Joe stops by The 300s Podcast studio to chop it up and it is a must watch. In this fresh new episode we discuss a series of questions, including: is Oprah sneaky trying to sink the Patriots, should the Celtics trade Kyrie Irving, and whats the biggest sport in the world?
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Latest ep of #The300sPodcast is LIVE! We talk Edelman, PEDs, TB12 and more! “The #Patriots Have Become TNT: We Know Drama” https://t.co/I95yBvGQSN
— The 300s (@The300sBoston) June 12, 2018
We talk about Julian Edelman’s possible suspension and how apparently the NFL doesn’t even know what he tested positive for, how does this all affect Tom Brady and TB12, some good old fashioned Boston media on media crime and more! Listen, subscribe, and review us on iTunes, Google Play or wherever you get your podcasts!
SI – “I know what Julian Edelman posted on Instagram in the wake of the suspension news (“I don’t know what happened”) came off as a little weird, but there is an explanation for it. I was told Edelman’s result was triggered by a substance that wasn’t immediately recognizable, and there are scientists analyzing it. And as to the timing, the test did happen during the offseason (a couple months ago), which means it’s not for any kind of stimulant. You might remember the rash of players saying they got popped for Adderall—the rules have changed now so that offseason use of stimulants falls under the substances of abuse policy, rather than the PED policy.”
Late last week Julian Edelman got popped for PEDs, but it wasn’t immediately known what he had actually tested positive for. However, Bert Breer of MMQB reported today that Edelman’s “I don’t know what happened” defense may not be totally unfounded because apparently the NFL doesn’t know what happened either.
“I was told Edelman’s result was triggered by a substance that wasn’t immediately recognizable, and there are scientists analyzing it.”
Ask anyone who has read “Game of Shadows” or “Juiced” or followed really any of the Olympic track scandals over the past 20 years; the steroid scientists are always ahead of the league scientists. Its just a constant game of catch up as the leagues are trying to reverse engineer everything and figure out what to test for. With that being said, when they do pop someone its usually a hybrid substance or a masking agent of another substance that triggers the test. Breer makes it seem like Edelman tested positive for something the NFL has never seen. But if thats the case, then is the substance he took actually banned? Did Edelman even know if it was or wasn’t?
I mean technically, if its not a banned substance then you can’t suspend a guy for it. You would have to at least inform the NFLPA that it will soon be banned and that it will be tested for in the future. Without knowing all the details its hard to say who’s more in the wrong here (neither Edelman nor the NFL are in the right) because if you’re the NFL how can you suspend a guy for something you didn’t know even existed let alone banned? If you’re Edelman WTF are you doing taking something that isn’t 100% approved by the NFL. A lot of players won’t even step foot in a GNC anymore because who the hell knows whats in half of the supplements they sell? If you don’t know, then don’t risk it.
So the real question is what did Edelman test positive for? Adamantium? Vibranium? The symbiote that forms Venom?
Or is it a TB12 cocktail? I’m certainly not going to point the finger because it would be criminally negligent for Alex Guerrero and Tom Brady to be signing off on anything even approaching questionable as part of the TB12 Method. Doing so would essentially submarine a potential billion dollar business in a second.
But thats not to say the media won’t make the connection, allude to the connection, or nearly come to blows arguing over the mere mention of a possible connection.
Curran is Edelman’s business partner in a book deal. He is a client of Alex Guerrero. Reports on both. Like most in sports media he has opinions about teams he never covers in person (C’s, B’s, Sox). And here he lectures us on journalism. https://t.co/PuuLy9H7Iz
— Dan Shaughnessy (@Dan_Shaughnessy) June 9, 2018
👀🔥 @Dan_Shaughnessy & @tomecurran get into while talking about Alex Guerrero’s influence on TB12 pic.twitter.com/cRpdH37NyS
— Patriots on NBCSB (@NBCSPatriots) June 9, 2018
Either way the Patriots have become a constant source of drama and gossip this offseason, which is the antithesis of what this team has been for the past 18 years. Thats tough to ignore because where there’s smoke there’s usually fire. But until that shoe drops, I fully expect the team to win 12+ games and be chasing another Super Bowl this year. So for all the critics calling for the end of the dynasty, saying every great team run ends the same; It only ends once. Everything before that is just progress.
