Tag: New England

Ian Rapoport: Patriots Willing to Pay Tom Brady More Than $30 Million per Year

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NFL.com – The Patriots are intent on keeping Brady, obviously, believing he has one or two good years left. They are willing, sources say, to pay him in excess of $30 million per year to keep him in New England — a significant commitment that would bring his salary more in line with other elite QBs.

That would help, but it may not be all. If Brady is going to return, he wants to see the team spend on some weapons…Another potential factor for Brady is his TB12 workout facility. Brady wants to continue the routine that has kept him upright and agile throughout the years, and a new team being willing to incorporate TB12 into their footprint would help. The Chargers — who will share a stadium with the Rams — would have that capability.

The Patriots wanting to keep Tom Brady is not Earth shattering news, but Ian Rapoport reporting they’re willing to pay “in excess of $30 Million a year” to keep him certainly is. As more rumored landing spots continue to pop up, I started to mentally prepare myself for Brady getting an offer of 3 years for $90M from another team only for the Pats to counter with 1 year for $25M and that being the end of it. I just cannot see Belichick and the Patriots being reluctant to pay Brady top of the market money for years, only to relent now as he heads into his age 43 season.

Since 2007 when Brady won his first MVP award, he has been paid anywhere from $8 Million – $23 Million per year while only topping $20M once, which came last year. Meanwhile, here are the guys who made more than Brady in AAV last year alone:

  • Seahawks QB Russell Wilson: $35 million
  • Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger: $34 million
  • Packers QB Aaron Rodgers: $33.5 million
  • Eagles QB Carson Wentz: $32 million
  • Falcons QB Matt Ryan: $30 million
  • Vikings QB Kirk Cousins: $28 million
  • 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo: $27.5 million
  • Lions QB Matthew Stafford: $27 million
  • Raiders QB Derek Carr: $25 million
  • Saints QB Drew Brees: $25 million
  • Colts QB Andrew Luck: $24.6 million
  • Redskins QB Alex Smith: $23.5 million

This is kind of murky because Brady’s actual salary last year was just $1.75M while he had a signing bonus of $20,250,000 and a roster bonus of $1M, but you get the point. The man is dramatically underpaid. While Brady has always been willing to take less than market value, which fans loved him for, he seems to be looking to make up for some of those lost wages and it’s hard to fault him.

I’m no capologist so I have little idea what paying Brady $30M x 3 would do to the Pats cap, but I don’t think this team is anywhere close to being ready for the post-Brady era. Jarret Stidham may be the guy, but he’s only got one year under his belt and the last time we saw him he was throwing a pick 6 to blow the cover against the Jets.

Paying Brady $30M a year at this point is the definition of paying for past performance, which is not a position you ever want to be in. The reality is it’s a spot the Patriots put themselves in by not offering him a real extension at any point in the last two years.

The most interesting part of Rap Sheet’s report though is the nugget about TB12. Obviously this is Brady’s post-career business and passion project; it’s something he truly believes in and credits for saving his career after blowing out his knee in 2008. So what would be better for a franchise that wants to go national than planting another flagship location in Los Angeles?? That truly concerns me because sure Brady could wait until he retires and then open an LA location, but TB12 is a much easier sell when it’s a 43-year-old playing in the NFL than when it’s a 45-year-old “former” athlete pitching it. If the money is equal then I think it would be hard for Brady to turn his back on all of New England, but if a team like LA blows him away with an offer then I think the TB12 piece is the tipping point for him leaving.

I am not ready for Tom Brady to leave us and this pic of him from the NFL 100 last night has me getting a little dusty.

The grey beard just reminds me just how long Tommy boy’s been in our lives and how close we are to the end. This is why I admittedly could never be a GM because I’m ready to pay the man and take one more run at it. So enjoy the next 6 weeks of wild speculation until free agency starts!

Tom Brady’s Latest Post Has Me Uneasy

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Well this makes me uncomfortable.

It’s more about what he didn’t say than what he did say. Tom Brady is set to become a free agent on March 18th for the first time in the last 20 years. Brady specifically negotiated out the franchise tag so the Patriots couldn’t make the decision of where he plays next year for him. Now we have rumors all across the country that Brady allegedly was looking at real estate in Vegas, which came out just a few days after this.

