The New England Patriots are not known for paying money to players before they have to, especially with players who have had serious health issues throughout their career. That said, they are obviously convinced that their All-Pro tight end, Rob Gronkowski, is healthy and no risk as they advanced his bonus payment, which they weren’t required to do until after the season.
No one can stop Gronkowski, as the Colts learned on this TD reception
You may ask why, but if you do it’s obvious you didn’t watch what he did last year. He has become, without any doubt, the most feared TE in the game and, if he stays healthy, could well become the best to ever play the game. There really was no negative to moving the bonus date up. after all:
It keeps him happy…and keeping Gronkowski happy is…well, smart!
It doesn’t impact the salary cap
The move puts a positive spin on training camp and, for the moment, takes the spotlight away from legal issues (Duh)
Let the Party Bus roll as family and fans celebrate, Rob Gronkowski is signed, sealed & delivered for at least five more years!
Every New England Patriots fan can still remember THAT catch from Super Bowl 49.
I’m not talking about Malcolm Butler, I am referring to Jermaine Kearse. The Kearse catch took an improbable comeback story and nearly squashed it in the flukiest way possible. Why address a travesty that almost was? That Kearse catch is a perfect metaphor for every Pats fan’s 2015 offseason.
Jermaine Kearse caught a ball from Russell Wilson long after the Patriots assumed the play dead. It bobbled in the air, bounced off some limbs and seemed to place the Patriots in the losers column. After coming so close to sewing Super Bowl 49 up, New England now had to deal with this new unlikely circumstance.
Since 2007, all Patriots fans have heard from just about any fan of any NFL team was that the Patriots cheated, and that they were fans of “the Cheatriots.” The most commonly asked question seemed to be “Why haven’t you won since Spygate?” which bellowed from everyone who was quick to point out how the Patriots couldn’t get it done without cheating. The 2014-15 New England Patriots finally had an offense and defense that looked like it could get the job done. Despite a lackluster two and two start, the Pats abused the Bengals in week five and never looked back. The Patriots played exceptional football and gave hope to many that finally, the Patriots we’re ready to get their fourth ring.
After winning the AFC Championship, the Patriots were ready to squash their doubters and regain the respect of the league, then came the “Kearse catch” known as Deflategate. Suddenly, New England, who had spent the entire season showing everyone that Brady still had “it” and that they were ready to move forward from the tarnish of Spygate, had a new enemy. This enemy robbed New England fans of the offseason glory they dreamed about since their team had been flummoxed long ago with camera themed controversy.
To compound the lunacy of Deflategate, free agency was about to land a huge left hook to Patriots nation. Patriots fans were treated to the loss of their entire cornerback squad. The once lauded Darrelle Revis returned to the New York Jets, leaving Bellichick and company to quickly jettison Brandon Browner and not too long after Kyle Arrington. The loss of Revis cannot be understated as he is an exceptional athlete and possibly the best defensive back in the NFL. Browner and Arrington were complimentary pieces that no longer seemed to fit.
Things did not get better for Pats fans. Soon the Wells report was released, and it was followed by the most outrageous penalty in NFL history. In one fell swoop, the Patriots lost their 2016 first round draft pick, their 2017 fourth round draft pick, $1,000,000 and 4 time Super Bowl winning quarterback Tom Brady, for the first four games of the season.
As the new NFL season finally approaches, Pats fans are left with the same gnawing, aching feeling of thievery they received after Kearse made that clumsy catch. Patriots nation was so very close to the end of Spygate and all the negativity that came with it, only to have Deflategate bobble its way into the collective consciousness of the other 31 teams and their fan bases. Respect is bigger than any Super Bowl or any championship, it’s something that every team wants and every fan needs. The big question is, will the 2015-2016 season bring to Patriot fans the “Malcolm Butler interception” that they all crave?
