Patriots head coach Bill Belichick soaked in some lacrosse at Gillette Stadium over the weekend, as the Premier Lacrosse League kicked off its season in New England.
Belichick has always had a special place in his heart for lacrosse, playing in high school at Phillips Andover and collegiality at Wesleyan University. He spoke about his love of the game on the NBC Sports Network broadcast on Sunday, and also gave a scouting report on how some of his Patriots players would fit on the lacrosse field.
Though some of them would make solid players in Belichick’s mind, he didn’t sound so optimistic that quarterback Tom Brady’s success on the football field would translate to lacrosse. Asked what position Brady would play, Belichick said the quarterback’s mobility issues would limit him to just one position. “Goalie,” Belichick said without missing a beat. “You need to be able to run here. I think some of our players, like Devin McCourty and Pat Chung, guys like that who are fast and have good quickness could play at 200-205 pounds, 210 pounds, somewhere in there, that they would be pretty tough. I think [Tedy] Bruschi would have made a good defenseman. Rodney Harrison and [Mike] Vrabel, guys like that who are long and tough.”
The Patriots have their mandatory minicamp at Gillette Stadium this week, so don’t be shocked if Belichick has a few lacrosse drills added to the mix this year. If that’s the case, it’s clear that Brady will be in net for those drills.
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.
Bill Belichick doesn’t do flashy when it comes to free agency, although there are exceptions like the signing of Darrelle Revis back in 2014, expressly intended to bring a lockdown cornerback to the defense who eventually helped New England win a Super Bowl. However, Belichick is all about filling square holes with square pegs. There is never a thought to wooing a big-money free agent into the fold just to put fans in the seats and hype the upcoming season. This is Titletown, and there is more than enough rapt attention surrounding this team each and every year. Belichick crafts each iteration of the Patriots with the express design of being able to morph his team each week into whatever it is that will present their adversaries with the most daunting lineup to confuse, and ultimately defeat them. Unless the Patriots decide to make a bid for the services of former Buccaneers defensive lineman, and six-time Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy, the die is cast and the Patriots will go into this season with their usual collection of plug-n-play role players. They are all more than willing to serve the specific purpose for which the Dark Master has uniquely conjured for each and every member of his squad. A quick check of the NFL odds found over at Sportsbook Review, tells us that all of the best online sportsbooks are again unfazed at the Patriots’ lack of star power being culled from this year’s free agency herd, and have again made them one of the favorites to win the AFC and the Super Bowl. With the possible exception of former Eagles defensive lineman, Michael Bennett, who was acquired via a trade with Philadelphia and not a free agent signing, the new names on New England’s defensive roster won’t be familiar to the casual NFL fan. Hopefully, Bennett will fill the void left by last season’s defensive stalwart Trey Flowers, who exited Foxboro for “greener” pastures in Detroit, but the rest will fill a role that will change, to varying degrees, each week depending on the opponent. Belichick decided that re-signing the immortal John Simon was a small piece of the puzzle, as was signing safety and special teams’ specialist Terrence Brooks. New England could very well have gotten a steal by inking former Jets’ defensive lineman Mike Pennel to a two-year pact after Pro Football Focus rendered him a lofty 87.1 grade for his performance last season. Let’s also not forget that Belichick tapped four defensive players in the draft by trading up to select rangy cornerback Joejuan Williams at the top half of the second round, linebacker Chase Winovich of Michigan in the third round, defensive tackle Byron Cowart of Maryland in the fifth round, and lastly Ole Miss cornerback Ken Webster in the seventh.
Just when you thought Belichick was done, he reached out to old friend Jamie Collins, who was
dealt under a cloud of suspicion to the Cleveland Browns for a conditional third-round pick in
the midst of the 2016 campaign. It was rumored that Collins had done a bit too much
freelancing and wasn’t sticking to Belichick’s defensive script. Collins had been tapped by the
Patriots in the second round of the 2013 draft and was a second-team All-Pro just two years
later. But Belichick doesn’t play favorites and many were stunned at Collins’ sudden departure,
but even more, groused about the return New England was given for a player of his caliber and
physical attributes. Collins would sign a four-year $50 million deal with the Browns in 2017 but
after an administrative shakeup he was shown the door after last season and Bill came calling
for his old pal…at a discount price.
