Only in Boston can a new multi-year contract not even be signed yet before the media starts trying to panic the fans about what will happen after the deal has run its course.
That’s the case here, where Tom Brady and the Patriots have yet to formally agree to a new deal, yet newspaper writers and radio hosts are already trying to stir up Patriots fans into a panic over the short “window” that the Patriots will have to win a Super Bowl while Brady is still here, and before he heads to San Francisco or a new team in Los Angeles, or wherever. Others tie it to when Bill Belichick’s contract runs out, and stir things up about what the team will do then.
We’ll try to stay away from that, as well as comments like the one from Ron Borges this morning, where he claims that the Patriots will try to make it look like Brady signed for less than he really did, just so they can make the claim that he took a discount. When two columns this morning compare the Patriots to the Nixon White House, (even if one of those columns is defendingthe team) we’ll just leave them both out, including Dan Shaughnessy’s column today, which we’ll avoid except for one segment that will be the topic of a post later this morning.
Brady was on Dennis and Callahan this morning, and side-stepped the contract questions. The better answers came when he was asked about the national media picking seemingly everyone but the Patriots.
Tom Brady deal close – The Herald (after it was mentioned on WEEI yesterday) has led the way on this story right from the start.
Tom Brady may have deal soon – After semi-shooting down the story yesterday, Adam Schefter confirms many of the details of the potential deal.
Brady deal is closer, but not done yet – Albert Breer weighs in on the situation as well.
Pats face stiff challenge right out of the gate – Robert Lee says that Sunday will be a tough one for the Patriots.
Rookie Fletcher earns his keep, for now – Monique Walker’s notebook has a look at the undrafted rookie linebacker.
Gotta Love NT Kyle Love’s story – Ian Rapoport’s notebook looks at the undrafted rookie defensive lineman.
Red Sox will have to wait ’til next year – Michael Silverman has the plug officially being pulled on the 2010 season last night.
Dice-K snuffs all remaining hope – Bill Ballou has Matsuzaka getting lit up in a must-win game.
Varitek wants to play a few more years – The CSNNE notebook has the veteran catcher not ready to call it career just yet.
Bruins lace ’em up with Zdeno Chara leading captain’s practice – Stephen Harris has many of the Bruins gathering for a “Captain’s Practice.”
Boston Sports Media Watch 
Damn, and I thought all of the media's Nixon/Watergate comparisons with Belichick and the Pats had ended after Matt Walsh testified that he actually had nothing new to add to the Spygate tale in 2008. Glad to see that some old hacks continue to rely on their old-hack tricks (I guess you can't teach old media hacks new media hack tricks).
Oh, and I'm not worried about any "small window" with Brady either. But I appreciate the media's concern for me. I mean, is the Colts' window with Manning any wider? Is the Indy media writing articles like this? It really makes me wonder if any of these people have any clue as to how difficult it is to consistently field a winning football team in today's NFL (I suspect that guys like Reiss and Curran do). It's HARD. Only the Colts, Pats, Steelers, and Eagles, really, have consistently fielded playoff-caliber teams for the better part of the last decade, and all of them have missed the playoffs from time-to-time during the last 10 years.
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Well, I think a lot of the media is concentrating on Brady since their Golden Boy blew the Super Bowl earlier this year.
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RE: Brady, I wonder if the local sports market is so gullible, so whiney, so stupid and so much in need of rabble rousing that they need Nixon references about the Patriots in order to enjoy their football/sports? If not for Reiss (and mostly Rappoport) I'd never look at local reporters for Patriots coverage. It's a bummer there's a local market for talent like Borges.
Can't we just enjoy being kind of giddy because football season starts tomorrow or does that make a person the worst thing you could call them – a "fanboi?"
And yeah I realize I'm whining about whiners so in a way I'm just as bad as them; so be it.
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I specifically avoided listening to Borges on with T&R this morning, because I knew he'd drop some manner of turd in the punchbowl…. guess I was right.
T&R, whom I normally like, nonetheless infuriated me later, when they were talking about how the Patriots' draft strategy (trading down, going for value) has "failed", while the Jets have gone out and spent the money/draft picks to acquire first-round talent (Revis, Sanchez).
Failed?
Really, guys?
The Patriots technique has produced 8 playoff appearances in the last 10 years, including three Super Bowl wins. They've never finished worse than 2nd in the division, and have won it 8 of the last 10 years.
The Jets technique went 9-7, and made the conference championship game — for the first time since 1998.
Yes, clearly the Patriots approach has failed, guys. Maybe it's time to recalibrate your definition of "failure", perhaps?