The first weekend of 2015 New England Patriots training camp is now in the past, and on day four the thousands of fans in attendance witnessed plenty of contact. I was one of those fans in attendance, and I found it to be the best day of camp thus far, from an evaluation standpoint. There was a lot of one on one drills, along with live team drills between the first team offense and the first team defense. So without further a due, here are my three biggest takeaways and evaluations from day four of Patriots training camp.
Aaron Dobson Shines Again: One of the biggest bright spots of camp so far has been the resurgence of third-year wide receiver Aaron Dobson. The former second round has stood out on multiple occasions, and none more evident than on Sunday. During eleven on eleven drills, Tom Brady threw a beautiful pass to Dobson down the sideline even though he was blanketed by Malcolm Butler. Dobson stretched out and made a phenomenal catch, erupting the massive crowd.
Dobson was targeted often by both Tom Brady and Jimmy Garoppolo during practice. In addition, during one on one drills against the cornerbacks, Dobson beat out Logan Ryan making another great grab. Also, he made one move on Bradley Fletcher and left him in the dust.
patriots.com
Darryl Roberts Continues To Struggle: As one Marshall Thundering Herd succeeds during training camp with Aaron Dobson, the other on the roster, seventh round rookie cornerback Darryl Roberts, continues to have a tough time acclimating himself to life in the National Football League. Going into training camp, I had Roberts listed as my rookie sleeper that would stand out, as did Malcolm Butler last year, and Zach Sudfeld the year before.
For the second straight day, Roberts was toasted by wide receivers on multiple occasions. On Sunday, Roberts was beaten by Josh Boyce three separate times. The first was during one on one drills, where Boyce ran a flag to the corner of the end zone and Roberts did not even turnaround to look for the ball. That has been a common occurrence throughout camp.
The other two times came during team drills where Boyce just ran right past Roberts, and his only choice was to maul Boyce before the ball could get to him. He is certainly living up to his pre-daft billing of being to aggressive down the field.
patriots.com
Miscellaneous Notes: Jerod Mayo for sure came out firing at practice on Sunday. Twice during four on four drills in which two linebackers and two defensive tackles, would go up against three lineman and a running back, Mayo blew past James White sacking the quarterback. He then seemed to take it easy for the rest of practice, riding the bike heavily.
Furthermore, there was a bit of a scare for Patriots fans during practice as Julian Edelman came up limping after he caught a low placed ball from Jimmy Garoppolo where he was then tackled by Patrick Chung. He eventually walked it off, but then sat out the rest of team organized drills.
Also there was some very spirited competition between Julian Edelman and Malcolm Butler during one on one sessions. Butler won three times, but Edelman got the last laugh spinning the ball in Butler’s face.
Stay tuned throughout the week for more training camp updates.
Day number three of New England Patriots training camp has come and gone, and now the real football has begun. Saturday marked the first time that the team has worn full pads during practice, which could only mean one thing, contact! Of course since the new Collective bargaining agreement came out in 2011, the amount of hitting teams can do in practice is limited, but there was certainly still some popping in Foxborough on Saturday morning. Here are my three biggest takeaways and observations from day three of camp.
1. Blount and Easley Back In Action: On Saturday morning, media members and fans were delighted to see the return of both LeGarrette Blount and Dominique Easley to the practice field. After failing his conditioning test on Wednesday, Blount had to spend the following days getting himself in shape so he could get on the field and help his team.
It was evident that Josh McDaniels wasn’t going to just hand Blount all the reps, he had to capitalize when he had them. When it came down to it, he did capitalize. He doesn’t look like he has missed a step at all since we saw him in February. During a drill in which a linebacker had to cover a running back one on one on a passing pattern, Blount made a phenomenal move on Jamie Collins leaving him in the dust as he reeled in a catch from Tom Brady down the sideline. In addition, during goal line drills, Blount showed his power once again plowing through the defense into the end zone. Although, he was stopped on his second attempt by rookie first-rounder Malcom Brown.
patriots.com
There was a report on Friday, stating the Patriots coaching staff was going to be cautious with Dominique Easley. This did not appear to be the case on Saturday as Easley was full go. Even though he was mostly phased out of first team reps by veteran Antonio Johnson, Easley did impress during interior lineman three on three drills. The drill was simulated with a center, guard, and tackle going up against two defensive lineman and a linebacker. Easley really gave it to un-drafted rookie center David Andrews during the drill. The two were really going at it, that could stem from their Georgia versus Florida college rivalry days.