The Patriots were ranked a woeful 29 th in rushing yards allowed last season and it wouldn’t take
much for this year’s defense to improve upon that. The question remains, as it does every year
at this time, whether or not the injection of new, unheralded, talent will be good enough to
take the Patriots to another championship title? If history tells us anything, we’ve got a pretty
good feeling that Bill’s master plan will deliver yet again.
Julian Edelman Is a Massive asset for the Patriots
Julian Edelman’s impact on the Patriots is massive. The three-time Super Bowl Champion, and most recently Super Bowl MVP, has come up in big spots in big games. He’s also earned the trust of quarterback Tom Brady. Edelman brings that power and drive to the offense on the receiving side, and the chemistry between him and Brady is so good it’s the best in the league. He has a career 30 touchdowns and 5390 yards. His memorable catches are many, especially during the Super Bowl win against the Falcons.
Edelman comes up in big spots
When the offense was struggling last season it was Edelman who stepped up big and delivered, just as online gambling sites anticipated. He and Brady always stay on the same page and workout together consistently. Without Edelman Brady would have few reliable targets to throw too. If defenders double cover Edelman it makes way for other receivers to step up and get open. Edelman can do anything from running, catching, and even throwing. When Amendola was on the team, those two had great chemistry and made defenses work harder.
Via Boston Herald
First-round pick N’Keal Harry is already working with Edelman and Brady. Edelman can teach the new guys techniques and advantages they can use during the games. Harry is learning from the best. From the coach all the way to the players. As Edelman singed his contract extension last week, it’s clear he’s here because Brady is here and they both want to win more championships. Without Edelman, it would be much harder for Brady to find guys open and get the offense going. Edelman finished the Super Bowl with 10 catches for 140 yards. It was very low scoring, but he was always in the right place at the right time.
The Super Bowl catch against the Atlanta Falcons will go down as the greatest Super Bowl catch of all time. It is even better than the David Tyree catch in Super Bowl XLII. The Tyree catch is probably second, but in general, having number 11 on the Patriots is so huge. Brady is going to be 42 in August and needs a reliable receiver out there catching passes and making big plays. Julian Edelman sure is that.
Tom Brady skipping offseason workouts for the second straight season
Tom Brady for the second straight year is missing OTA’s. Last year he also missed to have more family time and prepare for the season his way. He went to TB12 last year and worked out in the practice facility. Another reason he skipped was the tension last off-season. His play dropped a little, but they still won the Super Bowl. If it was any other quarterback he would face criticism, but because of how much he’s won he can do whatever he wants.
Brady has different Receiving and Tight End groups from last year. First round draft pick N’Keal Harry will have to wait until minicamp to work with the Hall of Fame quarterback. Brady, before Garoppolo got drafted, raved about going to the offseason workouts and how it helps connect with your teammates. By missing OTA’s, Brady will be behind with his new Receiving group. Now that he’s been to the Super Bowl four times since Garoppolo got drafted he probably thinks he can do just as good on his own workout plan.
Brady also wants to have more time with his family, which he expressed last season. The off-season workouts give him less time with his family as they just won the Super Bowl three months ago. Brady’s the type of player who really is above it all. He’s earned that though with the number of success he has.
The difference between this offseason and last offseason is that there’s no drama. They just won the Super Bowl so people aren’t really talking about Brady skipping OTA’s. I’m sure he’ll be fine, and hopefully have a better connection with his receivers than last year. Thomas, Harry, Edelman, Dorsett, and Gordon when he comes back, is a solid Receiving core.
Rob Gronkowski won’t be walking through that door this season due to his somewhat surprising announcement he would retire, effective immediately. With no legitimate backup waiting in the wings, the conventional wisdom had the Patriots moving up from their No. 32 overall pick to jockey into a slot that would allow them to snatch Iowa’s talented tight end T.J. Hockenson. However, with the eighth overall pick, the Detroit Lions selected Hockenson in what many draft pundits considered a bit of a reach – just a bit.