So after my Patriots blog yesterday telling everyone to RE-LAX, Adam Schefter just told me to go get my shine box.
Patriots’ QB Tom Brady still has not committed to playing in 2018, even though people who know him believe he will back coming season, league sources told ESPN.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 18, 2018
I’m just going to quickly summarize my emotions in the only way I know how because I’m a socially awkward millennial; using a GIF.
I don’t want to do a full 180 on my take from yesterday because I still believe everything I wrote, but that was also with me assuming the psychotically competitive Tom Brady would compartmentalize whatever bullshit disputes there were going on so he could get back to chasing Super Bowls.
But now Adam Schefter comes in from the clouds to ruin my Wednesday morning commute with a report that Brady hasn’t officially committed to playing in 2018. Does that mean he’s out? Of course not. Does this concern the shit out of me? Absolutely. With all the soap operas surrounding this team for the past 4-5 months, the reported power struggles, the alarmingly open ended finale to Tom vs Time; all of that has been building up and stewing. For a team that has always kept distractions to a minimum (they literally killed Tebow Mania in an afternoon) this, their biggest distraction ever, has only gotten worse. Typically when you keep sparking flint near a powder keg it doesn’t just resolve itself and go away. No, that shit usually blows sky high.
So if Brady comes back and plays then obviously no harm no foul, but the fact that IF he’ll play this season is even a question is a problem. What I really do not want to see this turn into is the modern day Brett Favre saga. That was painful to watch and you know it pissed off everyone involved. But more so, you just know Belichick will shut that shit down like he’s late on the cable bill if Brady waffles on playing. I mean the NFL Draft is next week for christ’s sake. Would it surprise anyone if the Pats said oh you’re not sure if you want to play? Welp we just traded up and drafted a new franchise QB.
Its like Bill Belichick is Arthur Curry
And I’m Bruce Wayne. “Thats not the saying.”
I would hate to see my favorite team and my favorite player break up over this high stakes pissing match just because Bill wouldn’t let Tom’s guru personal trainer into the locker room. This is on everyone by the way, I’m not blaming Brady or Belichick. Together they’re still the odds on favorite to win the Super Bowl. We’re all adults here so lets be better. Thats what they’ve done for 18 years.
With all the hysteria surrounding the Patriots after some viral comments from former players like Danny Amendola and the missed OTAs by Gronk and Brady, I think its time for a little market correction. And no this is 100% not an increasingly on edge Patriots fan trying to force some sunshine into your newsfeed…
Obviously with every hot take artist out there all we here is how Amendola called Bill Belichick an asshole, but conveniently leave out the fact that Amendola in the very next sentence goes on to laud the approach because it was what made them successful, which is why he respects Bill.
“It’s not easy, that’s for sure. He’s an asshole sometimes. There were a lot of things I didn’t like about playing for him, but I must say, the things I didn’t like were all in regards to getting the team better, and I respected him,” he said. “I didn’t like practicing in the snow, I didn’t like practicing in the rain, but that was going to make us a better football team and that was going to make me a better football player. It wasn’t easy, and he’d be the first to admit, at the [Super Bowl] ring ceremony, that it wasn’t easy playing for him. The silver lining was that we were at the ring ceremony.“
Now everyone is freaking out because Brady and Gronk missed the start of OTAs leaving out the fact that they’re voluntary workouts. Literally, they’re workouts, not practices:
Point of context on #Patriots guys attending or not attending off-season workouts: these are lifting/running sessions, typically by position group. If a “team leader” misses, it’s not as if he misses addressing the team or something. His small group may be only ones who notice.
— Matt Chatham (@chatham58) April 16, 2018
Sure, guys may hear. But it’s not like it affects your day or anything going on w/ other workout groups. If a CB isn’t there, doesn’t matter to anyone working out in the LB group before or after. It’s a story people will talk about, doesn’t really have any affect in the building
— Matt Chatham (@chatham58) April 16, 2018
And while I still don’t love the idea of Brady missing anything, its not entirely unprecedented. He’s missed some time in OTAs in 08, 09, and 2010. Lets not mention the fact that those were some of the leanest years for the franchise in the past 20 years….
