Oh, no! Has Belichick lost the locker room?

It sounds like a kindergarten class in New England.
No, a soap opera maybe?

From the early radio reports it seems that Brady is either cult leader or pouting baby, and that Belichick...well he's just a real jerk.

I would say Belichick looked like the one rational person in that article. Brady sounded like a New Age baby and Kraft sounds like he needs to stay in his lane.

Hoping it's all true..I want their run to end..

endzorn wrote:I would say Belichick looked like the one rational person in that article. Brady sounded like a New Age baby and Kraft sounds like he needs to stay in his lane.

I think the general rule with these types of palace intrigue stories is that from the way people ultimately come off you have insight into whose supporters granted the most access to interviews.

Just as it was true with Wickersham's reporting on the 9ers (Harbaugh or his supporters clearly talked to him as did a Jed supporter) and the Seahawks (Defensive players or their supporters clearly talked him, whereas Pete and Wilson clearly didn't).

For my money, Wickersham's 9ers one was far and away the best one of his investigative pieces because he was able to get people on both sides of the riff to open up to him (which didn't seem to be the case with the Seahawks one, and doesn't seem to be the case with this Patriots one, which basically reads as "The Situation According to Belichick").

Popeyejones wrote:

endzorn wrote:I would say Belichick looked like the one rational person in that article. Brady sounded like a New Age baby and Kraft sounds like he needs to stay in his lane.

I think the general rule with these types of palace intrigue stories is that from the way people ultimately come off you have insight into whose supporters granted the most access to interviews.

Just as it was true with Wickersham's reporting on the 9ers (Harbaugh or his supporters clearly talked to him as did a Jed supporter) and the Seahawks (Defensive players or their supporters clearly talked him, whereas Pete and Wilson clearly didn't).

For my money, Wickersham's 9ers one was far and away the best one of his investigative pieces because he was able to get people on both sides of the riff to open up to him (which didn't seem to be the case with the Seahawks one, and doesn't seem to be the case with this Patriots one, which basically reads as "The Situation According to Belichick").

...And apologies for self-quoting, but the following example is a great one for how who gives you access colors the story you have access to tell:

In Wickersham's reporting the Pats repeatedly offered JGQ a contract at 18/per that would escalate when Brady retired, but it was always unclear why JGQ turned it down, and Kraft eventually mandated that Belichick trade him. That's pretty clearly Belichick's version of the story, as it paints him as a sympathetic figure who did everything he could but had his hands tied down by a bad situation.

From this we know that Wickersham had access to Belichick, but didn't have access to JGQ or Yee (the agent for both JGQ and Brady), and likely Kraft either.

Yet in Curran's follow up reporting (see here -- he's a Boston beat writer: http://www.nbcsports.com/boston/patriot ... ysfunction):

(1) JGQ was never offered those contract extensions and the reasons why they would be turned down if they had been offered were obvious. Curran, unlike Wickersham, is getting his info from Yee or a JGQ supporter who wants JGQ to appear in a more positive light.

(2) "Nobody knows" what Belichick has been thinking according Curran, but Wickersham is wrong that Belichick was ever given a mandate by Kraft to trade JGQ. Curran is also getting Kraft's side of the story, but unlike Wickersham, isn't getting Belichick's.


So, was JGQ repeatedly offered a contract and when he turned it down did Kraft force Belichick to trade him?

If you believe Wickersham's source of Belichick and his supoorters the answer is "yes" to both of those, but if you believe Curran's sources of Yee, Kraft and their supporters the answer is "no" to both of those.

It's only funny in that both reporters insist that the motives and true feelings of the sources they don't have are opaque and totally unknowable


What probably really happened: Of course, it will always be somewhere in between with this type of palace intrigue stuff:

(1) The Pats floated that contract structure for JGQ to Yee but never formally offered it, and thought Yee/JGQ should have been less resistant to it than they were.

(2) Kraft never formally demanded that Belichick trade JGQ, but he made clear to Belichick that he thought that would be the best course of action.

Whether it's a hatchet piece on New England or there's an element of truth to it, the window there is closing - slowly, perhaps - but it's closing. Kraft could be an owner for 20 years, BB a coach for another 20, but Brady is simply not going to last much longer.