Rookie Offensive Lineman Jumping Right Onto First Team: With the left guard position wide open, and with Ryan Wendell still on the physically unable to perform list, rookie guards Shaq Mason and Tre Jackson have been able to see plenty of action over the past three days. Many believed that Jackson would have the best chance at the starting job based on his size, but Shaq Mason was the one that really stood out on day three.
Mason was in the left guard spot during live team drills, and he stood his ground giving up zero sacks of Tom Brady. Furthermore, during the interior lineman drill period, Mason made a fantastic cut block on veteran linebacker Jonathan Freeny, taking his feet from right up under him.
patriots.com
Miscellaneous Notes: The story with the quarterbacks was very much similar to what it was on Thursday when I was at training camp. Tom Brady took the majority of the reps with the first team with a little Jimmy Garoppolo mixed in. Brady was borderline flawless, and Garoppolo still needs to make quicker decisions. Brady went seven of ten during seven on seven drills, and a perfect twelve for twelve during live team action. Garoppolo also went seven for ten, and seven for nine during team action.
The defensive back group continues to put things together with some bumps in the road, as expected. The two quarterbacks for the most part carved up the secondary. Nevertheless, there was some bright spots on Saturday. Logan Ryan shined by breaking up multiple passes from Tom Brady. That is key because Ryan is the most experienced corner in the Patriots system, which is scary. Second round safety Jordan Richards also continues to impress the doubters.
On Thursday he had a very nice interception of Jimmy Garoppolo, and today he made a great play by knocking the ball out of Scott Chandler’s hands in a one on one drill. The 6-7 Chandler towers over 5-11 Richards.
Lastly, the play of the day for me had to go to one Aaron Dobson. During one of the seven on seven periods, Dobson made an outstanding grab on a post corner route from Tom Brady, over former college teammate Darryl Roberts, who was all over him.
I will also be in attendance at day four of Patriots training camp, so stay tuned for more updates.
News broke this morning that NFL Executive and former longtime Jets employee Mike Kensil was the reported main source for who leaked out false information to Chris Mortensen about 11 of the 12 Patriots footballs that were used in the AFC Championship against the Colts were two pounds under the legal limit the balls could be at.
Kensil is the same guy that told the Patriots equipment manager “we weighed the balls and you’re in big f***ing trouble.” If all this information is true it makes it out to look like the league is out to setup the Patriots, which some people already believed. Per reports, Kensil leaked out information to Mortensen who then reported the information which ended up being false and ended up starting this whole BS “DeflateGate” debacle were in now. Reporting false information like this was sure to make all the headlines and attempt to ruin the reputation of the Patriots and Tom Brady, which the league is trying to do it appears.
Setup the Patriots and make them look bad and then have no supporting evidence or actual evidence information to backup what is being reported, sounds smart NFL. The NFL has gone back and forth about things they have said and done and this is another example of the bias the NFL has shown against the Patriots and how they are in a way out to get the Patriots. The NFL and ESPN refused to let Chris Mortensen talk on WEEI about the information that was reported and this whole debacle that has occurred since. Mortensen has not confirmed that Kensil is the one who gave him the information regarding the footballs in the AFC Championship game. (Although several sources have speculated that Kensil was the leak) The league doesn’t want any information coming out from their side about how they were wrong or any talks behind closed doors that they have had to be known by the public but are fine leaking out anything they possibly can that can go against the Patriots in this case and make it look like they are doing so many things wrong. They want phone records from Brady, Jastremski and McNally and anything they can try to get to make it look like their reports and accusations are correct, but wont even let the man who they gave information to, who they let “report” what has turned into the biggest sports story of the year and most nonsense of all-time, to talk to other media outlets about the situation. To me it sounds like the NFL are the ones who have something to hide and not Brady or the NFLPA.