MOVING ON
The point of this blog is to offer a market correction. Lets right set exactly what draws players to this horrible place we call New England, even knowing full well how much of a psycho the guy twirling the whistle on his finger is.
Martellus Bennett recently announced his retirement after an injury shortened second stint with the Patriots. When Bennett was healthy he was an absolute stud and a huge factor in the Patriots winning another Super Bowl. Another shining example of a “problem player” coming to NE and somehow just “figuring it out.” That shit is not a coincidence folks. Bennett actually does a great job of illuminating exactly why this approach is so successful, especially for players that have not been in a similar environment previously.
“Bennett played for five teams in his 10 NFL seasons, but he says the Patriots are different, and that his time with the organization helped prepare him to run his own business. “It was the first team I ever went to where I got an employee handbook,” he says. “And I was like, ‘Wait, what? An employee handbook?’ It was the first place where you felt like, they’re running a business, you’re part of a business, this is your role in the business, this is what we expect from you.”
He adds that he observed a policy of transparency around the franchise: “The thing about the Patriots is the honesty around the building, from top to bottom,” he says. “Everyone is honest with everyone. If someone feels a certain way, they’re honest about it, Bill’s honest about it, he tells you exactly what he’s feeling. Some teams like to deal with issues with players in private, but everybody knows what’s going on, but then nobody knows the result of what really happened, so it creates gossip. With the Patriots, there’s not room for that, because everything is upfront.”
So the Patriots expect a ton from you. In return they are honest (if painfully so), transparent, clear in their expectations, and they lay out exactly what is required to do your job. That sounds simplistic, but its really not. Most businesses in this country don’t even run that way. Most businesses have a fundamental crack in one of those pillars, which creates ambiguity, confusion, resentment, and dissension. The Patriots have a rock solid foundation, which is why they are successful.
Then we have free agents who willingly elect to sign with the Patriots. But why? If so many guys hate it then why do they come here? Because they know by playing for the Patriots they will maximize every single ounce of potential they have as a player. For Jordan Matthews that was too good to pass up.
“I think probably the biggest reason [for picking New England] was I knew this was the best opportunity for me to grow as a player,” Matthews told reporters Thursday at Gillette Stadium. “I had some other teams that contacted me that I visited, but I knew just as a player and as a man — I’m recently married, about to have my first child — I don’t think I’m called to be comfortable. And I knew this would be a great place for me to grow, not only as a player but as a man in general.”
Does this guy sound like a Patriot from Day 1 or what? We continue.
“I feel like it’s so easy for us as people to say, ‘OK, what’s the easiest role, and what’s the path of least resistance?’ And then we look up at our lives and we’re 80 years old, and we haven’t done anything great. And so, In my life, in my self, I’m not looking for the easiest route to make myself look great. I want to always do what’s going to make it harder for me to attain any level of success, so that way, anything I can do has meaning.”
God I hope this dude makes the team.
So as I round the corner heading into 1,000 words my point to everyone reading this is just take a deep breath and RE-LAX. Have things been a bit more rocky since the Seth Wickersham article came out? Yes. Have we started hearing more about the TB12 power struggle, Tom vs Time questioning Brady’s future, and Gronk openly waffling on playing in 2018? Yes, yes, yes. Have we had to watch beloved guys like Danny Amendola sign for more money somewhere else? Yup. But this is the way its always been with the Patriots and for good reason.
So while it may be a Patriots homer kind of thing to say, but I’m going to sit back and let the team do its thing because thats whats gotten them 5 Super Bowls. Having Tom Brady lets the team cover A TON of their deficiencies, but reading those quotes from Martellus Bennett and Jordan Matthews just remind me that this organization is built to be more than just a football team. They’re a business operation.
NESN – Bill Belichick apparently believes he can unlock Cordarrelle Patterson’s full potential. Patterson, who was traded from the Oakland Raiders to the New England Patriots last month, has been a special teams star during his five-year NFL career but only a sporadic offensive contributor, able to break long gains with his speed and athleticism but lacking consistent production as a receiver or ball-carrier. Belichick hopes to change that. During an appearance Wednesday on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football,” Patterson recalled the first conversation he had with the Patriots coach after the trade was completed. “He was just telling me, ‘I don’t know what you’ve been through in the past, but we get the job done here,’ ” Patterson said. “‘We’re going to make you the player that you should be.’ ” …“I got a call from my agent, and he was like, ‘You’re getting traded to the Patriots,’ ” Patterson said on “Good Morning Football.” “I was like, ‘Stop lying.’ He was like, ‘No, I’m serious.’ So I was like, ‘OK, let’s go.’ I was excited. They make it to the Super Bowl almost every year … so it was an exciting feeling to me.”