The fans can keep putting their heads in the sand about how the dynasty will continue, but the clock is ticking.

uncle fester wrote:Whether it's a hatchet piece on New England or there's an element of truth to it, the window there is closing - slowly, perhaps - but it's closing. Kraft could be an owner for 20 years, BB a coach for another 20, but Brady is simply not going to last much longer.

The fans can keep putting their heads in the sand about how the dynasty will continue, but the clock is ticking.

For me....this is an interesting experiment in what would have happened had two other teams made the opposite choice.

What if the 49ers has kept Montana and traded Young?

What if the Packers had kept Favre and traded Rodgers?

This is the first time that team has made the opposite choice.

Obviously, too early to say Jimmy G will be Young or Rodgers, but the Patriots were in the same predicament and made the opposite choice. The 49ers and Packers had a rough spot (49ers in particular according to the 49er fan base...some of whom STILL hate Steve for the crime of not being Joe) when those switches were made but it was CLEARLY the right decision in the long run.

I'm not falling for these Patriot shenanigans.

Every time a new controversy hit's NE, everyone thinks it's the end of the Patriots............and every time Belicheat figures out how to turn it into a battle cry. Smash cut to Brady holding up another Lombardi.

Sgt. Largent wrote:I'm not falling for these Patriot shenanigans.

Every time a new controversy hit's NE, everyone thinks it's the end of the Patriots............and every time Belicheat figures out how to turn it into a battle cry. Smash cut to Brady holding up another Lombardi.

True.

Marvin49 wrote:
For me....this is an interesting experiment in what would have happened had two other teams made the opposite choice.

What if the 49ers has kept Montana and traded Young?

What if the Packers had kept Favre and traded Rodgers?

This is the first time that team has made the opposite choice.

Ooh, I like that. Great take I haven't seen yet and a great way to think about it. Heck, even circle right back around to the Patriots with Brady and Bledsoe and you've got parallels out the wazoo.


(all assuming, of course, that JGQ isn't fool's gold).

Sgt. Largent wrote:I'm not falling for these Patriot shenanigans.

Every time a new controversy hit's NE, everyone thinks it's the end of the Patriots............and every time Belicheat figures out how to turn it into a battle cry. Smash cut to Brady holding up another Lombardi.

Yup, I was just gonna that this pretty much guarantees another title for them. No team does a better job at turning these distractions into a positive.


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endzorn wrote:I would say Belichick looked like the one rational person in that article. Brady sounded like a New Age baby and Kraft sounds like he needs to stay in his lane.

Which also would lead many to believe who the source is.

Marvin49 wrote:

uncle fester wrote:Whether it's a hatchet piece on New England or there's an element of truth to it, the window there is closing - slowly, perhaps - but it's closing. Kraft could be an owner for 20 years, BB a coach for another 20, but Brady is simply not going to last much longer.

The fans can keep putting their heads in the sand about how the dynasty will continue, but the clock is ticking.

For me....this is an interesting experiment in what would have happened had two other teams made the opposite choice.

What if the 49ers has kept Montana and traded Young?

What if the Packers had kept Favre and traded Rodgers?

This is the first time that team has made the opposite choice.

Obviously, too early to say Jimmy G will be Young or Rodgers, but the Patriots were in the same predicament and made the opposite choice. The 49ers and Packers had a rough spot (49ers in particular according to the 49er fan base...some of whom STILL hate Steve for the crime of not being Joe) when those switches were made but it was CLEARLY the right decision in the long run.

You're right, it will indeed be interesting to see. I remember thinking there would be no way Montana would be allowed to leave SF, then BAM he was in KC.

The difference is that you guys had Young as a genuine replacement-level talent. NE are - I think - gambling on Father Time not sucker-punching Brady like he did with Peyton Manning or Brett Favre. (As an aside, I'm not completely convinced Rodgers & GB aren't heading the same way either)

I also love how everyone is going to act shocked when it turns out that Brady was using HGH to play at a high level after 40. Like Barry Bonds having a second puberty in his 30's.

Win or lose, right or wrong, it makes things more entertaining during the playoffs. Which is why it makes me think it’s just made up.

As Owens used to say "Get yo popcorn ready"