“All districts have reported and it is official: Brady defeated Bill Belichick and Bob Kraft in a landslide,” wrote Shaughnessy. “Ten months after leaving New England because the Patriots finished him off, Brady showed the world that he still has what it takes. The Patriots, who had no real plans to replace their quarterback, finished 7-9 and were eliminated from the playoffs. Meanwhile, Brady is going to his 10th Super Bowl; with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers clown car, no less. “
Shaughnessy went on to say that Brady’s success is worse than the Red Sox watching Mookie Betts win a World Series with the Dodgers months after negotiating it. He also wrote that this “loss” was worse than any Belichick-trained Super Bowl defeat or any controversy the franchise had to deal with.
“Do you remember all those years when everything went the way of the Patriots and it seemed that the people on the other line were losing their minds when they saw Belichick? Well, it’s becoming evident that it was Brady’s vision that made all those coaches step on their appendages when they played against the Patriots. The Packers made that very clear at Lambeau Field, ”wrote Shaughnessy.
Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston, which has covered the Patriots for decades, also criticized the team. In an article entitled “Brady won a loss of Ruthian proportions for Pats,” Curran analyzed the state of the Patriots, writing that they hope to be just a viable suitor for Matthew Stafford – the allegedly disgruntled Lions quarterback who never won a playoff game. Curran compared what they expect to happen this off-season to what they have.
“[Brady] that was the guy who really wanted be with the Patriots, ”wrote Curran. “It may still be. It must be stopped. The one who did everything but use a sandwich board asking the team to hire him until the end of his career. The guy who hit his head against the wall and worried a lot about what he would do if he couldn’t play here. “
Curran continued, writing that probably no quarterback the Patriots brought in this off-season will be better than Brady next season and that the Patriots “really had to work to get this far on the wrong side of history”.
Although Curran admits that the Patriots would probably not be on the same stage as the Bucs if they still had Brady, that did not stop him from comparing this to what is seen as the worst deal in Boston sports history.
“What is a compensation for what Brady is doing? What fanbase had to digest a success like that of a former player? Asked Curran.
“The one who stood out for me? The Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees a hundred years ago, ”wrote Curran. “At least Sox got $ 100,000 back and owner Harry Frazee was able to afford the game“ No, no Nanette! ”What did the Patriots achieve? A spot for Matt Stafford? If things go well? “
Boston Globe Patriots beat writer Ben Volin wasn’t so hard on Belichick and the Patriots for letting Brady go, but he asked a simple question: “Why is Brady doing this for the Bucs and not for the Patriots? Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick must be feeling very embarrassed about this. “
Volin focused more on how Brady’s victory on Sunday meant a lot to his legacy, even though Brady’s legacy was already cemented.
“And to think that entering in December, the Bucs were 7-5 and barely getting a place in the playoff ”, wrote Volin. “Now they have won seven games in a row and are going to the Super Bowl.
“This may be Brady’s tenth race in the Super Bowl, but considering everything he’s accomplished this year with a new team, it’s definitely the best of his career.”
Both hosts at 98.5 The Sports Hub “Felger and Mazz” took time to mock the Patriots for letting Brady go.
“Humble pie! That’s what they’re serving in the cafeteria today at Foxborough, ”Tony Massarotti said as he made a sniffle. “I think [the smell] comes from the Belichick microwave. Humble pie!
“Look, at the end of the day, here is the final result. Tom Brady left the Patriots as we all know. There was a duel there. There was a fight there. A guy showed up. The other guy doesn’t. A guy showed up. The other guy doesn’t. Clear and simple. Brady against Bill. One guy was ready for the duel. A guy was not. And the guy who wasn’t kicked. “
“He made the moves he had to make as usual. And not the opponent, ”said Michael Felger of Brady’s performance in the victory over the Packers. “I’m stupid! Stupid me and those like me. I thought you were the coach. I thought I was the coach more than he was. Obviously, neither. I thought it was more of a Patriots coaching and laundry function and that thing against Brady – and it turns out it’s just Brady.
“I got the wrong guy. I got the wrong guy, just like everyone else. Robert Kraft too. Everyone too. Every week, every day and every game, I don’t know how you can get out of your place if this is your place. This is just a fact. “
While it seems that most people on the Boston media sports scene are killing the Patriots, not everyone is. The Athletic’s Jeff Howe made a point of saying that while Brady’s was more successful in the first year of separation, that shouldn’t change the importance of Brady and Belichick in the past.
“If nothing else, this season validated Brady’s decision to abandon the ship while the Patriots were preparing for reconstruction – a job that Belichick has yet to complete,” wrote Howe. “But that should in no way change the narrative about the previous 20 years.”
Howe spent the 20 seasons that Brady and Belichick had been together in New England, arguing that Brady made up for the lack of talent on the list for some seasons and that Belichick coached teams for better records than they should have.
“They stood up again and again, with Brady playing at a superhuman level that he could mask the shortcomings in the squad and Belichick training to a level where the worst Patriots seasons would have been big hits for most franchises,” he wrote Howe. “Although Brady plays the most important position in all sports, consider how many great defenders in the entire league have been lost by substandard coaches over the years.”
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