and a home playoff loss?" thing probably comes into play.
 

Van Everyman

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I think him not being a normal guy even in the context of high level NFL QBs is what has pushed him to playing until 45, but he has won without Bill, he has succeeded on his own elsewhere, the legacy is more than secure. Is it just "I can still throw the ball better than most of these assholes, why leave?", because I kinda can grasp that, I just feel like retiring without ever having failed would be a huge feather in his cap, but I guess guys at that level just think they 100% can't fail as long as they're not injured.

I kinda think last offseason was as good a time as any, he came in second in the MVP race and had a real argument over Rodgers and then almost pulled off another insane playoff comeback. Everyone from the Lombardi winning team was coming back, retiring after the title was a really big ask. Now the whole "am I really going out after an 8-10 season and a home playoff loss?" thing probably comes into play.
Yeah, the problem is that last offseason he tried to engineer that Miami thing that blew up in his face. So he ended up having gone through all the motions of retiring and unretiring only to end up back with TB again, albeit with a shit roster.
 

DJnVa

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Maybe a Brady prediction poll is warranted.

I want to lock in: retires and gets back with Giselle.
 

wilked

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He should have retired 2 years ago when he was on top, and won the non-BB Lombardi.
No doubt. One wonders how his life would be different if so, but no way to turn the clock back.

I was thinking the other day - which great athletes have played it perfectly, ending their careers like a movie?

One that I discovered that many won't think of:

Lanny MacDonald, Right Winger / NHL in the 70s/80s

He played half his career in Toronto (#4 overall pick) and half in Calgary, with a short stint in Colorado in the middle.

Very steady career with a peak of 98 points in his 12th season. However by '86 he was 33, lots of knee injuries and on the decline. By the start of '88 he was 11 goals short of the elusive 500 club and with only a week in the a season to go he got it
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YMJBRBQw2E


The Flames progressed through the playoffs and matched up against the Canadiens in the Finals. Lanny played the first two games (split with Montreal) then sat the next 3. Entering game 6 the Flames were up 3-2 and Lanny was back in. The coach (Crisp) was quoted as saying that if they won Lanny deserved to be in it.

Lanny was serving a penalty and just as time expired he came out of the box and this happened to put the Flames up 2-1
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thiLsc_q0hA


They didn't look back and he ended his career with a Stanley Cup and retired in the offseason a champion. His goal total (reg season) remains at exactly 500, something only 46 other players have ever done.

You can't draw it up much more perfectly than that
 

bsj

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I for one think the Raiders are a bad move. The AFC is loaded and he won't win there.
I thought the 49ers made the most sense until Purdy went crazy.
I always thought maybe Patriots reunion would be a nice story but with BoB that tiny chance seems gone as BoB mentioring Mac makes too much sense.
Miami for one year ?
 

Groovenstein

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What's kind of weird about his response is the question wasn't "what are you doing next year", it was "do you have a timetable to figure it out". I feel like he could have answered that in a more diplomatic way.
I guess Brady will go tit for tat wit’
Anybody who’s asking this shit, that shit
Jim Gray, he can get his ass kicked
Worse than that little Jim Rome-y bastard
 

BigSoxFan

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I for one think the Raiders are a bad move. The AFC is loaded and he won't win there.
I thought the 49ers made the most sense until Purdy went crazy.
I always thought maybe Patriots reunion would be a nice story but with BoB that tiny chance seems gone as BoB mentioring Mac makes too much sense.
Miami for one year ?
Miami makes a ton of sense given Waddle/Hill and his kids are there. Tua's concussion issues may cause enough doubt that Miami might actually entertain this. And if Brady goes to Miami, does Gronk follow?
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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Miami onto makes sense if Tua can’t play, otherwise that seems like a downgrade, doesn’t it? I guess they could trade Tua but for a year or two or Brady, seems risky.
 

Traut

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What's kind of weird about his response is the question wasn't "what are you doing next year", it was "do you have a timetable to figure it out". I feel like he could have answered that in a more diplomatic way.
His default response to questions like this has always been to awkwardly chuckle, smile, and give some non-answer.

This is different from him. From the outside, there’s a sadness here that wasn’t present in his time in New England. He has always had a chip on his shoulder but that’s never been publicly directed at the media or come across in any interview that I can remember.

Perhaps he has realized that success and happiness are different things? Who knows.
 

Dotrat

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Between the flirtation with Miami, the blank stares after every failed play in the Dallas game, and his overall weirdness (shilling for concussion water, the peculiar diet, his recent defensiveness, self-help blather), I find myself wishing he would just ride quietly but quickly into the next phase of his life. And I don't like feeling this way.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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His default response to questions like this has always been to awkwardly chuckle, smile, and give some non-answer.

This is different from him. From the outside, there’s a sadness here that wasn’t present in his time in New England. He has always had a chip on his shoulder but that’s never been publicly directed at the media or come across in any interview that I can remember.

Perhaps he has realized that success and happiness are different things? Who knows.
It probably has something to do with the awkwardness of last year. Also, he is recently divorced. He was probably distracted during the season. I am sure he has a lot to process.

I also think that in prior years, whenever he has been thinking about retiring, he has probably fully believed that he could be great if he committed. Maybe he still thinks that. If there is a part of his mental makeup that has access to reality, he may actually have some doubts.

