Tom Brady is the only NFL player, and one of only 64 North American professional athletes, to win at leas six championships. There are no NFL players, and only 30 North American professional athletes, who have ever won more than six. Of those 30 athletes, only two never wore pinstripes, green and white, or bleu blanc et rouge. (Red Kelly won eight Stanley Cups in the ’50s and ’60s [four with Detroit and then four more with Toronto], and Robert Horry won seven titles while moving from dynasty to dynasty in the NBA in the ’90s and 2000s [Houston in 1994 and 1995, the Lakers in 2000, 2001 and 2002, and San Antonio in 2005 and 2007]. )
A win on Sunday would serve to strengthen the claim that the “Patriot Way” is/was really the “Brady Way.” A win on Sunday would cement Brady’s legacy as a one-man dynasty. With a win, he would pass Michael Jordan and tie Babe Ruth with seven championships. While 20 men could still claim more than seven rings, Bill Russell and Joe DiMaggio may be the only two who could credibly claim to be primarily responsible for more team championships than Brady. Brady is already on the Boston sports Mount Rushmore. He’s already on the NFL Mount Rushmore. If he’s not already on it now, a win on Sunday would solidify his spot on the North American sports Mount Rushmore.
Should Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lose on Sunday, that shouldn’t impact Brady’s legacy. I don’t want to hear the argument that 6-0 (Jordan) or 4-0 (Montana) is better than 6-4 in the championship. That gives Jordan more credit for losing to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference playoffs three years in a row. It gives Montana more credit for his four one-and-dones. Whether it’s 6-4 or 7-3, Brady should get more credit for likely taking some teams further than they had any business going.
I’ll admit it, I wasn’t driving the Brady/Gronk Bandwagon this season but I will be pulling for them on Sunday. It’s not that I was rooting against them this season. I’ve got no problem with a couple of guys who want to switch jobs or move to a different company. Their departures were no where near as acrimonious as the departures of Bill Parcells, Roger Clemens or Johnny Damon. It’s just not that easy as a fan to switch allegiances. I wish it were, though. No state income tax and seventy-degree days in January and February sound awfully nice. Can’t blame Brady and Gronk for seeking greener pastures.
Like Jerry Seinfeld said, at some level, we’re all just cheering for the clothes.
While Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs still have a long way to go to catch up with Brady and the Patriots, they do look like the type of team that could rip off three championships in a row, or four in five years. As a Patriots fan, I don’t want to see that happen. I’ve got no issue with Mahomes, Andy Reid, or the Chiefs, but I don’t want to see my team challenged like that. Not in the historical context, or even just next year in the AFC. As a fan, I like knowing that the Patriots were the last team to go back-to-back, and that nobody has ever won three in a row. So those are a few more reasons why I’ll be pulling for the Buccaneers on Sunday.
For Kansas City, after a trip to the AFC Championship Game two years ago and now back-to-back trips to the Super Bowl, this will be their 56th game in the last three seasons. That feels like a lot of football. The Patriots were actually in the exact same position three years ago in Minneapolis. After losing to Denver in the 2015 AFC Championship Game, they won Super Bowl LI over Atlanta a year later and got back to the big game the following year. Memorably, they couldn’t finish the job and fell to Philadelphia in Super Bowl LII.
Only a few years prior, Super Bowl SLIX was the 55th game in three seasons for the 2014 Seahawks who were also trying to defend a title against Brady. The Patriots scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, and made the best goal line stand of all time, to deny the Seahawks in their bid to repeat.
Brady doesn’t just start dynasties, he ends them too. Just ask Marshall Faulk and Pete Carroll. The Chiefs could be the next dynasty/near-dynasty to get derailed by Tom Brady.
In all of the Patriots Super Bowl losses in my lifetime, there seemed to be some drama or general weirdness leading up to the game in retrospect. Before Brady, Parcells had one foot out the door before the Patriots fell to Brett Favre and the Packers in 1997. The first Super Bowl against the Giants had the weight of a potential perfect season crash down on the Patriots, and they couldn’t shake that off in the rematch four years later. (The Giants and Tom Coughlin may just be Bill Belichick’s two bugaboos.) And who could forget the time Belichick lost a Super Bowl on purpose just to make a point when he benched former Super Bowl hero Maclolm Butler in Super Bowl LII?
Maybe things are just tamer this year with COVID precautions, but it doesn’t feel like this year’s Tampa Bay team is engulfed by any similar dramas or weirdness.
It feels like the Buccaneers have already played their toughest games this postseason, winning three straight road games to get back home. While it won’t be a home game in the traditional sense, how could it not be a huge advantage to play a COVID Super Bowl in your home city, getting to avoid the hassle of traveling in the time of COVID? It also feels like the Chiefs have played a lot of football over the last few seasons, and oftentimes teams in that situation can run out of gas.
