2022 NFL Thread (Chiefs win Super Bowl 57)

[faizoff]

I'm willing to give Bowles the benefit of doubt on this, I'm sure he's learned from that experience with the Jets. The front office is very different too as were the players.. Time will tell how it goes, right now the Bucs team is talented and once Brady moves on, getting a replacement QB again might be the missing piece for that team.

[King Postwhore]

So who does he want now? Leftwich? 

Todd Bowles the Defensive Coordinator is the head coach now, they signed him up for five years.

From the Tampa reporters I follow, they're saying Bruce Arians had already informed the front office and Brady around his un-retirement announcement that he was stepping down.
I think this move was coming regardless of who was going to be at QB.

So Leftwich got hosed again for a HC job, in favor of a guy who has failed one (Jets) and a half (Dolphins interim) times as a head coach in the past.   So much for the Rooney Rule, eh?   

Stads, you know Bowles race right?

[Stadler]

So who does he want now? Leftwich? 

Todd Bowles the Defensive Coordinator is the head coach now, they signed him up for five years.

From the Tampa reporters I follow, they're saying Bruce Arians had already informed the front office and Brady around his un-retirement announcement that he was stepping down.
I think this move was coming regardless of who was going to be at QB.

So Leftwich got hosed again for a HC job, in favor of a guy who has failed one (Jets) and a half (Dolphins interim) times as a head coach in the past.   So much for the Rooney Rule, eh?   

Stads, you know Bowles race right?

Yes.  That was the point.     

[King Postwhore]

They didn't need it though.    No process needed.  LOL

[Dream Team]

Based on what I've read about this latest lawsuit, Jerry Jones is a despicable individual. I suppose that is already known. Kind of in-line with most NFL owners I suppose.

[Stadler]

They didn't need it though.    No process needed.  LOL

Just to be clear, where I was going was, during the hoopla over the hiring of minority coaches Byron Leftwich was often paraded out as the prime example of someone getting the shaft because of his race, and there was a lot of hay made about "white" coaches being given second and third chances while black coaches couldn't even get to the table.   Well, Leftwich isn't even the first choice on his OWN TEAM, in favor of a guy that's had chances already and didn't deliver.   I'm saying this is a valuable piece of evidence that "color" isn't the deciding factor in a majority of hiring decisions.

[Dream Team]

Actually, isn't Brady on record as stating "90% of what I say is a lie"? So who knows when you're being played.

[King Postwhore]

You and I know, now that he was under Arians shadow just like Eric Bieniemy is looked at working with Reid.  Now that he is free, maybe owners will look differently at him.

[King Postwhore]

Actually, isn't Brady on record as stating "90% of what I say is a lie"? So who knows when you're being played.

“I would say 90% of what I say is probably not what I'm thinking. Which is challenging, you know? And I really admire people that actually can do that, and say what they think, because they invite a lot of other things into their life. And I think there's part of me that doesn't like conflict."  - Tom Brady.

We all know this is meant as under Belichick, no info was to be given out so he answered with a non answer. Lie, sure but that was to not give info, not because it's what he does all the time.

[El Barto]

For all of these years we kept hearing that Brady was the embodiment of the Patriot way. No player is as important as the team. Over the last year or so King has convinced me that he's actually a whiny little bitch, though. So be it. What I wonder is when that became the case. He couldn't have always been like that. It has to have been a gradual shift. Clearly he's been of the mindset that he deserved preferential treatment for some time. Now he's of the mindset that he's more important than the GM, and he'll personally determine who the next head coach is. Man, I'm really starting to hate the guy.

Also, who wants to sign on as HC only to be Brady's yes man?

This is why, stats and records aside, Peyton will always be my personal GOAT. He just embodies the position, the game, and the best of the off-the-field character that you hope to see from a player. For me, he is up there with John Madden in terms of people who are just synonymous with the game. I'm sure part of it's just an extremely polished public persona, and marketing. But still. To me Peyton is legendary. I fully expect Brady's records to be broken in another decade or so. I don't expect anyone to like him or his awful personality or look forward to seeing him on TV from then on. Meanwhile, I expect Peyton to be something like the next Madden. Someone who adults remember and love about the game, but also who even kids too young to remember look forward to seeing as a marquee game broadcaster or whatever else he decides to do going forward.