I fully believe he will play. Because that is what these guys do. But I can See why this year feels different,
 

cornwalls@6

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No doubt. One wonders how his life would be different if so, but no way to turn the clock back.

I was thinking the other day - which great athletes have played it perfectly, ending their careers like a movie?

One that I discovered that many won't think of:

Lanny MacDonald, Right Winger / NHL in the 70s/80s

He played half his career in Toronto (#4 overall pick) and half in Calgary, with a short stint in Colorado in the middle.

Very steady career with a peak of 98 points in his 12th season. However by '86 he was 33, lots of knee injuries and on the decline. By the start of '88 he was 11 goals short of the elusive 500 club and with only a week in the a season to go he got it
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YMJBRBQw2E


The Flames progressed through the playoffs and matched up against the Canadiens in the Finals. Lanny played the first two games (split with Montreal) then sat the next 3. Entering game 6 the Flames were up 3-2 and Lanny was back in. The coach (Crisp) was quoted as saying that if they won Lanny deserved to be in it.

Lanny was serving a penalty and just as time expired he came out of the box and this happened to put the Flames up 2-1
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thiLsc_q0hA


They didn't look back and he ended his career with a Stanley Cup and retired in the offseason a champion. His goal total (reg season) remains at exactly 500, something only 46 other players have ever done.

You can't draw it up much more perfectly than that
John Elways last game was a Super Bowl win. Can’t leave on a higher note than that.
 

joe dokes

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John Elways last game was a Super Bowl win. Can’t leave on a higher note than that.
As was Max McGee's. But he was a bit player in SB II -- 1 catch, 35 yds (after a 3-catch regular season). His hungover, left his helmet in the locker room, 7-catch SBI (after a 4-catch regular season) is much more famous.
 

reggiecleveland

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No doubt. One wonders how his life would be different if so, but no way to turn the clock back.

I was thinking the other day - which great athletes have played it perfectly, ending their careers like a movie?

One that I discovered that many won't think of:

Lanny MacDonald, Right Winger / NHL in the 70s/80s

He played half his career in Toronto (#4 overall pick) and half in Calgary, with a short stint in Colorado in the middle.

Very steady career with a peak of 98 points in his 12th season. However by '86 he was 33, lots of knee injuries and on the decline. By the start of '88 he was 11 goals short of the elusive 500 club and with only a week in the a season to go he got it
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YMJBRBQw2E


The Flames progressed through the playoffs and matched up against the Canadiens in the Finals. Lanny played the first two games (split with Montreal) then sat the next 3. Entering game 6 the Flames were up 3-2 and Lanny was back in. The coach (Crisp) was quoted as saying that if they won Lanny deserved to be in it.

Lanny was serving a penalty and just as time expired he came out of the box and this happened to put the Flames up 2-1
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thiLsc_q0hA


They didn't look back and he ended his career with a Stanley Cup and retired in the offseason a champion. His goal total (reg season) remains at exactly 500, something only 46 other players have ever done.

You can't draw it up much more perfectly than that
Incredibly nice guy. After he retired somebody in Calgary approached him about some girls in a poor neighborhood that wanted to play basketball and needed money for uniforms etc. He gladly paid and when the coach quit he actually began to coach. So I was at a high school tournament and at the coaches' social Lanny F---ing MacDonald was there. He very apologetically asked to sit with us and picked our brains. It was pretty clear he didn't want any fanboy stuff but wanted to learn how to run a practice, when to call timeouts, etc. He stuck with it until those girls aged out, and repeatedly turned down offers from better players, richer kids who wanted to join his team. By all accounts, he became a pretty good coach and those kids improved a ton. The kids were mostly immigrant kids who had no idea their coach was a HOFer and the most famous guy in the city.
 
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sonofgodcf

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Between the flirtation with Miami, the blank stares after every failed play in the Dallas game, and his overall weirdness (shilling for concussion water, the peculiar diet, his recent defensiveness, self-help blather), I find myself wishing he would just ride quietly but quickly into the next phase of his life. And I don't like feeling this way.
I don't understand this at all. How often do you actually hear Brady talk about any of this stuff? I've never seen the actual concussion water, but that happened in what, 2015? Other people bring up the diet (which isn't that peculiar for highly-trained athletes) and self-help stuff. He's as bland now as he was in NE, with some occasional glimpses of being an actual human (avocado tequila and trophy tosses should be celebrated).

It sounds more like you're tired of the media around him, which is easy to avoid. But watching him play is still pretty incredible, and a treat imho. We're witnessing one of the greatest sporting careers ever, I don't get why people are so intent on wishing it to end. The guy has brought Pats fans an immeasurable amount of joy; let the guy finish on his own terms.
 

BigJimEd

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Brady did introduce an "immunity" supplement during the pandemic. I don't think it is just the media around him. Brady is constantly pushing an image and I don't think it's as bland as it was a decade ago. For better or worse.




Not the greatest comments about his chicken shit tripping attempt either. Maybe take a week or two off from the podcast Tom.


https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/01/24/tom-brady-plans-to-appeal-his-tripping-fine-attacks-nflpa/
Yeah, that is weak. Sure, I tried to trip him but I missed. You can't fine me since I was bad at it. And Brady goes on to take a shot at the NFLPA. I guess he wants the NFLPA to come out more strongly against fining players for plays that could injure another union member. okay