I’m taking the Bucs -3 and betting the total goes over 56 points. I’m expecting a classic shootout, with the old man getting the last laugh.
In what has been the absolutely worst kept secret, Deshaun Watson and the Texans appear to be done as the Pro Bowl QB has officially requested a trade. I mean what did the Texans expect? They continuously bungled personnel and front office decisions and then tell their best player they’ll include him in decisions such as the hiring of the next GM. And then they hire Nick Caserio, who despite the past interest between both sides is someone who wasn’t actually on the list of the candidates their highly publicized search committee put together. Even worse, the move came at the behest of Petyr Baelish AKA Jack Easterby himself. I wrote about how bad things had gotten with Easterby in the fold last month and then Sports Illustrated wrote their second hit piece in just over a month absolutely demolishing the guy. Then the team tells Watson they’ll include him in the process of hiring the next head coach. And they completely ignore Watson’s request to interview Chiefs innovative Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy, only interviewing him after it came out how pissed the QB was. A terrible look. So last night the Texans hire 65-year-old David Culley who’s never been an Offensive Coordinator in the NFL. Then this morning Schefty was promptly announcing Watson’s trade request to make it all official.
Deshaun Watson at this point:
So Watson is going to get traded it’s just a matter of where and how much will it cost. Trading for a 3x Pro Bowl QB who is coming off an MVP caliber season and is still just 25-years-old is going to get EXPENSIVE.
But would you rather the Patriots try and find their next QB in the draft? With the departure of Caserio, who was Belichick’s right hand man in football ops and scouting for the last several years, I am even less confident in the Patriots finding elite talent. Now in the next breath it must be addressed that Caserio did in fact go to run the show in Houston where he is seemingly going to have to trade the best QB in franchise history as his first move. So does that familiarity between the two sides work in their favor or does it immediately kneecap the Patriots’ chances because Caserio doesn’t want to look like he’s doing his old boss a favor?
Another aspect to consider is Watson has a full no-trade clause, which is pretty rare in the NFL, so it will require not only making the trade but convincing the player too. This ain’t three years ago. New England isn’t exactly an enticing place for a player to join these days. With no tight ends to speak of and a receiver core that ranges from undrafted overachiever to first round bust, why would Deshaun want to come here? It’s basically the same situation he’s currently in.
Except the coach and the owner.
That’s their only shot. After years in the clown show that is Houston, he could come in and play for the best coach in the history of the game. Maybe, as was mentioned in that same SI article, Watson really, genuinely longs for a winning culture like he had back in Clemson. Well if that’s true, there is no better place than New England. Just a couple of years removed from their last Super Bowl win and actively looking for the next young guy to take the mantle of the most successful team in NFL history, with a Hall of Fame coach, and a well respected and beloved owner. That could be enticing to Deshaun Watson.
Now of course this all assumes the Jets, the Dolphins, or even the Jaguars don’t value Watson as much as I do and bow out of throwing a bunch of first rounders at Houston. Because the offers those teams can make would blow the Pats out of the water. Granted the Patriots are sitting at No. 15 and are unlikely to have any (according to draft “experts”) elite franchise QBs fall to them so I’m more than willing to trade that pick. But if you’re the Patriots you just got punched in the head with the reminder that if you don’t have an elite QB you are cooked right out of the gate. After 20 years of consistent play from a first ballot Hall of Famer under center it’s easy to forget that not every team has been so fortunate. So if you’re Belichick you should be calling the Texans right now telling them pick what you want and send over the paper work. Whether that’s 3 or even 4 first rounders I’m doing that 100% of the time. A franchise QB is just that valuable and yes the Pats need to fill some holes around the player, but thats something you worry about after bringing him in. With a ton of cap space to work with they could find a Tight End and a Receiver to fill things out alongside Watson pretty quick.
Realistically there’s not really any chance of landing Deshaun Watson so I’m just kind of daydreaming right now, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’d trade everything but the kitchen sink for him. Hell, throw that in there too.
There has been rampant speculation the last week or so that Julian Edelman may be calling it a career after a rather innocuous tweet, but hey the Patriots aren’t playing in January for the first time in forever so people are bored and reading more into things than they normally would. Despite missing the last 10 games of the season due to knee surgery, Edelman came out today and squashed any rumors of him retiring just yet. If you’ve been paying attention over the last decade or so, it’s hard to imagine him going out on Injured Reserve. With that being said, that time is coming sooner than later, so let’s take a look at some of the key factors that led to his return.