Most of the mock drafts and some of the best online betting sites found over at Sportsbook Review, had the 6’5” John Mackey Award winner landing somewhere between the mid-teens and early 20’s, a spot where Bill Belichick could reasonably swap first-round picks plus a bit more without too much collateral damage to the many picks he had acquired in preparation of the 2019 draft. Besides, there was always Hockenson’s teammate, Noah Fant, the Robin to his Batman in the Hawkeyes’ battery of twin tight end terrors. But Belichick likes a tight end who can block and catch, however, Fant was more adept at the latter rather than the former, and that limitation wouldn’t warrant Belichick trading up to nab Gronkowski’s heir apparent.
Fant would vanish from the draft board at No. 20 when Denver decided to make him a Bronco but there was still one more tight end to be had, Irv Smith Jr., formerly of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Many believed Belichick had once again masterminded his way into a top tier tight end without moving an inch. After all, Smith had NFL pedigree with his father Irv Smith Sr. having toiled in the professional ranks during the ’90s and was also mentored under the legendary Nick Saban, with whom Belichick shares a deep friendship and has profound respect.
The pieces had all fallen into place but whatever you think Belichick will do, you can be sure he won’t. Yet again, Belichick flipped the script and added a player the same height as Smith Jr. (6’2”) but with more speed and a greater vertical downfield threat when he selected N’Keal Harry as the newest weapon in his offensive arsenal. Think of it this way, when you’ve been tooling around in a Lamborghini for so long, it’s tough to trade it in for a Ford F-150. Sure, a pickup is durable, practical, and will get you from point A to point B but when you already have a few in your garage, it doesn’t make sense to go out and buy a newer model just hoping the engine has a little more giddy-up.
Instead, Belichick took a hard look at his receiving corps and realized that this was the area of greatest concern. With all due respect to Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett, and the rest of the 2018 New England Patriots’ wideouts, that crew was simply not going to cut it in light of an aging Edelman with plenty of wear on his treads, and a wildcard in Josh Gordon whose status is perpetually uncertain. The coup de grace is that Belichick not only passed on a tight end in the first round but didn’t even have to trade up to land Smith in the second, as he was still sitting there when the Patriots selected Vanderbilt’s rangy cornerback Joejuan Williams at No. 45. Irv Smith Jr. would be taken a few minutes later at No. 50 by the Minnesota Vikings so that ship had sailed. However, there was still some decent tight end talent to be had as Drew Sample of Washington went to the Bengals in the second round shortly after Smith. Four tight ends were taken in the third round and a grand total of 16 overall were plucked from the 2019 draft, but not one was selected by New England.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins will headline the tight end stable this season, but the former second-round pick of the Tampa Bay Bucs has never lasted a full season without injury. Maybe Belichick overplayed his hand this time and Tom Terrific will have one less pass-catching outlet this season. However, if you’ve been watching Bill Belichick long enough, chances are things will work out just fine.
N’Keal Harry could be a great receiver for the Patriots
The Patriots have signed their first-round pick N’Keal Harry to a four year $10 million contract. In three seasons with Arizona, Harry had 73 receptions for 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns. He will compete for a starting position at Wide Receiver with Julian Edelman, Deymarius Thomas, Phillip Dorsett, etc. Harry seems to want to learn the Patriot system and how to be a great player in the league. He has a future Hall Of Fame quarterback throwing to him, and great veteran receivers guiding him in the right direction.
Patriots reached agreement with first-round pick N’Keal Harry on a 4-year, $10,098,348 deal that includes a $364,252 signing bonus, per source.
He’ll be learning from the best organization in the league
Harry has met with the media and can’t wait to get to work. He spoke at minicamp saying “The way they did things, like I said earlier, it’s a great organization. They’ve obviously won a lot of Super Bowls and there’s a reason for that. So when I came here for the visit, I just felt like there was something different. There was a different approach and a different mentality.” With Rob Gronkowski retired, Harry will have to be a factor to make some plays for the offense. He also brings some young talent on the team, and can run fast to get open.
He wants to get pushed around by coaches and Brady. That’s the only way he’s going to get better as a player. Getting coached hard can make him a better person on the field and off it. Also with how he handles the media and saying the right things. If Brady can find him the ball, he will get open. Brady is 42 in August, and is going to need help from his offensive line and receivers to make plays. Harry has the potential to be a great receiver for the Patriots. It’s too early to compare him to anyone, but it seems he has some talent which is great.