I was having a chat with Joey B yesterday about the Patriots receiving corp for the 2018 season and he expressed some concern about the team’s lack of a deep threat after the trade of Brandin Cooks. Now we do in fact have Cordarrelle Patterson (4.4 second 40 time) and Philip Dorsett (4.3 second 40 time) on the roster so those are your de facto flag route guys.
But, I honestly don’t think the Pats need a pure deep threat and I think thats something they forgot last year as they tried to force balls to Cook down the field. Tom Brady was forced to stand in the pocket longer so those deep routes had time to develop, which resulted in Brady taking more than twice as many sacks (35) than he did the previous year (15). So thats more hits on Brady than you’d like to see your 40-year-old QB take. Plus with their longtime left tackle gone thats an issue you want to mitigate even further so TB12 isn’t susceptible to unnecessary shots. Plus the Patriots have never needed or relied on a prototypical deep threat as part of a Super Bowl winning offense. Its always been about the short routes, working the slot, timing, quick in and out routes, and Gronk when he’s been healthy.
With all of that being said, how can you not love Belichick? He knows all of this, but he’s so cocky in his ability to put players in a position to succeed he straight up tells the guy all your other coaches have been garbage, but we get the job done here. We tell you to Do Your Job and if you worry about that and only that you’ll have the opportunity to maximize your talents. Just look at guys he’s done this with in the past: Julian Edelman, Danny Woodhead, Troy Brown, Deion Lewis, Wes Welker, Chris Hogan etc. The hoodie knows how to take advantage of a player’s very particular set of skills:
Not to mention these guys are often the same guys that have fallen out of favor with their old teams, which is why their stock is so low to begin with. So its a great marriage of opportunity and timing.
Roll the tape!
So unless your New Years resolution for 2018 was to turn off all devices, ignore the internet, and in general avoid humanity you know that ESPN published a nuclear bomb (topical metaphor) of an article regarding the three-headed relationship between Belichick, Brady, and Mr. Kraft. The TL:DR of it is that “sources” say Brady is calling a lot more shots and Kraft made Belichick trade Saint Jimmy, among other uncomfortable decisions made and actions taken by various parties involved, and now Belichick is generally unhappy with his situation in New England, as is Brady with Belichick.
Honestly there is probably a lot of truth in the whole thing. I’m sure Brady and Belichick butt heads. I’m sure Belichick is never truly satisfied with his position. I’m sure they’ve never been best buds. I’m sure the Coach, whether on the surface or deep down, didn’t want to trade Jimmy G, but had to, under orders or by virtue of winning football games/good football strategy. With all that said, the writer Seth Wickersham, has been churning out attack pieces on the Pats since GodKnowsWhen and definitely put as ominous of a slant on it as possible. If nothing else, the Big 3 of the Patriots are completely dedicated to winning, and to some end I’m sure all 3 know New England is the best place to do it.
It did get me thinking though. I actually kind of had an existential moment and, in a way, I suppose this is a bit of a confession. As I read sentences that openly pondered whether or not Brady or Belichick, or both, were on their way out, I actually asked myself if I would still give as much of a shit about the Patriots without them. DO NOT GET ME WRONG I did not become a Pats fan upon the team’s success or the arrival of the two aforementioned current pillars. Patriot fans around my age are always getting shit for being too young to be able to appreciate their success but they won their first title when I was about to turn 12. Over a decade without a sniff of success is a good chunk of time. I got my start pretty early in sports so I remember some putrid Bledsoe years. I remember no name running backs. I remember going to the Super Bowl in 1997 knowing we were going to get smoooooked by Brett Favre. So ya, I’ve been a fan for awhile.