1.) Edelman has 1 year left on his contract
Despite being beat to all hell over the years, the guy just loves to ball. So with at least one year left where a team wants him to play football for them, I can’t see Edelman saying no to that. Whether he probably should retire or not with his long term health in mind is a different question. I know he’s pretty far behind Stanley Morgan in terms of Touchdowns and Receiving Yards (and games played), but with his 3 Super Bowl rings, his reliability on the field, his Jerry Rice-esque playoff stats, and his laundry list of clutch plays, Edelman is already the greatest receiver in Patriots history if you ask me. He’s also only 52 receptions behind Wes Welker for the all-time Patriots record so that could factor into him playing another season or two.
2.) Does Edelman want to retire a Patriot or rejoin Tom Brady?
In what seems to be a popular move these days a lot of former Patriots are finding their way down to Tampa. Whether thats through a pseudo-retirement like Gronk, which still doesn’t sit well with me, or even guys who only had a cup of coffee, albeit a wildly successful cup, with the Pats like Antonio Brown. There’s also speculation that more could join him like impending free agent James White, who would be an oh so perfect fit in Tampa. So with Edelman announcing he’ll be back that would seem to confirm he’s not going to try and force his way out of town to rejoin Tom in Florida. Now if he’s healthy and Tom is still playing, he could link up with him after *next* season, but those are two big ifs. Mostly because Edelman’s health is never a certainty, but also because Brady only signed a 2-year contract so he could actually, finally, be retired at that point.
But I think this is missing the entire point.
While Julian Edelman clearly reveres Tom Brady, people seem to forget how much he genuinely loves playing for Bill Belichick. If you’ve seen Edelman’s documentary or read any of his life story then you know Edelman’s dad was a Hall of Fame hard ass who worked Jules’ to the bone growing up and helped mold him into the guy he is today. And I genuinely believe that is something that Edelman not only appreciates, but he craves it. Not to mention Belichick is the only guy that gave Edelman a shot coming out of college and again putting him in a position to succeed in the NFL.
Plus few people have embraced living in Boston more than Edelman has. The guy still lives in the Back Bay, rides his skateboard around town, and is known to pop into random spots like Hojoko in Fenway for a burger. So yes the Pats were a dumpster fire last year while the Bucs are still playing for a Super Bowl berth, but with everything I just rattled off I truly think Edelman wants to retire as a Patriot.
3.) Slot Receiver History
Edelman will be 35 before the start of training camp with 11 seasons already under his belt and a litany of injuries over the years, but I can’t imagine a guy with a self produced documentary called “100%” and a biography called “Relentless” wanting to go out this way. Keep in mind, statistically he had literally his best game EVER in Week 2 against Seattle going off for 8 catches and 179 yards before nagging injuries caught up to him and the wheels fell off the Cam Newton experiment. So as of just a few months ago he still had elite production. However he is already past the expiration date we see on just about every slot receiver, who all take an inhumane level of abuse throughout their careers. Wes Welker retired at the age of 34, but had his last 50+ reception season at 32. The Jets’ all-time slot guy Wayne Chrebet retired at the age of 32. Troy Brown is probably the best Edelman comparison at this point as he caught his last pass at the age of 35 when he had 43 receptions for 384 yards and 4 Touchdowns. Obviously the talent devoid Patriots will need more from a 35-year-old Edelman than 43/384/4 if they’re going to be successful, but thats the measuring stick for 35-year-old slot receivers. Clearly it’s not fair to expect 100 receptions from a guy going into his 12 season, but that just goes to show you the situation the Pats have put themselves in with poor personnel moves (trading a 2nd for Mohamed Sanu) and even worst drafting (1st round WR N’Keal Harry).
While I have no idea if Belichick will do what I hope he does and execute Order 66 this offseason to get the Patriots back to where they need to be, I am glad we get to watch at least one more year of Julian Edelman.
NBCSports Boston – In a stunner on Wednesday afternoon, Zdeno Chara signed a one-year, $795,000 deal with the Washington Capitals. “We are extremely pleased to have Zdeno join the Capitals organization,” said Capitals GM Brian MacLellan. “We feel his experience and leadership will strengthen our blueline and our team.”
Originally reported by Ken Campbell, Chara confirmed the move with a tribute video to Boston fans on his Instagram page.
“My family and I have been so fortunate to call the great city of Boston our home for over 14 years,” his caption reads. “Recently, the Boston Bruins have informed me that they plan to move forward with their many younger and talented players and I respect their decision. Unfortunately, my time as the proud captain of the Bruins has come to an end.”