The Patriots are heading into the season without a Defensive Coordinator. Belichick called the defensive plays in 2010 before handing the play calling to Matt Patricia, who is now with the Lions. Belichick is used to calling plays on the defensive side of the ball, even before he became a head coach. Brian Flores called the defensive plays last year before taking the Miami Dolphins Head Coaching position after the Super Bowl.
Belichick has experience calling the plays on the defensive side
The Patriots will be fine having Belichick call the defensive plays. His football smarts are through the roof, and he will go down as the smartest coach of all time. He’s had so many different players in his career it’s crazy. He also knows the 3-4 defense and other defensive schemes more than any other coach in the game today. Belichick was the Defensive Coordinator for the New York Giants in 1985 under head coach Bill Parcells. The Patriots did hire Greg Schiano, but he left in March after one month on the job.
With Josh McDaniels handling the offensive side of things, they’ll be good. They’ve stacked up on Tight Ends and Wide Receivers. Belichick also has help with Jerod Mayo and Steve Belichick on the defensive side of the ball. The Patriots are coming off their sixth Super Bowl title since 2001. Question is can they head back to the Super Bowl again? The answer is most likely yes. Belichick can pretty much do what he wants because they win so much. Belichick calling the plays on the defensive side will be good because he knows the system and does what’s best for the team.
Kraft shouldn’t be suspended, especially if the case is dismissed.
The Patriots are coming off their sixth Super Bowl championship. Right after that, another Patriots scandal happened involving the Patriots owner Robert Kraft. I don’t need to go into the details. We all know what happened at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa. In my opinion, Kraft shouldn’t be suspended by the league because it’s not a football issue, and also not a domestic violence issue. The Patriots won’t lose draft picks, and I really don’t think he should be fined. He could’ve gone about it a different way, like flown to Vegas or have girls come to his hotel room, but it is what it is.
I’m sure he isn’t the only rich person to do that either. Many others without mentioning names have done the same thing. The only difference is Kraft got caught and those guys didn’t. He’s done a lot for charity and for different communities, so he was stressed out before the AFC Championship Game. What’s the big deal? Everyone on the Patriots will be on Kraft’s side through all of this and not let it get in the way of the upcoming season.
The Patriots are the best at handling distractions
We all know the Patriots are the best at handling distractions. They let nothing get in their way of winning. They will continue to win to make the rest of the Country hate that the Patriots win all the time regardless of whatever distraction comes up. Robert Kraft shouldn’t get suspended. It’s not a league issue and the case could even get dismissed. So why would the league suspended him if the case could get dismissed? It makes no sense. He’ll walk away with nothing, but hopefully know that he shouldn’t go about it that way again. Fly to Vegas. He’s a billionaire, he doesn’t need to go to a strip mall for that.
The Patriots could enter 2019 with nobody at tight end
Bill Belichick is the smartest coach in the league. After Rob Gronkowski announced his retirement there was speculation that the Patriots would draft a tight end during the draft, but they didn’t. There’s also a strong rumor that former tight end Benjamin Watson was going to come out of retirement and join his former team. The Patriots could go into the season with no tight end, and they haven’t had that happen in awhile.
They’ve had much success at the position
The Patriots have had a tight end since the beginning of the Belichick era. From Jermaine Wiggins to Benjamin Watson and Rob Gronkowski. They really had been dominant at the position. Dwayne Allen didn’t turn out well, and the Patriots released Jacob Hollister. However, having no tight end could work. The Patriots could have five wide receivers lined up. The signing of Demaryius Thomas, and having Julian Edelman on the other side, will be good. Also when Josh Gordon returns from the suspension that adds another dominant force to the offense. Also, they have the new draft pick N’ Keal Harry, who people are already comparing to Dez Bryant and Phillip Dorsett.
They could go with five wide receivers
Tom Brady is used to having all kinds of different receivers to throw to. With him playing at an elite level still, Belichick knows Brady can handle anything thrown his way. Brady will just find the open receiver. Yes they’ll miss the blocking from Gronkowski, that just means other guys will have to step up.
That will probably be a full depth chart at receiver when Josh Gordon comes back from suspension. If he can remain on the field he would be a great factor to make plays on offense. With Brady still playing it’s safe to say they may not even need a tight end. They did win a Super Bowl without Rob Gronkowski. And who knows, he could comeback in November if he feels right. Belichick will always do what’s best for the football team regardless.