Day one of New England Patriots training camp is officially in the books. Fans piled into the practice field stands and the famous hill, to watch their favorite team take the field for the first practice of the summer. Many fans most likely had a very tough time telling which players were which, because in typical Bill Belichick fashion he sent his players onto the field without jersey numbers. The only thing the casual fan could tell was that quarterbacks were in red, offense in gray shirts, and defense in blue shirts.
I was in attendance at practice, and because I spend too much learning every minute detail of these players, I did not have an overly tough time deciphering which players were which. Seeing how the players were in just shorts, t-shirts, and helmets there was virtually zero contact.
7/30/15 QBs and WRs
The lack of physicality made it very difficult for defensive players and offensive lineman to stand out. Therefore, I really limited myself to evaluating some of the skill position groups that were really on display. This meant predominately quarterbacks, wide receivers, and slightly tight ends and running backs.
The running backs that were out on the field today were Brandon Bolden, Travaris Cadet, Tyler Gaffney, Dion Lewis, and James White. When it came to first team reps with Tom Brady and company, Brandon Bolden received almost all of the snaps when the offense was in shot gun, (which was almost every snap).
Furthermore, in goal line drills, the Patriots lined up in the jumbo set with six offensive lineman, with Gronkowksi and Chandler on the end, and Jonas Gray running the ball behind James Develin in the, “I” formation. Jonas Gray was big to begin with, now he looks significantly thicker, and Josh McDaniels seems to be looking to get him involved in the passing game.
Patriots.com
Patriots fans got their first glimpse of Tyler Gaffney today, and it was in a limited role. He received decent reps, but mostly just running the ball in simulated goal line situations. He also got some special teams work in.
The wide receivers were harder to tell apart. Obviously Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola are easy to tell apart, but players such as Josh Boyce, Brandon Gibson, and Chris Harper are not as easy. Amendola and Edelman looked impressive as always. Brady targeted Edelman more than any other receivers, connecting every time they attempted, with the exception of one post corner route in the back of the end zone, dropped by Edelman.
Both Aaron Dobson and Brian Tyms saw a lot of time on opposite sides of the field. Dobson was with Brady and the first team, and Tyms with Garoppolo and the second team. Garoppolo targeted Brian Tyms a total of six times throughout the day during team drills, going four for six, based on my observations, and as expected they were all fade routes and skinny posts. Dobson was on the field a lot with Brady, but the ball did not come his way very often.
At tight end, there are few words to say other than, Rob Gronkowski is a freak. He caught multiple passes in traffic from Tom Brady, the most impressive being a skinny post route in which he caught the ball while shaking off Tavon Wilson like he was nothing, and spiking the ball in the process. In addition, Jake Bequette did not impress at tight end. He has the physical stature to be a beastly blocking tight end, however he has stone hands, dropping passes on multiple occasions.
Quarterback was by the far the easiest position to evaluate, given the fact that there was only two quarterbacks on the field. Tom Brady impressed as he always does in training camp. His passes were pinpoint and he also showed a little bit of athleticism. Early on in practice Brady caught a fade in the corner of the end zone from Julian Edelman. Then later on he caught another pass down the sideline from Julian Edelman on a reverse pass, this time he only needed one hand.
Many were probably expecting to see a slightly improved Jimmy Garoppolo from the one they had seen in December. If you went to Patriots training camp with these expectations, you left disappointed. His first pass of the day was an interception to rookie Matthew Wells or Jordan Richards. He simply can’t throw the ball down field and he seems to be afraid to even try it. Brady certainly does not have a cannon for an arm, but he makes decisions quickly and gets rid of the football. Jimmy panics when his first read is gone, looks around and then dumps it off to James White. If it were a real game situation he would be put in the turf fairly quick.