Zdeno Chara is carved into the Mount Rushmore of Boston Athletes in the 21st Century right alongside Tom Brady, David Ortiz, and Paul Pierce. Chara will be forever beloved by Bruins fans because he chose to come here when he was at the top of his game and the B’s were coming off a last place finish. I still vividly remember sitting in my buddy’s living room that July day in 2006 when Chara (and Marc Savard) signed a massive 5-year contract to come to Boston, which was something the Bruins never did when I was younger. So it was monumental for a guy like Chara to even sign with the team, let alone become a franchise legend, a 14-year-captain, and of course bring the Bruins their first Stanley Cup in 30+ seasons. Not to mention anchoring the defense to two more Stanley Cup Finals appearances.
Chara was an elite defenseman, played the powerplay and the penalty kill, was a captain for over a decade, had the most terrifying slap shot in the league, and he was a physical force. Hell the Canadiens legitimately tried to have him arrested up in Canada for nearly decapitating Max Pacioretty back in 2011. He was also the most intimidating enforcer in the NHL well into his forties with 30 fights in his Bruins career alone.
Chara will be remembered for a lot of things, primarily this iconic photo with the Cup.
He’ll be remembered for his dominance on the ice as one of the best defensemen in the NHL (3x First Team All-Star, 4x Second Team) and then while in Boston becoming the best in the league when he won the Norris Trophy in 2009. Chara will always be the center of some hardcore Boston sports bar trivia too as the owner of the hardest shot in the entire league at 108.8 mph.
Aside from all of the personal accolades and team success though, it was the absolute grit and determination of Big Z that made him a fan favorite. He was always the hardest working guy wearing the spoked B and was routinely setting the bar during the Bruins annual conditioning tests even as he was the oldest player on the team.
The one sight I’ll never forget and one that will be played in his Hall of Fame reel is the ovation Zdeno Chara, with his jaw wired shut, received before Game 5 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, less than two days after breaking his jaw. Chara took a puck to the face in Game 4 and needed surgery to insert metal plates into his jaw and he didn’t even miss a game.
It seemed like the writing was on the wall for Chara this offseason unfortunately, as the Bruins appeared ready to move on after his playing time had started to dwindle. With a bunch of young defensemen the Bruins want to develop or at least evaluate at the NHL level, the team was likely less concerned about the money they’d have to pay Chara and more concerned with kickstarting a youth movement. The Bruins may have also wanted to avoid the optics of having their captain playing 3rd or 4th line minutes assuming Don Sweeney and Cam Neeley didn’t want to stick Chara out there as a Top-4 defenseman at this point in his career.
This is the worst part of getting older as a sports fan; watching your idols get older with you. They get older, sometimes they break down physically, sometimes they move on to other teams, and eventually they all retire. I’m over 30 so Chara has been a pillar of the Bruins for nearly half of my life, which is insane to type. He may not have won as many championships as Tom Brady or Big Papi, but he was just as monumental in changing the culture of an entire franchise and putting yet another Boston team on the map after years of mediocrity.
For that Big Z will always be remembered as a Bruins legend.
This really has just been a disaster of a season. The Patriots just got dunked on by the Buffalo Bills after going 29-3 against them between 2001-2019 with Tom Brady under center. It was a blowout, it was a changing of the guard, but to say it was embarrassing would imply that the end result was surprising. It was not. In the infamous words of Trent Dilfer, the Patriots aren’t good anymore. It’s the first time the Patriots have been swept in a season by a divisional opponent in 20 years, they are dead last in the NFL in passing TDs with 8 (one of which came from WR Jakobi Meyers), and the team is uncharacteristically undisciplined, which was only exacerbated by that head scratching challenge flag Belichick threw on what was clearly a catch directlyin front of him and his son.
Someone clearly told Bill to throw the red flag though so Ernie must be going blind up in that fucking lighthouse.
There is a lot of grave dancing, which is to be expected after the run the Patriots just went on over the last 20 years. But for people to already be comparing the Patriots to the Jets is hyperbole of the highest order. Lets just let this marinate for a little more than 15 weeks before locking the Pats in the NFL basement with the likes of the Jets. I fully expect Bill is going to Execute Order 66 this offseason and just start taking people out left and right because you can tell this season has stung, which can only be worsened seeing Tom Brady’s march to the playoffs down in Tampa. The Pats will have some of, if not the most, cap room in the league this offseason and a Top 15 draft pick so there are some assets there to work with. Whether that means trading up to snag a top tier QB, trading down and rebuilding with even more picks, or hoping another QB shakes loose in free agency, there are plenty of routes back to respectability. I will settle for respectability and then we can discuss returning to championship contender status at a later date.
The best the Patriots can hope for right now is a 2012 Seahawks scenario where they overpay for a backup QB free agent and then hit on a QB with a pick later in the draft. Best case scenario is the Pats sign Marcus Mariota, then draft a QB in the 3rd Round, and Mariota never takes a snap for the team. Similar to how the Seahawks and Pete Carroll gave career backup Matt Flynn a monster 3-year deal before realizing a few weeks later that they had hit the jackpot with Russell Wilson. But stumbling onto another Hall of Fame QB with a late round draft pick isn’t exactlyy probable so I can’t say I am expecting that.