Some of Brady's records will fall, but not all of them. What won't is the seven rings with two different teams. The guy's the GOAT and that isn't going to change in the next 50 years. I'll call him a petty little bitch, but that doesn't change what he's done on the field. And to be clear, I don't disagree with a word you said about Peyton. GOAT-lite, and a far more likeable person and ambassador for the game. At this point I'm certainly more of Peyton fan than TB12. Brady justsimply better for longer.

[El Barto]

Based on what I've read about this latest lawsuit, Jerry Jones is a despicable individual. I suppose that is already known. Kind of in-line with most NFL owners I suppose.

Yeah, he's not exactly a pillar of human decency.    At the same time, from what I gather he's actually got a legit grievance here. He paid a ton of money to keep this quiet, and now it's out and people on prog music forums are calling him despicable. This can't be the first time NDAs regarding paternity have been violated, so I'm curious how this is supposed to play out. Or, for that matter, if it's even legal to have an NDA for that purpose.


edit: Oh, and when it comes to sleazeballs, Jerry's got nothing on Rich Dalrimple. Most people outside of Dallas wouldn't know of him, but he's been Jerry's/Dallas's longtime spokesman, and he's got his own problems going on right now.

[Skeever]

I do think Todd Bowles can be a good coach, though. The year he had Fitzpatrick, Brandon Marshall, and Eric Decker to work with on offense, the Jets went 10-6, and only barely missed the playoffs. The following year, Fitz could not stop throwing interceptions and they started something like 1-5. Also it was becoming apparent that McCaggnan's GM moves were not good ones. And then the third and final year of Bowles' tenure was Sam Darnold's rookie year. Enough said about that. 

Bowles is no Arians, but he's had HC experience, some of it good, is already part of the org, and holds one of the most qualified resumes of assistant coaches in the league. Tampa Bay is 24-9 over the last two years and  a sure shot to win the division again this year. And Arians is departing on his own terms. This is not a blow it up and build from scratch situation, especially now that Brady is back. If I were in charge of the Bucs, I'd be wanting to retain continuity as much as possible. This is no way a "rule" hiring. Bowles is the next man up in the organization.

Sure, it's by no means a sexy hiring. But that's something I've noticed from fans of winning teams, as a fan of a losing one. They are just like us, constantly complaining when their teams make smart, logical, un-sexy moves, undervaluing the continuity that makes their teams great.

[Stadler]

Look "I would say 90% of what I say is probably not what I'm thinking" doesn't mean that 90% is a lie.  Any human living in a communal society does this on a daily basis.  I can't necessarily go up to every woman I see and say "Wow, lookin' fine today, mama!"; I may lead with "Hi, it's nice to see you", though.  Not a lie.  Not what I was thinking, but not a lie.

Her:  "Honey, do I look fat in this dress?"  Me: "Well, it's hard to tell; that color doesn't work with your eyes."   Not a lie.  Not what I was thinking, but not a lie.   

My kid:  "Dad, I'm a total failure; I failed my test and I suck at field hockey."   Me: "Well, sweetie, there's always next time; let's get ahead of that math before the next test, and as the pros say, you've got to focus only on the next play, the next game."    Not a lie.  Not what I was thinking, but not a lie.

Dream Team:  "Tom Brady is the losingest loser to ever have lost.  I hate him and want to see him dead.  On the other hand, I want Patrick Mahomes to be my best friend and live in my basement."  Me:  "Your obvious bias towards Brady is both fascinating and intriguing.  It's almost as if you NEED players like Mahomes to be successful to minimize Brady's accomplishments and justify your hatred of him."   Not a lie.  Not what I was thinking, but not a lie.  No, actually, that WAS exactly what I was thinking.   

[El Barto]

I'd assume as he got older and dealing with BB when going through Deflategate and his mom having cancer chamged him. Add the struggles of getting a contract with his pedigree he decided to take control of his career and now we see him leaning more to how Rodgers acts.

His resentment over deflategate just makes him a dumbass. He simply didn't understand what was happening. As for any difficulty "getting a contract," taking less for the benefit of the team was always one of the things that made him special. And it's not something that changed when he moved to Tampa. He's making less now than he was in NE. I don't see how that could really be a factor.

[King Postwhore]

I'd assume as he got older and dealing with BB when going through Deflategate and his mom having cancer chamged him. Add the struggles of getting a contract with his pedigree he decided to take control of his career and now we see him leaning more to how Rodgers acts.

His resentment over deflategate just makes him a dumbass. He simply didn't understand what was happening. As for any difficulty "getting a contract," taking less for the benefit of the team was always one of the things that made him special. And it's not something that changed when he moved to Tampa. He's making less now than he was in NE. I don't see how that could really be a factor.

