NFL
By: Steve Atkinson
The Patriots play defending Super Bowl champion Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday night. On Monday the Patriots media went all in asking Belichick about Brady’s departure after the 2019 season. Last week Brady’s side was talking all about how Belichick walked Brady out the door between his father and trainer. Now, it was Belichick’s turn to respond to those comments on Monday and he really stuck to the script. He was asked on his weekly appearance on WEEI about the departure of Tom Brady this is what he said.
“I think we’ve been through all the dynamics of that,” Belichick said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com. “He looked at his options and made his decision. We weren’t as good an option as Tampa. . . . It wasn’t a question of not wanting him, that’s for sure.”
He then was asked by Tom Curran at his conference call about his comments on Tom Brady earlier in the morning. This was his response.
“Our focus is on the game here,” Belichick said. “Look, I have so much respect and appreciation for Tom and everything he did here and for me and for our team. We’re just getting ready to compete against Tampa this week, and we’re gonna keep our focus on that.”
When Curran pressed Belichick about how he never talked about why Brady left he referred to the statement he released when Brady left on March 17th 2020.
“Tom was not just a player who bought into our program. He was one of its original creators. Tom lived and perpetuated our culture. On a daily basis, he was a tone setter and a bar raiser. He won championships in three of his first four years on the field and in three of his final six seasons with us, while competing for championships in most every season in between. This is a credit to Tom’s consistency and what separates him. He didn’t just perform. He didn’t just win. He won championships over and over again. Sometimes in life, it takes some time to pass before truly appreciating something or someone but that has not been the case with Tom. He is a special person and the greatest quarterback of all-time.”
Now, through two seasons in Tampa Brady has thrown 5,720 yards and 50 touchdowns. How is waiting till the last minute to sign Cam Newton who wasn’t even remotely close good enough better than bringing back the greatest of all time? The answer is simple. Money Brady wanted 2 years at $50 million while Newton signed a $ 1 million dollar contract and finished 7-9. Meanwhile, Brady wins the Super Bowl in his first year and is about to come into New England after a loss and completely destroy the Patriots defense throwing the ball all over the place. [pickup_prop id=”12793″]
Belichick drafting Mac Jones at 15 in this years NFL Draft has everything to do with the success of Tom Brady in Tampa. Belichick had no choice but to draft the Alabama quarterback after he slid to 15. Then, after Cam Newton couldn’t follow COVID protocol he had no choice but to start Jones in Week One of the season. If Brady had not won the Super Bowl last year they probably would’ve gone defense in the first round, not spend millions in free agency, and Cam Newton would still be the quarterback. But, the Brady shadow lives on and will continue to even after this week’s game.
Devin McCourty doesn’t want the Patriots to get lost in the headlines now that Brady is coming to town. This is what he said after the Saints game on Sunday.
“We’re not good enough to get lost ahead of us, so we better focus in on what we need to do and watch them from an X’s and O’s standpoint. Watch them as an offense, defense, special teams and lock in on that. We can’t worry about anything else.”
We’ll see how the rest of the week goes and if any more Belichick/Brady drama gets tossed around. In the meantime, the Patriots really need to ignore the elephant in the room and hopefully can focus on preparing for the Buccaneers.
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