What about former Washington QB Dwayne Haskins? The fastest a 1st Round QB has been outright cut by a team in the last 20 years. Nope. Moving on.
The Patriots unfortunately do not have a lot of elite talent and just about all of their best players are on the wrong side of 30. All of their best offensive players under 30 are linemen and runningbacks, which is why the running game is the only thing thats looked impressive at times. Tight ends we’ll get to in a minute, but the receiving corps is nothing I would bet money on. N’Keal Harry is looking like a gigantic bust and Damiere Byrd and Jakobi Meyers are nice 3rd or 4th receivers, but they are not true No. 1 guys. Things aren’t much better on the defensive side of the ball with their best players under 30 including guys like JC Jackson (who got robbed of a Pro Bowl this year), Chase Winovich, Deatrich Wise, and the book is still out but early signs have looked good on Josh Uche and Kyle Dugger. You can debate anyone I may have left out, but there’s not a lot of young elite talent on the roster except for Jackson (who sneaky got torched last night).
Cam Newton is a great dude, a seemingly beloved teammate, and he has been a model Patriot, but unfortunately he just looks cooked. I don’t know if it’s his shoulder or what, but he just cannot deliver the ball. It’s not all his fault though as the weapons around him have been more like Dollar Store Super Soakers. Even when he does deliver a good pass, he has bum receivers dropping balls like Byrd letting a would be TD bounce off his face mask.
Or rookie (3rd Round pick) TE Devin Asiasi dropping a key first down and adding to his grand total of Zero receptions on the season. Fellow 3rd Round TE Dalton Keene has a measly Two receptions on the year too so Tight End, a historically important position for young/new/mobile QBs, has been BARREN in New England.
Newton can still takeoff for an electric TD run though, which he did Monday night for his 12th of the year. However even that came after what realistically should have been another sack as Newton’s pocket presence and awareness has seemed non-existent this season. But even with the 2nd Most Rushing TDs by a QB in a season (trailing only himself in 2011 with 14), passing for just 5 touchdowns over 14 games simply isn’t going to cut it. I wish it had worked out better, I was really excited to see Cam as a Patriot, but it just hasn’t materialized. It’s not for a lack of effort or attitude, which has been admirable, but even the ever positive Newton sounded dejected after last night’s effort (5/10 for 34 yards, 47.6 QBR).
On Monday he looked exhausted and sounded frustrated. He has been away from his children for months, and not even an admirable work ethic and a team-first attitude has produced much.
“It’s extremely frustrating knowing what you’re capable of but it’s just not showing when it counts the most,” Newton said. “… I’ve sacrificed so much this year and it hurts when you have the outing that you had tonight …
“I’m more or less venting,” he acknowledged.
Jarrett Stidham: Alright down 20+ points, time for me to get in there and start slinging it!
To be fair, Jarrett Stidham, who it looked like might not even see the field, was also terrible, completing 4 of 11 passes for 44 yards with a QBR of 3.7. Again, this team is devoid of elite talent at Wide Receiver (Julian Edelman is still out with a knee injury) and Tight End so it’s hard to evaluate anybody under center, but lets just say Stidham does not appear to be like a young Aaron Rodgers with his path to playing time merely blocked by a former MVP veteran QB.
To make matters even worse, the commentators were borderline depressing too. They will usually try to carry a game broadcast during a blowout, but they were talking about Newton and the Patriots like a “too old to be in the ring” heavyweight boxer that they were legitimately concerned for. And this was with 10 minutes left to go in the 4th quarter. Quite a lot of time to fill as the broadcasters pondered the precarious future of the Patriots.
So we’ll see what the Patriots do and whether they attack the offseason like they did after 2006 when they spent big in free agency and made splashy trades for studs like Randy Moss and Wes Welker, but even then that team had elite building blocks already in place.
All we know is this: Bill has the cap space, an unusually high draft pick, and all the motivation in the world to turn this thing around. Now let’s just hope this is a rebuild and not a tear down.
This has become somewhat of a running joke, what is Bruce Arians going to say to throw Tom Brady under the bus this week? Without fail, Arians always delivers and needlessly dumps all the responsibility in Brady’s lap. Last time it was Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, a 20 year veteran, suddenly was getting confused by coverages?
This week, after bringing the Bucs back to within 3 points after Arian’s defense gave up 200+ yards to Tyreek Hill in the first QUARTER, Arians blamed the play calling on the player. Not taking responsibility himself or even criticizing the Offensive Coordinator, Byron Leftwich. Nope he instead blames it all on the player.