This dynasty though, man. Belichick, Brady, Mr. Kraft becoming “Mr. Kraft”. This has been special. This has been a contingent of people, personalities, and philosophies all of its own, existing inside the history of a ~60 year old football franchise. And there have been other players we’ve gotten attached to that have come and gone as well. Mike Vrabel. College wrestler Stephen Neal. Ben Watson. Tully Banta-Cain. Would we have the fond memories and continued affection for those players if they didn’t come to us during these 18 years? Do I give as much of a shit about Vrabel, for instance, if he caught those 8 TDs as a goal line tight end from 5 other quarterbacks who aren’t Tom Brady while being coached by a coach who isn’t Bill Belichick? Probably not.
So let’s say Belichick thinks he has outstayed his welcome and bounces after this year. Next season we have someone else underneath the headset. Brady, Kraft’s guy, jogs out onto the field. Devin McCourty stretches on the sidelines. They score and on the ensuing kick Matt Slater pins the opposing team at their own 2. Does it feel as special? Are we still living the same dream? Do I really give as much of a fuck? Or is it The Office without Michael Scott? I’m a huge fan of those episodes. You have a dump in your pants if you say they weren’t funny. But a certain spark was missing. A special element. No one could deny that.
So I don’t know. I don’t know if I’ve become the obsessive, psychotic, my-girlfriend-doesn’t-watch-football-with-me-anymore guy because of a growing love of football and the Pats or because of the characters involved. It’s almost an impossible question to answer. The chicken or the egg, the coach and QB or adolescence. I’ll watch the Pats until I die because there isn’t anything else to do on Sundays, I love football, and my happiness is in their hands whether I like it or not. But whether wins and losses, picks and touchdowns, sacks and missed opportunities keep me up at night or not without Belichick, or Brady, is a huge question. One that so far has taken 18 years and three of the best football minds to answer. I just hope they still haven’t come to their conclusion.
Its been too long, ESPN. I haven’t read a good Patriots hit piece in a few months. ESPN the Magazine just dropped this article today on Tom Brady and the TB12 Method. It used to be Greg Easterbrook randomly attacking the Patriots as part of his weekly 8,000 word diatribes. Then it was Mark Brunell crying on SportsCenter about DeflateGate. Well, now we’ve moved on to Tom Brady and the TB12 Method. Listen, I haven’t bought the book so take this with a grain of salt. I don’t know all the ins and outs of Brady’s program, but I do know a hit piece when I see one. So lets break it down.
“He tried his best, as he always does, but he was alone against a younger, faster opponent, and when he dove, he missed by a foot rather than by an inch and appeared simply to fall down, in pieces. Even those who root against him might then have pitied him, because it was one of those moments when the essence of sport is revealed to be cruelly and coldly biological: Tom Brady, in the course of throwing a pick-six to Robert Alford of the Falcons in the second quarter of Super Bowl LI, had grown old.”
Wait did the Patriots lose that game? Did Brady play terribly? Oh no, it was the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history in which Tom Brady won his fourth Super Bowl MVP and finished the game 43-62 with 466 yards for 2 TDs and 1 INT. Decent.
“He doesn’t just want to play until he’s 45; he has to play until he’s 45, or else he’s not Tom Brady, architect of the impossible.”
I’d say he’s doing alright thus far. While it would be a surprise for him to retire now after years of saying how he wants to play well into his 40’s, I don’t think anyone would necessarily fault him. I might weep like a small child, but certainly no one with a rational brain would put a negative spin on him retiring “early” if he did so.
“When [Tony] Robbins, smiling toothily in his headset, leads the crowd in rhythmic clapping, Brady gamely claps along. He is wearing his own headset, smiling his own toothy smile, and he appears for all the world to be an aging athlete doing what aging athletes have always done — trying to find a way off the field by turning himself into a salesman.”
Jesus christ, I mean I didn’t buy the TB12 book either, but this ESPN writer is out for blood. Maybe Brady is exaggerating? Or maybe the guy who is playing at the highest level a QB his age has ever played at is on to something? I don’t know.
“He answers questions about concussions by saying that his body is none of your business even as he begins to build a business around his body.”
First real valid point of this article. But also, if you’re Brady why would you want to open yourself up to constant questioning about your personal (alleged) concussion history when you’re still lining up every Sunday. Maybe after he retires, but doing so now would just, all together now, create a distraction.
“The TB12 Method offers a portrait of a ferociously limited human being, albeit the world’s “most hydrated” one.”