I hope to attend training camp more in the coming days, so stay tuned for more updates and analysis of the Patriots practices.
It is one of the callings of fall. The days are slowly getting shorter, the grass is freshly cut, and the man in the visor swinging his whistle ferociously, who is better known as the hoodie, is once again patrolling the practice fields of Foxborough. Patriots training camp is upon us. After a very tumultuous offseason in which the Patriots were under heavy fire most of the time, (even though they had just won the Super Bowl) it is time to strap on the pads, buckle up the chinstraps, and play some real football.
This year, more than in years past the Patriots have a plethora of question marks heading into training camp. Who is going to make up for Revis? How will they replace Wilfork? Is this the year Chandler Jones finally makes the leap? Position battles will highlight this summer, given the vast amount of starting roles up for grabs.
If you are going to training camp, you will realize that there is a bunch going on at once as the team breaks off into positional groups. Therefore, your probably thinking to yourself, what positions should I pay closest attention to? Well, here are the five most important positions to watch out for at Gillette this summer.
5. Quarterback: I trying my best to not mention, “deflate-gate” in this article, but I can’t get around it. There is a very good chance that Tom Brady will miss time early on in the season, so now more than ever Patriots fans need to evaluate the back up quarterbacks.
Personally, I will be watching Jimmy Garoppolo very intently. We need to see how he progressed over this offseason. The offseason between a players rookie season and their second season, is the most important of their career. Garoppolo was fully healthy, and I expect nothing less than vast improvement from what we saw in week seventeen last season against the Buffalo Bills.
Photo: masslive.com
In addition, Matt Flynn will battle with Garoppolo for the back up job. Many are sleeping on him, for good reason. He has never won a quarterback battle in training camp, and he has been apart of about three. Nevertheless, he was a very reliable back up for Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay, and always answered the bell when called upon.
4. Safety: The Patriots are now set for the next five seasons at free safety with Devin McCourty receiving an extension worth 47.5 million back in March. However, the safety spot opposite of him will be vastly important in 2015. In today’s NFL, you have to be prepared for passing situations on every down. The Patriots will certainly realize this early on in the season. With all the talented young players in the front seven, Bill Belichick maybe tempted to finally, “turn the dogs loose” up front.
Along with the weak secondary, opposing teams will want to throw the ball given these reasons. With teams throwing the ball non-stop the Patriots need another safety that can cover. That means Duron Harmon needs to have a big camp. Other than Harmon the rest of the safeties on the roster such as Tavon Wilson, Patrick Chung, and Nate Ebner are all tackle machines who can lay the boom, stop the run, and contribute on special teams.
None of the those players however can pass cover. Also, it should be interesting to watch second round pick Jordan Richards. I was not in the minority of being very skeptical of Bill Belichick for taking Richards that high in the draft. He seems like another Nate Ebner, which is all fine and well, but you can get that player in round five.
3. Running Back: No more Shane Vereen in New England, means it is time for a battle for the third down back role. One of the most important positions on the Patriots roster, because for a vast majority of the time your protecting Tom Brady. In my mind, the battle will come down to three players; Brandon Bolden, Travaris Cadet, and James White.
Last preseason, James White did not impress. He was soft and did not show that burst that he had in college at the University of Wisconsin. Travaris Cadet had a decent season in 2014 racking in thirty-eight receptions. Lastly, Brandon Bolden has seen little time at the third down back role, and when he did in 2013 he had a tough time getting on the same page as Tom Brady.
Bolden’s pass blocking ability is better than any other running back currently on the roster. That is what makes this battle an intriguing one. Which player can put all three phases together, Running the ball, catching the ball, and pass blocking. Personally, I am going with the hulk, Brandon Bolden. Why? He has the most experience in the offense, and two years is enough time to fix the deficiencies he showed in 2013.
