Patriots Players Are Glad Tom Brady Left
Tom Brady left the New England Patriots this offseason after spending two decades with the team. The move was shocking, albeit not totally unexpected after neither he nor the organization showed much interest in continuing a partnership that produced six Super Bowl wins.
Why was there such reluctance to get something done? It appears Brady wore out his welcome in New England.
The Patriots still finished atop the AFC East in 2019, but when you are competing against only the defensive unit of the Buffalo Bills, the Adam Gase-led New York Jets, and the perpetually-confused Miami Dolphins, that is not saying much.
When it really mattered, late in the year and in the opening round of the postseason, the Patriots looked out of step.
Part of the reason for that? A bad attitude from Brady that permeated within the locker room.
“I will admit to you that from what I’ve heard since Tom Brady departed,” Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal reported recently. “The Patriots did need a vibe change in the locker room because a dour Brady, which start to crop up at the end of 2018, took its toll on the Patriots last season.
“It was so bad that some of his teammates have admittedly privately that it was better for all involved that Brady moved on if he was going to have the same attitude this season.”
Dak addressed the elephant in the room. https://t.co/7TB8BorTSJ
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 3, 2020
To be fair to Brady, the Patriots saddled him with a bad hand. Offensively his weapons seemed to get progressively worse as time passed, and defensively the team looked incapable of consistently picking up the slack.
That would result in anyone having a bad attitude.
But it is still startling that Brady’s teammates were so openly turned off by it.
It is also hard to imagine that head coach Bill Belichick didn’t at least factor that in slightly when assessing how hard he should push for Brady to return.
In that sense, a new beginning really does seem like the best thing for all parties involved.
Brady gets to join a young, talented Tampa Bay Buccaneers squad that brings to the table a way more impressive offensive arsenal than what he had in New England.
Belichick gets a talented and hungry former MVP in Cam Newton who is on a mission to prove the Carolina Panthers were wrong to quit on him.
The Patriots head coach has been raving about Newton and his great work ethic for weeks now.
“He’s an extremely hard worker,” he said of Newton last week.
“Nobody works harder than Cam does. He’s here early, he stays late and he works very hard. Some players like to work on things they’re good at, like if you’re strong on the bench press you just throw more weight on the bench. But Cam works on things he’s not at good at and tries to improve on a daily basis and that’s something I really respect about him.”
Prior to that, Belichick also praised Newton’s work ethic and spirit last month.
“Cam’s a hard-working kid,” he said back in August. “He really is.”
One NFL player has decided to honor a fallen police officer on his helmet next season. https://t.co/a87RpietTQ
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 3, 2020
Neither the Buccaneers nor the Patriots will have an easy road to the Super Bowl.
Tampa Bay, improved as the team may be, is still not as good on either side of the ball as the New Orleans Saints.
New England, although it plays in an easier division than the Buccaneers, is noticeably less talented than Brady’s new squad.
Someone will emerge from the Brady-Patriots divorce as the winner, but at this stage it is unclear who it will be.
Related: Bill Belichick Responds To Cam Newton Starter Rumors
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