Hey fuck you buddy, being hydrated is half the battle. Plus Tom Brady is the absolute antithesis of the all-time great QBs. He wasn’t handed a starting job on a silver platter or gifted golden NFL legacy genes like Peyton Manning. He was a backup in high school on a winless team and then was behind about half a dozen other guys on the QB depth chart in college. Sure, he has world’s more athletic potential than any of us, but I don’t fault the guy for harping on the limitations he overcame to get here. Because its exactly what he did. I mean have you ever SEEN his NFL Combine pic?
“In fact, two years ago, I took a hit on my knee during a practice, requiring an MRI. The doctors who read the MRI joked afterward that my knee looked so healthy, they seriously doubted I played professional football.”
Alright thats a bit of a hokey stretch from Tom, but again the guy has already torn his ACL horribly. Legitimately required multiple surgeries to fix it after nearly ending his career so is it out of the realm of possibility that Brady’s “pliability” work has helped avoid further injuries like this? Watch him play and he really does “know how to fall.” Thats a legitimate skill. Its why only children and old people break their arms when they fall down.
“However, if Alford had caught the ball Brady threw to him instead of Edelman, or if the ball had followed its natural course and fallen to the turf instead of being held up by a thicket of arms and legs — or if Pete Carroll had just handed the ball to Marshawn Lynch in Super Bowl XLIX — we might be having an entirely different conversation about Tom Brady. He wouldn’t be an immortal, and instead of talking about the efficacy of the TB12 Method in prolonging prime performance, we’d be shaking our heads about another NFL great reduced to chasing his own ghost. Brady didn’t only get good against Seattle and Atlanta, he also got lucky.”
If David Tyree the insurance salesman doesn’t make the luckiest catch in NFL history or if Mario Manningham doesn’t make that absurd sideline catch then Tom Brady could have SEVEN Super Bowl rings right now. Or Vinatieri could miss all of those clutch field goals and Brady could have none.
“The quarterback was still trying to adjust his game after five years of postseason struggle. Smart defensive coaches had started challenging him, clogging the middle of the field in order to force him to throw outside. In 2013, Brady’s yards per attempt had fallen to 6.92, his lowest since 2006, and he completed only 17 of 68 throws beyond 20 yards.”
In case anyone forgets, 2013 wasn’t exactly the kindest year as far as Tom Brady’s offensive weapons were concerned. While this was Edelman’s breakout season with 105 catches, Rob Gronkowski got hurt and played in only 7 games, Wes Welker left for the Broncos, Danny Woodhead went to the Chargers, oh and Aaron Hernandez got arrested for murder. The Pats signed Danny Amendola, who got hurt and played in parts of only 12 games. The Pats also brought in hugely disappointing rookies in Aaron Dobson, Josh Boyce, and Kenbrell Thompkins. Just a little perspective. Moving on…
“The Chiefs drubbed the Patriots on Monday night early in the 2014 season, and Brady played so poorly — so creakily — that talk turned to whether he was, at long last, finished.
Yes the Pats had just drafted Jimmy G before the 2014 season, and yes people like Trent Dilfer danced on the Patriots’ graves.
But the team was not in this freefall that this article seems to suggest. Do we already forget what Belichick’s response was to people asking if Brady would be supplanted as the starter?
“A few days later, Belichick asked running backs coach Ivan Fears to speak to the team. Fears spoke about the importance of attitude, then turned to Brady and, with the entire team looking on, said, “Your body language reeks of fear.”
Thats the beauty of the Patriots as Tom Brady himself has said many times over the years, no one in that locker room is above criticism.
“On the night of Oct. 30, that question was answered — for now, at least — when he traded Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers for a second-round pick. The trade came out of nowhere, surprising people close to Belichick, Brady and Garoppolo. But while it’s easy to see the move as a demonstration that Brady is and always will be the one exception to the Belichick Method, it instead serves as confirmation that the Method will always win. Did Belichick trade his backup out of loyalty to a 40-year-old quarterback, or because cutting bait at exactly the right time is what he always does and always will do?”
Literally NO ONE believes that Belichick traded Jimmy Garoppolo because he’s pals with Tom Brady. He did it because he saw an opportunity to get a draft pick that he valued more than he valued Jimmy G at this current time on his current contract. Thats it.