Bruce Arians, to me last night, on Tom Brady: "He picks all the plays now. We call what he picks. We just have to get better. He's getting more comfortable every week. We're getting close." (Note: Arians was upbeat about Brady's skillset. This is a process.) More on The Aftermath
Granted you can still see Brady and his Tampa Bay receivers missing on plays that were automatic in New England. But thats what happens with new guys. It’s hard to replicate the familiarity with a teammate like Brady had after nearly 600 completions to Julian Edelman. Brady and Edelman played together for 10 YEARS and they did summer workouts in Cali, and offseason workouts in Montana. All those extra reps add up so when the blitz is coming both Brady and Edelman knew what the other guy was thinking and where they needed to be.
With that being said, this Bucs team would probably be better off if Brady just ripped the green dot off his helmet and ran his own offense at all times.
What Arians is doing week after week personally offends me. I feel like the girlfriend of the guy who doesn’t want to complain to the waiter that he got the wrong order. I ain’t having it, Bruce.
Say what you will about Bray and Belichick’s relationship getting a little frosty towards the end in New England, but BB never publicly criticized Tom. Remember the time the Patriots got absolutely demolished by the Chiefs in 2014? A lot of people were saying Brady looked cooked. Hell, Trent Dilfer went out on a limb to roast the Patriots and probably regrets it to this day.
After that game a lot of people were asking the question would Belichick consider moving on from his 37-year-old quarterback and go with the kid they drafted in the 2nd round that year, Jimmy Garoppolo. Remember Bill’s response?
The Patriots won the Super Bowl that year.
Remember back in 2016 when a reporter asked if Jimmy G played well enough during Tom Brady’s four game Deflategate suspension, could he earn the job full time? Bill nearly spit on the guy.
The Patriots won the Super Bowl that year.
You see my point yet? Look, I’m not saying Brady is this unquestionable, beyond reproach, Christ-like figure (though he might be), but when you have a guy with Brady’s resume who is still playing at an elite level (3,300 yards, 28 touchdowns and on pace for his most TD passes in over a decade) maybe you figure out a way to work with the guy rather than trying to dump all the blame in his lap?
"Right now Bruce Arians is wasting Tom Brady. He got served on a silver platter the greatest quarterback to ever play, and all you had to do was use him the right way."
I mean the Bucs are 7-5 and are currently the No. 6 seed in the NFC. So they’re still in a great position to make a playoff run.
What are you doing, Bruce?
Tom Brady is simply too nice of a guy to ever say this, but Arians is the guy in charge and if he’s not going to take some of the blame for his team’s struggles then he needs to go. Ever the positive person (AKA a politician) Brady has refused to get down in the mud, but he did abruptly end his post game presser after about 2 minutes when grilled on his relationship with Arians.
Only one of these guys in Tampa has the GOAT title and it sure as hell ain’t the guy that coached Jameis Winston into 30 interceptions. So if the Bucs flame out this year, don’t be surprised to see Arians get axed and one of “Brady’s guys” comes in to take over.
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Folks, let me introduce myself. I have gone by many names: Big Game, G-Smooth, Jimmy Lips, etc. But for these exercises, I’m just the dude who researches sports information and makes educated guesses on the outcomes of player performances. There will be facts. There will be jokes. And hopefully, there will be success.
Let’s start out west in the Raiders and Chargers game.
Justin Herbert O270.5 pass yds(-115)
Co-Rookie of the Year favorite, Justin Herbert has been money both on the field and for fantasy owners this season. He has passed for over 271 yards in five of his six starts and the only time he didn’t was in his MNF showdown in Nola, when he finished with 264.
Over the past four games, the Raiders have allowed the following passing yard totals:
Josh Allen – 288
Patrick Mahomes – 340
Tom Brady – 369
Baker Mayfield – 122
Context is needed for the Mayfield outlier and it should be noted that the winds were howling and it was raining the entire game last Sunday.
DJ Chark O50.5 rec yds(-112)
Jaguars WR DJ Chark was not originally going to make the cut, but sometimes you have to wait (5 days) for good things to happen.
Texans CB Bradley Roby is out on Sunday due to disciplinary reasons.
“So what, James?!”
Well, that’s significant because that frees up Chark to roam a bit more comfortably. You’ll recall that Davante Adams just torched the Texans in Week 7 for 13-196-2. I am in no way implying that DJ Chark doo doo doo doo doo doo is Adams, but that Week 7 performance came with Roby on the field.
Over the past 5 weeks, the Texans have allowed just under 200 rec yds per game to WRs and the 2nd-most TDs to that position over that span (9).