2. Guard: With no more Dan Connolly, and Ryan Wendell recovering from a shoulder injury, Patriots offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo will be rotating his young guards around. Tre Jackson was drafted in the fourth round of this years draft along with Shaq Mason.
It would be better off for the Patriots to have a rookie take over the role of Dan Connolly, as oppose to players such as Josh Kline and Jordan Devey. They have proven time and time again that they can’t get the job done.
If neither Jackson or Mason can grasp the complex Patriots system, expect to see Marcus Cannon to slide over to guard. Lets hope we don’t have to see that. Don’t be surprised if there is a repeat of the offensive line debacle of last September this year.
1. Cornerback: Obvious choice here. No more Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, Alfonzo Dennard, or Kyle Arrington on the roster, thin would be putting it lightly when talking about the cornerback depth chart on the Patriots. What the Patriots need to do is rely on the few veterans they have right now. Tarell Brown and Bradley Fletcher.
I am in the minority, but I believe that Bradley Fletcher will bounce back and be a serviceable player. The real player to focus on is Malcolm Butler. A young player that shined in year one, and shined in the brightest moment. Can he finally break the trend of Patriots cornerbacks flopping in year two?
Darryl Roberts will also be a player to keep an eye on. He is a seventh round rookie that looks to have the physicality of a player like Brandon Browner. Logan Ryan will receive a ton of reps as well, however he has also proven he can’t fill the cleats. He is targeted immediately when he is on the field.
As all of you know by now, the league and it’s idiotic commissioner Roger Goodell (the money making machine) has stood fast on its 4 game suspension of Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady.
Brady issued his first public statement since this whole debacle (to keep it clean) started, via his Facebook site this morning. In the post he maintained his and any of the Patriots organization’s innocence of any wrongdoing (or knowledge of) pertaining to the inflation of footballs. Brady also mentions that his legal team assured him that his cell phone would not be called into question or need to be turned over to the league. He also addressed the fact that at the time of his appeal, he supplied a list all the recipients of phone calls and text messages for the time frame in question. (Which the league wanted, but refused to look into anyhow)
If all these text messages were so important to the investigation, wouldn’t a fair investigation for BOTH parties involved warrant checking at least a few of these phones? After all we all know that one phone gives you Both sides of text conversations.
This whole process was ridiculous from the start, Once the Wells Report (all 243 pages of nothing more than bird cage floor liner) was disproved as insufficient (by itself and real independent science) the league shifted focus to the fact that Brady didn’t turn over his cell phone as the main reason for the suspension being upheld.
If you’ve ever gotten into an argument with a Patriots hater, this tactic should look very familiar to you, when you point out where they are wrong or ignorant of the facts, what do they do? Yep, they change the subject. Do you think this is any different? If it smells like garbage, that’s probably what we’re looking at.
Robert Kraft as well as Belichick and some of Tom’s teammates had a chance to speak today. Kraft and the Patriots team members spoke of their unwavering support for Brady, and Belichick declined to comment (all of which would be expected).
What was totally unexpected was Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s comments on how the league which he is a very large supporter of, essentially spat in his face (not his words). This is an excerpt from his statement.
It takes a very strong man to admit his mistakes and basically discount his faith in the League as a whole.
The word “Integrity” has been thrown around by alot of individuals over the last 7 months, and that right there, Mr. Goodell is the finest example you will see in your lifetime! Are you paying attention? See you in court.
I am proud to be a member of Patriots Nation! #FreeBrady
After spending 11 hours in the NFL‘s headquarters appealing the 4-game suspension for his involvement in “deflategate”, and months of waiting, Commissioner Roger Goodell had finally reached a decision. Brady’s 4-game suspension would still be upheld. Now, Brady and company are going to court.
We have heard and responses all over social media from fan bases, players, and a response from the New England Patriots organization. However, we have not heard from the man himself, until now.
