Too quiet…
Okay, it's not that quiet, but the dull roar of Malcolm Butler and Jimmy Garoppolo prognostications have reduced to a dull mumble over the last few days.
Malcolm Butler visited with Sean Payton in New Orleans and they're talking about a second date, they're really serious about taking this to the next level but it seems like since last Wednesday they've spent more time talking to their friends than talking to each other. If the Saints offer was that good, wouldn't Butler have signed his tender on Thursday, so Payton and Bill Belichick could start talking trade? I have to wonder if Belichick has Nick Caserio preparing a counter offer now that he has a reference point for Butler's market value. I love a happy ending!
Not much has really changed for Jimmy G. He'll be traded to the Cleveland Browns or he won't; pigskin pundits and bobbleheads seem evenly divided on whether Garoppolo stays or goes. What surprises me is why the Houston Texans (aka The Patriots South) aren't all up on Jimmy G's jock. They're waiting for the Dallas Cowboys to release Tony Romo's peanut-brittle spine so they can get into a bidding war with the Denver Broncos? Seriously? I suppose Belichick would want even more in return from a potential playoff opponent but it seems odd there hasn't been any rumors of interest from Bill O'Brien. Wouldn't Garoppolo make the Texans, with their very scary defense - the clear favorite in the mediocre AFC South?
One recent spin has been the possibility the Patriots would have enough cap space to put together an extension for Garoppolo before he gets to free agency. That does seem like a bit of wishful (and creative) thinking by the good citizens of Patriots Nation. Jimmy G sees Tom Brady every day and if anyone knows if Brady's skills are diminishing, it would be Garoppolo. Unless he's seeing something the rest of us didn't in SB51, why sign an extension? He wants to start, he wants to play, even if it's Cleveland, doesn't he?
As for the theory that Brady would retire if the Patriots go back-to-back and win SB52, child, please. This is Tom Brady we're talking about. That guy will want to go back-to-back-to-back. And if he wins three in a row, he'll want four.
The Key to the Quiz
Paraphrasing Tom Brady from the post-SB interview with Peter King: Why would he quit now that he finally knows all the answers to the quiz? Brady has 17 years of NFL experience. He has literally seen it all. The mind is willing and unlike any other 40-year old in league history, the body is not weak. Tom Brady is Wolverine and it's a long way till 2029. Given Brady's mental and physical health, that back-to-back-to-back at ages 39, 40, 41 scenario really isn't all that crazy.
And then there's this…
I read the "Parcells speaks…" piece on ESPN.com and noted this on Belichick…
“I’d have to say it would surprise everyone to win more Super Bowls than anybody has. That’s a monumental task. But I think Bill would tell you himself it has to be the right set of circumstances. You have to have a good support staff, which he obviously has. You have to have ownership that’s willing to cooperate ... and then you have to have the good fortune to integrate the kind of players that will flourish in your system and allow your team to have success, and he’s done all those things.
“And as time goes on, I think, it’s actually not harder, it’s easier, because his experience is so much greater and he’s been through two or three cycles of players, so he can reference back to the kinds of players that have been successful for him before and try to integrate similar ones into the system for the future. That’s what all of us basically try to do. If a player doesn’t remind you of some other player that you had some success with, then there’s probably a good chance that that player isn’t going to be successful.”
“And as time goes on, I think, it’s actually not harder, it’s easier, because his experience is so much greater and he’s been through two or three cycles of players, so he can reference back to the kinds of players that have been successful for him before and try to integrate similar ones into the system for the future. That’s what all of us basically try to do. If a player doesn’t remind you of some other player that you had some success with, then there’s probably a good chance that that player isn’t going to be successful.”
It’s actually not harder, it’s easier…
It would seem Brady has the key to the Quarterback Quiz and Belichick has the key to the Head Coach/General Manager Quiz.
Small wonder everyone west of the Connecticut River thinks they're cheating.
No comments:
Post a Comment