ESPN Patriots Article: Real News vs. Fake News

It was as if New Englanders woke up on an unrecognizable planet this morning.  A planet where all objects are ice covered...and one where, according to ESPN, three of the most powerful men in sports history are archrivals, as opposed to partners in unprecedented success. Much of ESPN's "For Kraft, Brady and Belichick, is this the beginning of the end?" article is laughable to people who have followed this team for the past 18 years, but I've learned in my life where there is smoke there is usually fire.  There must be a grain of truth to some of this article. I mean, ESPN can't just make things up...can they? The article leaves Patriots fans wondering what parts of the article are believable and what is complete bunk.  Here is my humble take.

Here are two things I believe COULD be at least partially true:

1. Tension about Brady's trainer Alex Guerrero. I can understand how the Patriots organization might not love the idea of an external trainer having more medical influence over the players' health and well-being than team doctors. That must irk a lot of people. Clearly, Brady puts a lot of stock into his trainer. He believes the things Guerrero has him eating/doing/training are working. The results speak for themselves. The article says some in the Patriots organization refer to it as "cult like". This would not surprise me. And Belichick handing down restrictions to Guerrero...where there were no restrictions before...is a concrete sign that all is not well on that front.

2. Brady's getting tired of being dressed down by Belichick. Historically, Coach Belichick would routinely call out his franchise quarterback at team meetings. Presumably it would send a message to the rest of the players. If our future Hall of
Famer (the Greatest of All Time) can take some critique and continue to grow as a player...so can you. Without having attended a single Patriots team meeting, my guess is that Tom Brady has been 1000% onboard with this strategy. However, I can see how hearing some of these critiques of his performance might start to sting a bit as #12 gets older. I think it would be very human of Brady to be a little more sensitive to these types of things as he fights the perception (and reality) that he is on the Back 9 of his career. This, however, is assuming Brady is human...which is still up for debate.

Here are two parts of the article that I believe to be complete bunk.

1. Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft are competing for credit for the team's 5 championships. Puh-leeeze. This makes no sense. Obviously, each of the three couldn't have accomplished the feat of 5 Super Bowl wins alone. They each have their roles. It is incomprehensible for me to think that Bill Belichick even has time to worry about such petty things. Only a small mind could think of such a ridiculous, National Enquirer-esque "story".

2. There is a threat that this could be the final season Belichick, Brady and Kraft are together on the Patriots. I'm not saying there's ZERO chance that this is the case, but I'm saying it is very, very unlikely. Are they 'sick of winning' under the Trump administration? I don't think so. Will the three of them be working together in Foxboro when training camp opens this summer? I'd take that bet all day.