Monday Rodney Harrison will be inducted into the Patriots HOF. But right now it seems like the color of the jacket is the main topic.
Recently Ty Law, who is about to go into the Pro Football HOF, talked about Patriot players from the early 2000’s being overlooked. He may be right. But when you take a hard look there may not be many to follow him.
Here’s Ty Laws take on The HOF
Ty Law was a great player and is well deserving of the gold jacket, and he thinks there is a reason for the lack of Patriot players: The media. Ty said “It’s like we are looked at as a team, that’s it…Like there’s no players worthy of the HOF, at least from the media perspective, when it comes to the Patriots. It’s Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and everybody else, you know what I mean?”
Law isn’t completely wrong about this. Nationally, when it comes to the Patriots dominance, it comes down to the HC and QB. The Patriots machine has kept rolling for two decades, and the two constants have been Tom and Bill. That doesn’t mean Law thinks any less of his old teammate and coach. He blames the media. “You pretty much know, Tom Brady is the Greatest of all time,” Law said. “There’s no doubt about that. There’s no question about Coach Belichick. When you hear about our team, it was like to me, we have a hell of a lot of players out there who can play. You can’t do it with just two guys.”
Rodney agrees with Law
Harrison expanded on Law’s thoughts about the Patriot prejudice in the media. He talked about Patriots fatigue, and anti Patriots bias in the HOF.
“People don’t think we have ballers.” Rodney says “Ty Law was the greatest defensive back I’ve ever played with. He’s one of the best I’ve ever seen. Richard Seymour, Willie McGinest, Troy Brown, Kevin Faulk, these were bad, bad dudes. They weren’t just system guys.”
He added to Law’s thoughts on Bill and Tom, and how the media gives them all of the credit. “People don’t want to elevate us, or recognize, or acknowledge how great we are, because they’re such haters. Everywhere I go, people hate on the Patriots. So we don’t get credit. All I hear is Tom and Bill. But that’s such a lazy analysis. They don’t see what a team really is, and that’s really frustrating because a lot of guys get cheated and don’t really get the recognition they deserve.”
Tomorrow I’m hoping to get more from Rodney as he receives his red jacket
Harrison came to New England as Bill Belichick sent Lawyer Milloy to the Bills. The team didn’t like the move one bit. But once they saw Rodney’s work ethic and leadership he was quickly embraced as a captain. Tomorrow afternoon Harrison will be inducted to the Patriots HOF, and he seems to be happier than anyone before him going in. We will have you covered with the ceremony and behind the scenes interviews you can only find here. I will do my best to see who Rodney thinks is next in line for a Gold jacket.
Monday in Gillette stadium at 4:30, it’s free to the public. Rodney Harrison will be recognized and celebrated for his amazing career as a Patriot. So come on out, or you can wait to see everything in tomorrow’s article. You’ll only get to see the behind the scenes action right here, so make sure to check it out. Let’s Go Patriots!
This is one of the most ignorant theories used to discredit Brady’s greatness. Another lazy and tired take. Here’s my rebuttal to the haters who claim Brady’s only good against bad teams.
“Well Brady’s Success is due to the AFC East”
The AFC “Least”- Not quite true
The AFC East is thought to be the worst and most dysfunctional division in the NFL. Believed by many as the reason Brady and the Patriots are any good. My question is, are these teams really that awful and dysfunctional, or do the Patriots make them look that way? Using stats it shows that if you remove each division winner from each division, the AFC “Least” has the highest win percentage in the NFL (.457). Looks like that theory holds no weight.
“But Brady wouldn’t thrive in ANY other division!”
Once again the Tom Brady difference shows otherwise. Brady’s win % in every division proves the haters wrong. Let’s take a look.
Here’s the AFC win percentages. AFCE: 79% AFCN: 81% AFCS: 79% and 65% in the AFCW.
Here’s the NFC win percentages. NFCE: 81% NFCN: 85% NFCS: 75% and the NFCW: 67%
So Brady Vs NFC teams is 76% and 77% against the AFC. Another theory debunked, Tom Brady would be a dominant QB anywhere he played. Case closed.
“Yeah But he Needs to Deflate Footballs to win!”
The proof that Deflategate never happened will be In part 3 of this ‘Brady Difference’ Article. Science, math and evidence will be used, along with studies from the top scientists in the country. They’ve debunked the witch hunt called “Deflategate”
That being said, let’s see what’s happened since the second half of the famous AFC championship game. The footballs were inflated to regulation regarding PSI, and Tom Brady went off on the Colts in route to SB49 against the Seahawks. Two weeks of insanity ensued and the NFL had the game balls under lock and key.