Then the Los Angeles Chargers, who are moving into a brand new stadium next season, announced that they’re moving on from longtime franchise QB Philip Rivers. So there’s a cushy landing spot in LA now too if Brady is interested.

THEN came the rumors yesterday that Gisele and the Brady family were looking at schools for the kids in Nashville. Well, I have to admit that I don’t think a lot of Massachusetts residents are looking at schools in Nashville for their kids. The Titans had a nice run to the AFC Championship Game after benching my boy Marcus Mariota, who is also a free agent. And Ryan Tannehill very well may win Comeback Player of the Year, but if TB12 is available don’t think old friend Mike Vrabel wouldn’t be interested.

So in saying literally nothing, Tom Brady has said everything and thrown me into full blown crisis mode.

49ers Coach Wes Welker Tells the Story of Belichick Suspending Him for Rex Ryan Foot Jokes in 2011

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Man, I miss Wes Welker. It’s easy to kind of forget when you don’t see someone all that often. He’s not a huge social media users and he’s not a media personality so the only time I ever really hear from Wes is on those Dr. Leonard hair commercials. (Lettuce looks great by the way, Wes) So to hear him tell this story from his perspective 9 years later is hilariously awkward. Not to mention, a bit of shade thrown at Belichick there! And in case you forgot the bizarre yet legendary Rex Ryan foot joke press conference, here it is in all it’s glory.

McNabb and T.O. Continue to Feud 15 Years Later While the Patriots March On

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Yahoo – Old grudges die hard. In 2005, Terrell Owens engaged in one of the most public holdouts in NFL history…his feud with teammates and repeated jabs at quarterback Donovan McNabb led to locker-room discord. The Eagles devolved that season from NFC champions to 6-10 and last place in the NFC East.

For that, McNabb is still agitated. He recounted the experience in an interview with Bleacher Report’s Master Tes released on Wednesday and blames Owens for breaking up a contender.

“I thought that was the major distraction for us,” McNabb said. “He’s doing sit-ups, he’s doing push-ups, he’s playing basketball, he’s ordering pizza for the people out there, and we’re sitting there in training camp just like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ …

“This is like ‘Days Of Our Lives.’ It’s unbelievable. But that was something that kind of broke us up.”

And this is why the Patriots are the Patriots and every other team in the NFL is forever chasing their own tails. Fifteen fucking years later, T.O. and Donovan McNabb are still sniping at each other in the media. McNabb even says in the interview with Bleacher Report that T.O. is what broke up the Eagles, which is the softest shit I’ve ever heard. Was T.O. an all-time asshole diva receiver? Yup, you bet. But, T.O. is also the reason the Eagles were ever that good. In 2004 McNabb threw 31 touchdowns, 14 of which went to Owens. It was also the first, and only, time McNabb threw more than 25 touchdowns.

But, I’m not here to bash McNabb because he was also one of the godfathers, well more like a distant uncle I guess, of the mobile QB revolution we see today. The guy was fun as all hell to watch so if he wants to bitch about T.O. in 2020 go for it.

My point is this is exactly why no team has ever replicated the Patriots’ run of dominance. The Pats literally had the biggest asshole in the league on the team this year in Antonio Brown. A guy who forced his way out of Pittsburgh, torpedoed his short stint with the Raiders, and then got cut by the Pats after a whole bunch of (alleged) dirtbag behavior came out. So the Pats dropped him like a bad habit and his name was never uttered again like he was Beetlejuice.

The Patriots are just experts in PR and damage control. AB is a legitimate disaster waiting to happen and currently has a warrant out for his arrest, but the team never let it become a distraction. This is the same team that, albeit disappointingly briefly, rostered Tim Tebow without any distraction, gave new life to perceived diva Randy Moss, and even had a convicted murderer on the team in Aaron Hernandez without it breaking up the team.
So my point is, T.O. did not ruin the Eagles and cause them to go from playing in the Super Bowl to finishing last in the NFC East the next year. The Eagles did that to themselves.

Chad Ochocinco is Trying Out for the XFL. As a Kicker.