“[Brady] said, ‘I’m at the point where I want to be the best in every possible way. I came across the exercises in Popular Science, and I can already see the difference in my brain function. This kind of brain training is like physical conditioning. It can help anyone.’ “That’s just not how we thought of brain training before,” Mahncke says.”
Taking advantage of underutilized tools in unconventional ways. Very Moneyball of you, Tom.
“He has little sympathy for anyone whose experience might contradict the overarching TB12 narrative. “Players say the biggest reason [for early retirement] is their fear of the long-term effects of playing while injured. I don’t have that fear. They have no idea they can have a body or a career free of the pain that athletes of the past have endured.“
Okay, yes, if I was a fellow NFL player dealing with injuries this line would drive me up a wall.
“What would count as a failure for Tom Brady? Playing until he’s 41 instead of playing until he’s 45? Never winning another Super Bowl? Getting released at age 43 from the Patriots and spending the last days of his career hobbling around for the Browns, still angry that they took Spergon Wynn in the sixth round of the 2000 draft instead of him? Or getting all he wants — playing until he’s 45 and winning two more Super Bowls — only to discover 15 years later that he has recurring headaches and his memory is hazy and he can’t follow the route to the nearest TB12 training center?”
Pretty morbid from ya boy over at ESPN especially when all Brady is trying to do is mitigate the chances of injuries like that. Not glorifying CTE inducing hits like *your* employer ESPN used to do back in the day with the JACKED UP segment.
Then these guys completely forgo subtlety and all but blame the TB12 method for not helping prevent Julian Edelman’s torn ACL, or Dont’a Hightower’s torn pectoral muscle, or Amendola’s concussion. Listen, I’m not a disciple, but this book is not being sold to people as a way to never get injured again. Brady has said himself that its about preventative measures and recovery more than anything else.
I don’t know, if you want to read the article its pretty in depth, but I got a very haterade vibe to the whole thing; not just towards the TB12 Method, but towards Tom Brady himself. Color me shocked.
Boston.com – The Patriots quarterback insists that he is “never sore,” despite fending off hits from the defense and sometimes even blocking pads to the face from head coach Bill Belichick. “I could practice every day,” he said. “I could practice twice a day if they’d let us do that, but that’s not the way it goes anymore. It’s just fun being out here competing.”Brady’s recovery regimen, which includes his line of Under Armour sleepwear, will be one of the featured topics in his upcoming book, The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance.
A friend of mine said to me last night over a couple of exclusive craft beers known as Rolling Rocks about Tom Brady that “He is fully going to get busted for PEDs” and a cold shiver went down my spine as I laughed it off.
I mean I want to believe that a Plant Based Diet Presented by TB12 is the one true reason for Tom Brady’s success, but who the hell knows. Maybe its the food, maybe its the avocado ice cream, or the concussion water, the plyometrics work or the TB12 space pajamas. Its probably some combination of all the wacky shit Brady does to keep his body in optimal condition. Or maybe, maybe its something really cool that I don’t even know about.
That or he’s just a legitimate android sent back in time to wreak havoc on the NFL for reasons we cannot yet understand.
Either way, I for one welcome our new robotic overlords and will enjoy the shit out of this guy who should be in an over 40 beer league who somehow continues to play at an MVP level and dominate a league filled with guys half his age.
You’re goddamn right I squeezed a Simpsons reference in there somehow. Gotta keep grinding every day.
So apparently the Patriots are celebrating Tom Brady’s 40th birthday today by trotting out a mini heard of goats rocking TB12 jerseys. Because what else do you get the man that has everything?
I’m told there will be 5 live 🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐wearing Tom Brady jerseys here @Patriots practice today in celebration of Brady’s 40th birthday.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) August 3, 2017
But more importantly, if you’re anything like me and my friends, you’ve obsessively watched every single Tom Brady documentary there is, but most of all The Brady 6. One of the funniest lines of that entire documentary is the gigantic FUCK YOU that ESPN gives to that scrub Giovanni Carmazzi, who the 49ers took over Brady. “……he has five goats.”
And now years later, on his 40th birthday, after his 5th Super Bowl championship, Tom Brady also has 5 goats.
The 300s 