Since The Second half Tom Brady has played the best football of his career, weird huh? With regulation footballs all Brady has done is Win three Super Bowls, two SB MVPs, broke the passing record and then broke his own twice! He was also League MVP, selected to two All Pro’s, 4x Pro Bowl selections, and led the league in passing yards and touchdowns. His record since then is 47-13 with 125 TDs, four SB appearances and three straight trips to the big game. The haters will say he gained an unfair advantage, his stats show he’s only gotten better while being under a microscope.
How about a couple HOF QBs having Brady’s back. Joe Montana’ “It’s a stupid thing to even be talking about because they shouldn’t have the rule anyway.”
Dan Marino said “Every quarterback that has ever played the position understands that getting the footballs the way you like them before a game is part of the game. I mean I did it for years, Jim Kelly up in Buffalo did it, Tom’s doing it, Peyton Manning did it.” There was no unfair advantage at any point.
“Brady Doesn’t Have Any Individual records”
This is the Strangest thing I’ve seen from Brady Haters, so here’s a short list, just to show how nuts people get when talking about the GOAT.
Don’t forget about the 25 point comeback
“Brady Is the check down king”
There is this misconception that Brady doesn’t throw passes further than 5 yards. The problem with this theory is that Brady is 19th in the NFL throwing short passes. His 35.28% of short pass plays is better than quarterbacks like Big Ben, Luck, Ryan, Mahomes and the “Greatest” ever Aaron Rodgers.
The quarterback with the “most talent” Aaron Rodgers, who’s compared to Brady for reasons I don’t understand, throws short more than Tom.
Part 3 will include “Rodgers is better than Brady”, “The science behind Deflategate”, and much more. Feel free to give me any nonsense you’ve heard about Brady and we can put it on the list for the Haters.
Tom Brady theory’s or “myths” claiming he’s not a great QB make me laugh, so I’ve compiled the first edition of Tom vs Truth. I am a fan, yet I am using facts to end these ridiculous claims.
They Love you Until they Don’t
Once upon a time Tom Brady was America’s golden child, beating the greatest show on turf put him on the map. Fast forward to the present day and many things have changed. Six Super Bowl wins, multiple MVPs and a supermodel wife has had the country turned against the GOAT. Let’s start with these theory’s about TB12.
“Tom Is A Product of the Patriots System”
Haters across the country can’t stop calling Brady a system QB. While every team has a system, and 3/4s of the teams using the same style. Why aren’t they playing in February? The answer is Tom Brady. We know his skill, so let’s look deeper. Brady has had numerous Offensive Coordinators. In the beginning it was Charlie Weiss. Charlie’s offenses in NY and NE before Tom Brady were ranked 12th, 5th, 19th and 25th. Compare those numbers with a very green, backup QB in Tom Brady. Charlie’s 4 years with Tom his offenses ranked 6th, 10th, 12th and 4th. This is what I call the Brady difference. Weiss left after 4 years with Brady to coach Notre Dame, ending with a record of 41-49.
McDaniels Makes Brady
Josh McDaniels makes Tom Brady Great. Well no, not at all. He has had success with Tom just like Weiss, but without Brady his numbers declined drastically. Working with Brady, Josh McDaniels offenses have been incredible. The worst those two finished was 10th in points and 11th in yards. Every other season with Brady, New England’s Offense was ranked top 3 in points, with one top 5 finish. McDaniels in St.Louis and Denver running the same system, ranked 20th, 19th and dead last at 32nd. (Brady Difference.)
Bill O’Brien in 2011 must’ve been the reason Brady and the offense was 3rd in points scored right? I don’t think so, since leaving the Pats O’Brien’s offenses in points scored rank 14th, 21st, 28th, 17th and 11th. Quite the drop off without Brady under Center. So if you say “System QB”, I say it’s the Brady difference.
Well What About Bill Belichick? “He makes Tom Brady”
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick stands alone as the greatest HC, he must be why Brady’s so great
First let me say that while Bill is the best coach of all time, that didn’t really start until Brady came into the mix. In Cleveland Bill went 35-55, along with 5-11 his first year in NE without Tom. There’s that Tom Brady difference again.
2008 Same Team No Brady
But Matt Cassel went 11-5 when Brady was hurt
This argument often made by haters really grinds my gears: “If Brady is so good then how did Matt Cassel go 11-5?”