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So Mattes and I were discussing the XFL earlier and the one question he asked me was, “will you watch?” My answer was the same as it was for that disaster that was the AAF: I’m going to try. Where the AAF was just bad NFL football, at least the XFL will be playing with some rule tweaks to make the game quicker and differentiate it from the NFL.

Now Vince McMahon does sees much more wary of turning the XFL into a circus act like it was the first time around so you don’t see many big name former NFL players in the league just to grab attention. It looks like they’re trying to build something semi legitimate so maybe he doesn’t want former wide receivers joining the league as kickers, but hey lets see what he’s got at least.

I mean it’s not a total gimmick either; the man has legitimately kicked field goals in NFL games before. Against the Patriots no less.

As a well known FIFA diehard Ochocinco is no stranger to striking and apparently he can boot the ball.

Unfortunately for Ocho, the XFL nearly eliminated the need for a kicker by removing extra point field goal attempts. They also pushed the kickoff back 10 yards from where the NFL and college does it so unless you’re kicking it 75+ yards you’re probably not getting many touchbacks.

All I know is football is more fun when Chad Ochocinco is a part of it so I’m pulling for him.

The Patriots are Too Old, Too Beat Up, and Now the Vultures are Circling. Here. They. Come.

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Theres just something about old, grizzled, veteran teams making a final stand that I love more than anything. It’s the reason why the 2011-12 Celtics are one of my favorite teams of all-time despite the nightmarish end to that season. That old, veteran team spawned the greatest rallying cry for fans of old ass teams everywhere.

And just like that Celtics team, this year’s New England Patriots and Tom Brady specifically are like the last Spartan in 300. Just fighting until the last man. Now I wouldn’t exactly qualify Ryan Tannehill and the Titans as the Persians in this situation, but not all analogies are perfect so work with me.

I refuse to believe the wide receiver turned Dolphins quarterback in Ryan Tannehill unseats the Patriots. Then again he’s been playing absolutely lights out as was former Dolphins runningback Kenyan Drake who went from afterthought to fantasy juggernaut in Arizona. So maybe its the Dolphins who are garbage more so than the players we’ve dragged for years. And maybe Tannehill and Mike Vrabel do have what it takes to come into Foxborough to knock the Pats out in potentially Tom Brady’s last game as a Patriot.

But, the Titans better hope so because Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have heard this song before and here. they. come.

The Patriots Are Releasing Ben Watson

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After serving his 4 game PED suspension, the Patriots opted not to activate Ben Watson before their game against the Washington R-Words this past week so that was odd. The Pats then had until 4 pm Monday to activate Watson or he would become a free agent and they opted to not activate him. Granted the Pats did pull Watson out of retirement to join the team so maybe he’s just not ready to go? This team is so thin at Tight End though I can’t imagine they wouldn’t welcome a 14-year veteran at a position of need.

Some people are speculating this could be the end, but Watson sure doesn’t sound like a guy thats ready to walk away.

By cutting Watson though the Pats save nearly $2 million in cap space so I think this means they have got to be in on a trade. Why else make the move? You’ve got three weeks until the trade deadline on Oct. 29th and the Pats were really close up against the cap already. They’ve been rumored to be in on everyone from Emmanuel Sanders (going on 6 years now) to Stefon Diggs, Trent Williams, Tyler Eifert, and even guys like AJ Green. I don’t have my calculator out, but I believe Sanders and Eifert are the only ones they could fit without having to restructure contracts so those are the only two I’m seriously looking at.

Welp, Ben Watson we hardly knew ye. Its truly the end of an era at the Tight End position in Foxborough.

BREAKING: The Patriots Just Placed Stephen Gostkowski on Injured Reserve

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So news broke earlier today that the Patriots were working out free agent kickers, which as Mike Reiss pointed out, the Pats do this ever year at a number of positions just to cover their asses.

So no big deal really?

Well it turns out it wasn’t just a ploy to bring in some competition for Gostkowski, it was a legitimate injury concern as the Pats just placed their kicker on IR. As bad as Gostkowski has been this year with 4 missed PATs, I’m not any more excited for a street free agent to now be handling kicking duties.