This morning, Tom Brady released a statement on his Facebook page about the whole situation. This post sheds a new light on the whole investigation and handling of the whole controversy.
As expected, Brady stated that he did “nothing wrong, and no one in the Patriots organization did either”. When it came to the issue about phone records, Brady had said the following, “I also disagree with yesterdays narrative surrounding my cellphone. I replaced my broken Samsung phone with a new iPhone 6 AFTER my attorneys made it clear to the NFL that my actual phone device would not be subjected to investigation under ANY circumstances. As a member of a union, I was under no obligation to set a new precedent going forward, nor was I made aware at any time during Mr. Wells investigation, that failing to subject my cell phone to investigation would result in ANY discipline.” He continues by stating that he and his team of lawyers did everything they could to provide the league with all the electronic communication needed in the investigation.
“I also disagree with yesterdays narrative surrounding my cellphone. I replaced my broken Samsung phone with a new iPhone 6 AFTER my attorneys made it clear to the NFL that my actual phone device would not be subjected to investigation under ANY circumstances. As a member of a union, I was under no obligation to set a new precedent going forward, nor was I made aware at any time during Mr. Wells investigation, that failing to subject my cell phone to investigation would result in ANY discipline.”
Brady continues to state that he feels that there is not a smoking gun.
With Brady and Commissioner Goodell getting ready to clash in the courts, everyone else plays a waiting game. Will Brady start week one, or will the courts uphold the suspension? From the way things have looked, Brady may have the odds on his side.
I went to bed last night, like I have so many times in the past seven months feeling like I can’t defend Tom Brady and the Patriots anymore in the, “deflate gate” saga. The destroyed cell phone almost was the final straw for me. Then, yet again I woke up to a prepared statement, this time from Tom Brady himself.
Brady fired shots at both Roger Goodell and Ted Wells proclaiming his innocence. Some of the key quotes from were as follows; “The fact is neither I, nor any equipment person, did anything of which we have been accused. ”
Also, “Most importantly, I have never written, texted, emailed to anybody at any time anything related to football air pressure at any time before this issue was raised at the AFC Championship game in January. To suggest that I destroyed a phone to avoid giving the NFL information it requested is completely wrong.”
GLENDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 01 : Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots celebrates holding up the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in Super Bowl XLIX February 1, 2015 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Tom Brady
Lastly, to sum it all up, ” I did nothing wrong, and no one in the Patriots organization did either.”
Those are pretty fierce statements coming from Brady. I find it hard to believe that he would keep going to these lengths if he truly did anything wrong. He won’t be backing down anytime soon, unlike his teams owner.
Now the question is, how will this effect his team. Certainly this cloud will hang over the team for all of training camp and until this conflict is resolved. Players with zero intel to the situation are going to be bombarded with questions, just giving the common Patriot answer. ” Im just here getting better everyday, trying to do my job.”
If Brady takes this to court, it will drag out through the season, which makes me feel uneasy as a Patriots fan. Why? The reason is, no matter how confident you are with the case that Brady’s camp has, you never no what can happen in court.
The NFL is taking off and running with their, “destroyed cell phone” case. However, the NFL already had the messages from John Jastremski and Jim McNally, and any other messages that were needed were offered to be retrieved by the Brady camp. That was turned down by the league.
If Brady goes to court and it is heard midway through the season, there is no telling what could happen. What if it goes to court in December and the suspension stays. Then Patriots fans could see Jimmy Garoppolo under center in a playoff game. That is a scary sight to think about.
Nevertheless, the fight must go on from Brady’s side. They have dug in their heels and they are not backing down anytime soon. They can’t, it would look terrible on their part if they talked it up like they have, and then backed down, (Robert Kraft).
In the end, I think I speak for all Patriots fans, and football fans in general when I say that I want this whole thing to just be over with. It is late July, we should be focusing on position battles and the upcoming season. Instead we are discussing cell phones being destroyed and air pressure in footballs.
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