Well let’s break it down. The 2007 and 2008 teams had the same roster minus Donte Stallworth on offense. In 2007 Tom Brady and his offense set records for TDs, Rec TDs and points scored. The team went 18-0 only to lose the SB just missing the perfect season. The 2007 offense with Tom had a 315 point differential, compared to Cassel’s team dropping 214 points all the way down to a 101 point differential. So the same team, with different QBs went from the best offense ever, to average and missing the playoffs.
2007 Brady- 4,806 yards, 50 TD/8 INTs with a 117 Passer rating along with MVP honors.
2008 Cassel- 3,693 yards, 21 TD/11 INTs with an 89 passer rating with the same offense. (Brady Difference)
In 2010 Matt Cassel made the playoffs and the Pro Bowl with KC. He was no stiff, throwing 27 TDs to just 7 INTs, which was the second best ratio in the league that year. Who could’ve been number 1 I wonder? Tom Brady of course, as he won the only unanimous MVP in league history. Sorry to say again but the Brady Difference is quite obvious in this popular theory among haters.
“Tom Isn’t Good without a Great Defense”
The Patriots had a very good defense in Tom’s early years, and certainly was a huge factor in the first 3 Super Bowls. People say Brady was carried by his defenses, which is not the case. From 2001-2004, with Brady coming in as a backup, he put together 10 4th quarter comebacks and 15 game winning drives. The numbers seem to show he did his part and then some, but that’s not what the haters want you to think.
Brady led the NFL in TD passes in 2002, so it’s not a reach at all to say the Patriots may have not won those Super Bowls without Tom Brady. For example, in Super Bowl 38 the Pats defense gave up 29 points to the Panthers. A young QB named Tom Brady going up against a fierce defense threw for 354 yards, 3 TDs and his second clutch SB game winning drive. Without Brady things could’ve been a lot different that day.
Jumping ahead to Patriots Defenses that weren’t as talented. The four year stretch from 2010-2013, New England’s defense was never better than 25th in total yards allowed. But again Brady in 2010 won MVP and got the #1 seed. 2011 the Pats were back in the Super Bowl despite being 31st in yards against, and that’s due to Tom Brady. In 2012 and 2013, Brady and the Pats went back to the AFC Championship but lost. Some people think going as far as possible in sports and losing is worse than not making the championship game at all. Ridiculous.
In 2017 the defense was ranked 29th. Brady and the offense once again were back in the Super Bowl. Bill Belichick shocked Pats nation by benching Malcolm Butler. The defense got shredded by a backup QB, giving up 41 points. Even in defeat Brady put up historic numbers, throwing for 505 yards with 3 TDs with no INTs.
My conclusion on this theory about his Defenses is that Brady always has done his part to win games and make it to the AFC Championship or Super Bowl. I don’t see him being carried by anything, like the haters do. Another interesting stat: In 17 seasons the Pats Defense was statistically better than the offense only 3 times. In 9 of those 17 seasons with Brady as the starter, the defense was ranked 20th or worse in yards allowed. Defensive “myth” shut down with facts.
“Joe Montana Never Lost in the Super Bowl”
Key Number here is 4
The debate over Montana and Brady has many factors. Joe Montana was the Greatest ever in my eyes, up until Brady’s comeback in Super Bowl 49 against the Seahawks. Since Brady tied Montana with 4 Super Bowl wins, he has gone to 3 straight Super Bowls and won 2. The real crime here is the loss to the eagles. Brady had the best Super Bowl performance of all time.
Some people say Brady can’t be better than Montana because Joe cool never lost in his 4 chances. The fact of the matter is that every athlete would tell you getting to the Championship and losing is better than not making it there at all. As we all know, Brady’s been to 9 Super Bowls with 6 wins. Let’s not forget the amount of Hall Of Fame players Montana had on both sides of the ball. He also had a coach in Bill Walsh who came up with an offense no one had ever seen before. It took years for teams to adjust to this new style of football, a great coach and system that Montana thrived in.
Brady on the other hand did not, and still doesn’t have anywhere close to the number of Hall Of Fame players Joe had. The comebacks alone in Super Bowls favor Brady, having 6 in 6 wins. And did his part in the losses too, by getting the lead, only for the defense to break at the end.
Montana has been bounced twice in the divisional round, twice in the Wild Card and three times in the NFC Championship. Montana in 11 seasons has gone one and done in the playoffs 4 times.
The GOAT Tom Brady in 16 playoff runs is 13-2 in the divisional round, 2-1 in the WC round and 9-4 in the AFC Championship. Brady in 16 seasons has gone one and done just twice in the playoffs.