This also raises the question is this it for Gostkowski in a Patriots uniform? The team put him on IR, which means technically they could bring him back later this year, but you only get two of those a season and the Pats already have some key guys on IR:

  • Isaiah Wynn
  • James Devlin
  • N’Keal Harry

So are you really going to bring back a kicker over your (alleged) franchise LT or your first round Wide Receiver? Nope. Gostkowski has one year left on his deal, but at 35 years old with a cap hit of 5.4M next year, this could be it for him if it is any type of significant injury.

Let the kicking chaos continue.

It Would Appear the Patriots Are Digging Their Heels In On Antonio Brown

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I woke up today, as you all did, to yet another news story of Antonio Brown being an absolute moron and allegedly intimidating an accuser of his.

Has this guy never seen The Town before?

Live look at AB’s lawyer:

The craziest part is that the Patriots seem to be digging their heels in on the matter. Its one thing to bring in a guy who just seemed to be a mercurial diva wide receiver and then get caught with your pants down regarding the civil case, as they reportedly did. Its another matter to have him allegedly intimidating his own accusers while on the Patriots active roster. Everybody knows the Patriots are better than The Cleaners in John Wick when it comes to cleaning up a mess and putting a player on the straight and narrow.

But most of those players in question were just diva a-hole football players. Antonio Brown seems to be at best a child who’s never been told no and a scumbag at worst. Most of these things are still just allegations so no one is legally required to do anything, but Bill Belichick in particular seems to be losing his touch with the media. For the second time Bill got visibly frustrated and walked out of a press conference when peppered with Antonio Brown questions.

I didn’t expect Belichick to actually talk about AB’s legal situation, but I never expected him to noticeably get his back up and storm off the podium like he’s done now twice.

Why then is the team willing to put up with all the bullshit?

Former Patriot turned sports talk radio host Ted Johnson as well as MMQB reporter Bert Breer have both theorized that Belichick is putting up with whatever he has to with AB because he knows Brown can help him chase the won thing thats always alluded him; 19-0.

Its only Week 3 so 19-0 is fun to talk about and its easy to turn a blind eye for most Patriots fans, but these stories are piling up at an alarming rate for a team that didn’t have a dire need for Brown. If the Pats are 1-1 its probably a lot easier for Bill to just say fuck it and cut bait, but is he holding onto Brown for an all out attempt at going undefeated? I don’t know, but I do know its getting harder to defend the silence from the team.

I was never going to defend the move *or* AB because he clearly is out to lunch, but how long will the team, and Robert Kraft specifically, take heat on behalf of an employee who hasn’t even been around long enough to play a home game yet?

Tulane Pulled Out the Old Fake Kneel Play to Beat Houston

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LOVE IT! Give me all the trick plays. Tulane pulled the old fake kneel out of their playbook in a tie game with 18 seconds to go. Naturally they immediately followed this up with a 60 yard hail mary TD to win the game in walkoff fashion.

I am an absolute schill for trick plays. I still remember the fake spike Brady connected with Randy Moss on for on a TD against the Washington R-Words in 2007.

Or what about the Ravens pulling out the fake punt direct snap running play against the goddamn Dolphins?

I’ll never forget the double pass the Patriots pulled off against the Ravens in the playoffs in 2014 with Edelman launching a bomb to Danny Amendola for a TD.

Hell in that same game the Patriots were confusing the shit out of the Ravens with their ineligible/eligible lineman formations. So much so that the league immediately changed the rule to prevent this.

Give me all the trick plays, hook and ladders, reverses, you name it; if you have some trickery in your playbook dump em out.

I completely forgot the Patriots also ran this fake kneel play in the Falcons Super Bowl trying to pop a walk off TD at the end of regulation.

When they finally started including trick plays in Madden is when things got real fun. I would bust out a HB toss to a downfield pass at least 5 times a game because if you connect on even one it would cause your buddy to spike his PS4 clicker. Not to mention the fake punt pass play, its just too bad every punter not named Adam Vinatieri has a worse arm than Johnny Damon.

TLDR; major props to Tulane for busting out a ridiculous fake play to help them steal a win. Need more of that in sports.