Sterling Shepard O4.5 catches (-118) and O54.5 rec yds(-112)
I know what you’re thinking: “James, I don’t even know you, and yet I can tell this is a homer pick.”
Hear me out with these quick facts, though:
-Shepard has 18 targets over the past two games
-Shepard has has gone over 54 in each of those contests
-Shepard has 6+ catches in three of his four games this season
-WFT has allowed 3 WRs (Kupp, Woods & Cooper) to go over 54 yds in the last 3 gms
So this may very well be a homer pick, but it's a well-researched pick.
I’m not going to put the blame all on Cam Newton here despite the way that game ended. This team is clearly just not that good and Newton’s top receiver yesterday was a former quarterback, and no I’m not talking about Julian Edelman. The offensive play calling was suspect at best. With all that being said, Newton hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass since Week 3. And I’m no NFL scout but it did look like Newton was laboring on a lot of his throws yesterday as he was still skipping passes on easy 5-10 yard routes. The offensive game plan yesterday was almost as if they were protecting Newton from himself. Newton was 15/25 with no touchdowns and no interceptions and there was almost nothing thrown deep. I looked at the drive charts for the Pats to see if my memory served me right and Newton had one completion of 28 yards, but that was thanks to a huge YAC play by James White. There was one medium range 22 yard completion to Damiere Byrd, but other than that there was nothing completed longer than 16 yards. So unsurprisingly the Bills were crowding the hell out of the box.
Meanwhile the Pats ran the ball 34 times, including 9 by Newton. So there was a lot of handing it off and more designed QB runs than we’ve seen in a while. I guess thats to be expected playing in the wind in Buffalo with two of your receivers out, but hey as Newton himself said the excuse basket is getting low. In the end the running was exactly what did them in as Newton failed to protect the ball while scrambling for a first and fumbled the game away.
To his credit he looked like he wanted to sit down in the shower and cry afterwards so I feel for him. But if you are unable to consistently move the ball through the air and are relying on your legs to make big plays then you have to protect the ball. The flashes this team showed on offense earlier in the season are now the Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.
I respect the hell out of the venom from FS1’s Tanya Ray Fox though. Say it louder for those in the back!
It only took Tom Brady leaving, no OTAs, no preseason, a bunch of starters opting out of the season, delayed games, weeks with no practice, Cam Newton getting and recovering from COVID, some bad weather and the world's stupidest fumble. Congrats on your big win, guys 🙃 https://t.co/BW3D2urnlk
So we now have to ask ourselves, is it time to move on from the Cam Newton experiment?
Sitting at 2-5 and having suffered four losses in a row this team is moving in reverse. They’ve guaranteed their worst record since 2018 (won the Super Bowl btw) and thats assuming they win out. I don’t know about you but I have a hard time imagining this team ripping off a 9-0 run. If they lose one more game, it’s their worst record since 2009 when they went 10-6 and lost in the Wild Card round. If they lose 2 more games it’s their worst record since 2002 when they went 9-7 and missed the playoffs sandwiched between two SB titles. And if they lose any more than that it would be their worst record since 2000 when they went 5-11 in Belichick’s first year at the helm.
Now I’m not excited for it, but I think its time to rip the Jarrett Stidham band-aid off and find out what exactly the Patriots have here. The team needs to figure out whether he’s the next guy or not. If that means trotting him out there for ritual sacrifice then so be it, but the Pats need to determine if Stidham can get it done. If not then they have to make a move this offseason. Theres 3-4 potential first round QBs likely coming out this year and the Patriots should be in a good position to get one of them, even if it’s not Trevor Lawrence or Justin Fields.
There’s also been rumors about the return of the prodigal son Jimmy Garoppolo since the 49ers have reportedly been meh on him as the QB of the future.
But he did re-injure his ankle last night and according to Schefter will be out “indefinitely.” That comes after having already missed 2 games and then getting pulled in his first game back. Garoppolo has only made 30 starts out of a possible 56 games in four years in San Francisco due to various injuries including a torn ACL. My point being, I would not be shocked if the Niners decide to move on from him after this season. So if you’re a Patriots fan do you still want him? Do you think Bill can rekindle whatever magic he thought he had with the young QB? I’m not so sure of that as I was just a week ago. Especially after this latest injury since Belichick loves to say the best ability is availability. Either way the Pats will undoubtedly be kicking the tires on anyone with an arm attached to their body this offseason.
The Patriots are in a tough position brought on by the greatest player of all time leaving town, but also from poor drafting over the last few years finally catching up to them. The Pats are one of the oldest teams in the league as a result. Think about it, all of their best players are on the wrong side of 30: Edelman, Stephon Gilmore, both McCourtys, Matthew Slater, plus all the guys who opted out.