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The bashing of their draft prowess annoys me to no end. Yes, they've had some stinkers in recent years (2006 stands out, but 2008 is teetering on the brink of failure entering this season, depending on how some players fair). But 2009 and 2010 are looking very good right now. 2005 (Mankins, Kaczur, Sanders, Hobbs, Cassel and Wright as a UFA) was very, very solid. Among the media, only Reiss ever points out that their "failed" 2007 draft actually produced Merriweather, MOSS AND WELKER, because they used three picks to acquire the last two guys. They also used a #2 pick to acquire Corey Dillon in 2004 and reaped another Super Bowl title from that deal. If you stack up the last 10 Patriots drafts (2001-2010) side-by-side against the other 31 NFL teams, I guarantee you that, at the very least, New England's overall grade falls within the top quarter (or Top 8 out of 32 teams); I'm guessing that it rates even higher. Oh, and regarding the Jets: they're just a couple of years removed from burning a Top 10 pick on Vernon Gholston, so if I were Borges and his ilk, I wouldn't exactly be crowing about the J-E-T-S drafting ability.
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Amen, brother. The critics seem to be jumping on the Patriots for choosing mid-round quantity over high-round quality, despite the fact that you can clearly demonstrate that, at best, 50% of the first round will ever perform up to what we would all consider to be first-round "expectations" (I'd put that at consistent and unchallenged starter at least, if no All-Pro caliber). And that's at best. On the average, it's probably under a half, and often as low as a third. If, on the whole, only half the players you draft at best will ever even contribute to your team, doesn't it make logical sense to draft for volume instead of singling out particular guys? You will have a lot of misses, but you should also statistically wind up with more hits than your competition.
Yet this is somehow a misguided concept to said critics. Really????? REALLY?????
Maybe they'll shut up when Kraft and Belichick are gone, and the Pats are trading their 2nd-9th round picks to move up and take Darrelle Revis III, and the team goes 2-16 anyhow BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE SUCKS, and there are no "diamonds in the rough" to take those spots, because there is no rough to begin with.
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By no means am I crowning the Jets, but the Patriots have whiffed on the last few drafts by my count. When names like Greg Jennings, Shoene Green, Ray Rice, Joseph Addai, and Pierre Garcon are passed in favor of failures like Chad Jackson, Laurence Maroney, Terrence Wheatley, and Shawn Crable then yeah, I can see how the drafts are criticized. Then, when the Pats actually have a top 15 pick, they take Jerod Mayo, who looks average at best right now.
Next year's Oakland pick needs to be used in the spot it falls in. If it's traded for multiple picks and that team drafts a beast of a DL, then Pats fans will riot.
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I agree on 2006; that draft was a disaster (but for the record, the Addai pick, other than his rookie year, really didn't work out that great for Indy either; since drafting Addai just four years ago, Polian has selected another RB in the first round and also took one fairly high in the 2008 draft). And like I said in my earlier post, 2008 is on the "bubble" as a draft. Wheatley or Willhite has to step up and produce this year, and it would be nice to see Mayo return to 2008 form (I still believe it was the knee injury, more than anything, that caused his sophomore slump last year). But all in all, the Pats still draft far better than the other 3/4 of the teams in the NFL, and the last two drafts have brought in a lot of very promising-looking prospects. As for Pierre Garcon, wait 'til you get a load of Brandon Tate, if he's healthy, over the next couple of seasons–Mayock raved about him during the NFL Network's 2009 draft coverage when the Pats selected him. I agree, however, that they have to land some quality Front 7 talent in next year's draft, and if the Oakland pick falls in the Top 10, they need to use it in that spot, or even move up.
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I think my favorite 'mediot' talking point this week comes from, who else?: Felger.
Ok, so he has a hair across his ass about Moss. We get it. Unfortunately, Mike does not let the facts get in the way of his opinion.
First he talks about Moss having a detrimental affect on this team. A team that has won 2 division titles and missed that playoff chance on the 3rd tiebreaker, and been in one Superbowl. A Superbowl in which he caught the game winning TD with a minute or so to go. ( I turned it off after that, so don't tell me who won). Plus, the stats are ridiculous. 47 td's in 48 games. Hasn't missed a game. Has over 1,000yds every year. Set an all-time NFL TD record in '07 and is statistically one of the top 5 receivers in the league the last 3yrs.
Then, my favorite comes this week, when Felger says you don't want Randy in a contract year. He could shut it down or be a huge disctraction. I hate to break it to Felger, but the very last time he was in a contract year, he had HISTORICAL season in '07. Yes, Mike that is 'fact, not opinion'.
Good grief.
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