Is 4-0 better than 6-3 in the Super Bowl? If you’ve never played sports then maybe you’d say yes. The ultimate goal of any athlete is to go as far as you can. That is something Brady’s done better than Montana. Doing so with less talent, an offense that has been seen before (unlike the 49ers), all while getting better with age. Brady wins this round, the numbers don’t lie.
“Montana Played in a Tougher and Better Era”
Again, not taking anything away from Joe Montana, I’m just telling it how it is. Sure the rules for QBs have changed over the years, but Brady played in a tough era of football himself. Rule changes to help offenses didn’t make an ounce of a difference until 2011. QB numbers didn’t go up or benefit Brady for an entire decade. From 2000-2011 only two players had a season with great numbers, Brady in 2007 and Manning in 2004. Since 2011 pretty much every QBs numbers are inflated like never before.
Defining the toughness of different eras contains a few different things:
Free Agency -Montana played when teams didn’t change and Hall Of Fame players typically stayed together. Brady has had a revolving door of players throughout his entire career, mostly castaways who were turned into Champions.
Defensive players -Tom Brady has played and shredded some of the best defenders and all time defensive units and coaches. The 2000 Steelers and Ravens, 2003 Buccaneers, The LOB Seahawks were no match in the Super Bowl, 2015 Broncos, 2017 Jags, the two Giants Super Bowl teams and the 2018 Rams. Just think of the players on those teams, and how if it weren’t for Brady most of them would have Super Bowl rings.
Geography – Joe Montana Played in a sunny warm climate, while Brady’s been playing in the Northeast. Freezing temperatures, snow and rain in a division where he plays in Boston and New York. No problem for #12.
This is the first of my 3 part Myth Busting Brady Hate. Next up will be topics like “The AFC Least”, “Deflategate, “Brady has no records” and my personal favorite: QBs like Rodgers, Marino, Brees and Manning being on Tom Brady’s level. Starting to feel like I’m writing a book, so these next topics plus more will be coming out soon. Hope you Pats fans can use some of these facts when arguing with Brady hating friends.
The N.E Patriots are embracing all the hate, jealousy and disrespect. Most people growing up were taught a simple lesson at an early age: be careful what you wish for. The NFL and many media outlets have been wishing for the demise of the Patriots. New England has heard it all, and are happy to be the bad guys. The hate toward this team is nothing new, but this year the Patriots are embracing all of the talk and are using it as fuel toward Atlanta.
The Players Are Loving The Hate
Devin McCourty, Tom Brady and Julian Edelman are hearing the outside noise and using it for motivation
The Patriots have heard it all throughout this run of dominance, but have always kept quiet until now. Tom Brady was the first player to express this team’s new attitude. “You know everyone thinks we suck and we can’t win any games, so we’ll see. Should be fun,” Brady told CBS’s Tracy Wolfson. This came right after the Patriots dismantled the Chargers. The quote was a bit surprising to hear, it was not the usual “Patriot Way” response to a question. Devin McCourty followed suit post-game, sharing the same sentiment. The veteran safety said “We see it, we see our quarterback’s too old, we’re not good enough on defense, the skill players aren’t any good.” The players may not be watching these critics on TV, but one thing is for sure: they have been listening all year.
The best comment comes last, from Julian Edelman, who had a great game against LA. Edelman “Balled” so he got “the call” from the great Deion Sanders, who by the way loves the Patriots.
“They need a bad guy. We’ll be the BAD guy.” – @Edelman11 after the @Patriots win over the Chargers 👀
This all seems so new, players acknowledging that they’re listening to the doubters. We’ve always known that they have been listening throughout the years, but they never spoke about it with the media. This year, however, I think it starts at the top, with Bill Belichick using his legendary motivational tactics. Belichick reportedly told the team right after the win that they are now facing the best team in the AFC. Bill has used parade routes and opposing teams luggage as motivation before. Is it crazy to think he is the mastermind behind all of this? No, it’s not crazy at all, Bill will take any tactic to get his players up for playoff games.
Mandatory Credit: Dan Powers-USA TODAY Sports
The Patriots Will Not Die
The Chiefs are a good football team, but I’m willing to bet they’d like the media to take a week off from discounting the Patriots. New England has embraced the role of the villain, which they will use all week as they prepare. The Patriots are like Michael Myers, you may think you’ve stopped them, until they somehow rise up and terrorize the NFL every year like it’s Halloween in Haddonfield.
The country wants Brady to retire and the Patriots to suck, but I have a feeling TB12 isn’t planning on going anywhere for a while. It’s fitting Brady would post this video that has a song about many people wishing the worst on someone. In this case it’s the Patriots. Let’s Go!!