The book is out on this year’s draft class, but offensive lineman Michael Onwenu may have been a steal in the 6th round as Pro Football Focus has him ranked as the No. 1 rookie in the league. It’s debatable how much stock to put into PFF rankings, but being No. 1 on any list is pretty damn good.
Michael Onwenu is @PFF's highest-graded rookie in 2020.
He's played 80+ snaps at three different positions along the offensive line.
The books is probably still out on last year too. Chase Winovich looks like a nice role player, Joejuan Williams has shown potential, as has Damien Harris (now that he’s on the field), but N’Keal Harry has been underwhelming and we may soon find out with Jarrett Stidham. 2018 highlights include Isaiah Wynn and Sony Michel. Sigh. Ja’Waun Bentley has flashed at times, other than that there was Ryan Izzo, Braxton Berrios, and Danny Etling as notable names that year. 2017 landed them Deatrich Wise and three whiffs. 2016 was the year they took Cyrus Jones with their first pick and he was an unmitigated disaster. They did draft Joe Thuney that year though who’s been great, Ted Karras has been a solid contributor on the OL, Jacoby Brissett filled in for a game, Elandon Roberts, and a huge what if player in Malcolm Mitchell who looked awesome before knee injuries prematurely ended his career.
So yea, 5 years and arguably two elite players in Thuney and *maybe* Onwenu, but it’s way too early to tell. Other than that Belichick has collected role players, which is a far cry from the 2010 draft he absolutely NAILED, picking up Devin McCourty, Gronk, Brandon Spikes, pre-murderous Aaron Hernandez, and even a starting punter in Zoltan Mesko.
Bill Belichick on @OMFonWEEI: "I mean, look, we paid Cam Newton $1 million. It’s obvious that we didn’t have any money. It’s nobody’s fault. That’s what we did the last five years. We sold out. We won three Super Bowls, played in a fourth and played in an AFC Championship Game." pic.twitter.com/5LGeUboNGA
I don’t say all this to be an alarmist, I say it to be pragmatic. This team is facing a tall order and needs to really nail their next series of moves and the next draft to set themselves up for a rebound. If nothing else do it to shut up the Fired Football Coaches of America chirping from the peanut gallery like Rex Ryan.
I was watching this live yesterday and Rex was trying to play it cool and say it matter of factly, but you could feel the simmering rage in his voice after getting beat like a drum by Belichick and Brady for years.
Sitting at 2-4 and coming off the worst loss in the Belichick era, the Patriots are at a crossroads. Not to be dramatic, but the result of this game could decide the next two years of this franchise’s direction. If the Pats lose Sunday they’ll have five losses for just the second time in the last 10 years and I’ll be forced to drink whiskey by the fire while playing old highlights on my phone.
Meanwhile Tom Brady is ripping it up in Tampa, was just named the NFC Offensive Player of the Month, and leads the NFC in QB Rating. Compared to Cam Newton and Jarrett Stidham who rank 39th and 40th respectively.
Julian Edelman just underwent a knee procedure and was placed on IR so he’s out for at least the next three weeks, N’Keal Harry is out this week with a concussion, and Stephon Gilmore is out with a knee injury too. So good luck to whoever is under center for the Pats today.
Oh and Stephon Gilmore just put his house on the market so thats encouraging.
Win or lose today, the NFL trade deadline is Tuesday. So the Patriots will have to decide whether they want to say fuck it and double down on a flawed squad and bring in reinforcements or concede this just isn’t their year and start selling off assets to stock the war chest for the future. Thats why this game is so monumental, if the Pats fall to 2-5, I fully expect them to trade off some key players, which would put this team into rebuild mode.
With that being said, I find it downright impossible the Patriots continue to play as poorly as they have the last two weeks and sink to the bottom of the league. Thats why I don’t think Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence is a realistic possibility so lets get that out of our heads right now. However, the Pats do need to find out in the coming weeks whether Jarrett Stidham is the next guy or not. Because if he’s not the Pats need to make a move this offseason. Whether thats the return of the prodigal son Jimmy G or it’s Belichick drafting a quarterback higher than he ever has before. I don’t know what has happened to Newton, I don’t know if he’s hurt, if he doesn’t have enough “weapons,” if he’s cashed, or if this offense just ultimately isn’t a good fit for his style of play. But the guy we saw in Seattle who looked like he would threaten for MVP votes has been a no show the past month. So this game is huge for him too because if Newton no shows again and the team sells off key players at the trade deadline, it’s going to be even more difficult for him to rebuild his value for next season.
So nothing to worry about in Buffalo except just the future of the franchise, no big deal. I did not expect to be staring at our worst record in a decade all before Thanksgiving so show us something today boys.
The 300s 