Is Brady Low-Key Happy Cam Is Struggling?

Let me get a few things out of the way. First of all, I know Tom Brady is too busy to worry too much about what is happening in Foxboro this season. His schedule is filled enough with preparing for Tampa Bay's games each week.

But Brady is a human being, and it's human nature to take interest in your former employer and boss, particularly when you feel –rightly or wrongly– as if you were underappreciated by said boss.

I don't picture Brady going over film of Sunday's Patriots game, but you've got to think that he takes a glance at the box score and his eyes naturally stop at the three interceptions that Cam Newton tossed in the loss to the 49ers. You've got to think that word somehow reached TB12 that Cam watched the Patriots play the fourth quarter from the bench.

Meanwhile, there was Brady, out in Vegas, playing with house money, still heaving touchdown passes to Gronk like it's 2017.

It would be tough not to think there's a sliver of Brady, somewhere deep down inside in a place that he doesn't let you see in a post-game press conference, that isn't just a little happy that Cam Newton is struggling with the Patriots. And more importantly, that the Patriots as a whole are struggling without Brady.

He'd never admit it in a million years, but do you think it's in there?

Imagine for a moment that Cam Newton came into New England and absolutely lit up the place. Imagine that Newton quickly became Boston's darling by leading the Patriots to their seventh Super Bowl championship. You'd have to think that would hurt Brady just a little bit. No one wants to be that replaceable, especially the greatest football player to ever play the game.

Nothing against Cam, but there's just got to be some satisfaction in showing your former employers that you were, in fact, more valuable than they may have thought. That you did have more to contribute, even in your advanced age.

As Giselle put it, he's not Johnny Foxboro.

That's for sure. Not anymore. He's Tommy Tampa now.