I am taking issue with Gary Myers' assertion in today's New York Daily News that New England Patriots QB Tom "Crybaby" Brady, after winning his 4th Super Bowl, is now the best QB ever.
I'm sorry, but that's way off the mark. Way, way, way off.
Brady has played in 6 Super Bowls, and won 4. The latest one, it will be argued, is tainted because of Deflategate and allegations of other shady tactics in the Patriots camp. More on that later. His idol, Joe Montana, never lost the Big Game. Neither did Terry Bradshaw. Brady's record is 4-2. End of story. You can argue that the two losses to the Giants resulted from what amounted to acts of God, if you will, and it almost happened again on Sunday, with Seattle's Jermaine Kearse making what would've been a highlight reel catch had the Seahawks retained their title.
Brady, as has been documented here previously, is prone to fits of immaturity after losses. I've never heard any of the sort in regards to Bradshaw and/or Montana. You have to believe the fix was in to give Crybaby the MVP trophy, when in this writer's opinion, it should've gone to teammate Julian Edelman. If not for Edelman's game-changing hit on Seattle's Jeremy Lane following a 1st quarter interception, chances are the result would've been radically different. Instead, Edelman knocked Lane not only out of bounds, but out of the game with a broken arm. Remember, Edelman began his career as a defensive back, then became a two-way player, a la former Patriot Troy Brown a decade ago. There's a reason Montana was nicknamed "Joe Cool". Grace under pressure, especially in the biggest games. The only reason Montana didn't win a 5th Super Bowl can be traced back to the Giants' destruction of San Francisco in '86 in the playoffs. Brady wants to play until he's 45 and/or gets his 5th ring. I don't even think of him as an icon. To me, he's just a punk now.
More on Edelman. There was a headline today alleging that Edelman had suffered a concussion, went through the necessary protocols, and went back into the game. Funny thing is, I didn't hear anything from NBC's announcers about Edelman being concussed. Seattle's Cliff Avril suffered a concussion in the 2nd half, and didn't return. Rightfully, if Edelman did suffer a concussion, the wise thing would've been to sit him out for the rest of the game, as Seattle did with Avril, erring on the side of caution, with an eye toward next season. It's not as if coach Bill Belichick hasn't played with the safety of his players before, because he has. In blowing out Indianapolis in 2012, the Pats lost TE Rob Gronkowski to an injury when the game was long decided, and Gronkowski should've been on the bench being saved for the next game. They say if you play with fire, you're bound to get burned. Luckily, if Edelman really was hurt, he has 5 1/2 months before training camp, as does Avril, to recover.
As for Malcolm Butler's game clinching pick, he's lucky to have gotten the ball out of the end zone. Luckier still that he had the 5 yard window to throw a nasty shoulder block at Ricardo Lockette to ensure he'd get the ball. Playground stuff, that's all it is. Out in the open field, the call goes the other way, unless it's in Foxborough, of course.
The sight of Brady jumping up and down like a teenager who just got his first car for Christmas is just flat ridiculous. I haven't seen that kind of emotion from a chump like him in I don't know when. Jump for joy now, but let's see if Deflategate gets swept under the rug before the draft. Then, the detractors will have a field day. They'll continue to crow that commissioner Roger Goodell is in fact in the pocket of Patriots owner Bob Kraft, who probably sent him a case of Velveeta over the weekend.
No, it's going to require a non-partisan committee, preferably out of Washington, and with no ties to Daniel Snyder's crew, whom we'll now refer to as the Generals, to carry out the investigation, because the NFL will protect their golden goose, unless they have no choice but to cave in. And they should. The NFL conceivably could take a huge public relations hit if they do cover up for the Patriots, but if someone like Sheldon Silver can be exposed, so can the Patriots.
2 comments:
Brady is the best quarterback in the history of the nfl.
I respectfully disagree. You've probably never seen either Terry Bradshaw or Joe Montana, or even John Elway. I'd take Montana over Brady any day of the week, thank you very much.
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