Not taking less but having to take a deal laced with incentives and for 1 year with options.  The way he was playing and winning SB's, no other QB with that pedigree would have to go through that.  Look at the playoff failings of Rodgers but at his age, he got a long term huge deal.  Brady was never afforded that with BB.

[El Barto]

I'd assume as he got older and dealing with BB when going through Deflategate and his mom having cancer chamged him. Add the struggles of getting a contract with his pedigree he decided to take control of his career and now we see him leaning more to how Rodgers acts.

His resentment over deflategate just makes him a dumbass. He simply didn't understand what was happening. As for any difficulty "getting a contract," taking less for the benefit of the team was always one of the things that made him special. And it's not something that changed when he moved to Tampa. He's making less now than he was in NE. I don't see how that could really be a factor.

Not taking less but having to take a deal laced with incentives and for 1 year with options.  The way he was playing and winning SB's, no other QB with that pedigree would have to go through that.  Look at the playoff failings of Rodgers but at his age, he got a long term huge deal.  Brady was never afforded that with BB.

Which is exactly what he's playing under in Tampa. One year incentive-laden deal with voidable option years. Also, while he turned out to be correct, if he can't recognize that a team would lock him up years beyond the point where all other QBs have gone over the ledge, he's a dumbass for that, too.

[Stadler]

Based on what I've read about this latest lawsuit, Jerry Jones is a despicable individual. I suppose that is already known. Kind of in-line with most NFL owners I suppose.

Yeah, he's not exactly a pillar of human decency.    At the same time, from what I gather he's actually got a legit grievance here. He paid a ton of money to keep this quiet, and now it's out and people on prog music forums are calling him despicable. This can't be the first time NDAs regarding paternity have been violated, so I'm curious how this is supposed to play out. Or, for that matter, if it's even legal to have an NDA for that purpose.

Well, this is an interesting case for me.  Generally, you can contract for most things, unless they are prohibited by statute, but one thing you can't do is contract such that performance would require one to break the law.  So, here, her example is a response to an FBI inquiry about her parentage, with a penalty of perjury if she knowingly and with intent falsely represented her parentage.  The contract can't prevent her from disclosing that, but the court will have to decide if it CAN give Jerry the right to respond accordingly, including by stopping the payment. 

There are also requirements for there even to be a contract; generally minors cannot enter into a contract, and while a parent can bind their children to contracts, many jurisdictions have limits on that the YOUNGER the child is (the idea being that the younger the child, the less knowledge the child would have about the contract to begin with).   It's my understanding that it's a jurisdictional question - meaning, it depends on the law controlling the dispute - whether a minor can disavow their obligations once they reach maturity.  I would certainly question whether that agreement is binding on the then-one-year-old child to maintain confidentiality.  That, of course, is the child's position in the lawsuit.

Most of the NDA's I've dealt with (and there are 100's) have a clear clause that removes the necessity for confidentiality once the information itself is publicly available and through no fault of the party meant to keep the secret.  The key question is going to boil down to whether Jerry is still obligated to pay if the information is known for any reason.  It's an NDA, so that's a real possibility; it does matter that the money was intended for another's wellbeing and care.

One thing I hate, though, is the sensationalist media calling this "hush money" as if this is a bad thing.  It's perfectly legal to pay someone to refrain from disclosing information. We do this all the time.   KFC.  Coke.  Any company that submits pricing or intellectual property as part of a bid or proposal.  I think some people bristle when the concealment of the info is more about "brand" or "image" than something substantial, but it's not really that different.  Don't you think Coke's brand would suffer if the "secret ingredient" was found out to be Old Bay Seasoning, or something like that?   There are 100's of reasons for "discretion", and not all of them are bad.  Paying for that discretion is not a crime and shouldn't be treated as one.

[Stadler]

I'd assume as he got older and dealing with BB when going through Deflategate and his mom having cancer chamged him. Add the struggles of getting a contract with his pedigree he decided to take control of his career and now we see him leaning more to how Rodgers acts.

His resentment over deflategate just makes him a dumbass. He simply didn't understand what was happening. As for any difficulty "getting a contract," taking less for the benefit of the team was always one of the things that made him special. And it's not something that changed when he moved to Tampa. He's making less now than he was in NE. I don't see how that could really be a factor.

Not taking less but having to take a deal laced with incentives and for 1 year with options.  The way he was playing and winning SB's, no other QB with that pedigree would have to go through that.  Look at the playoff failings of Rodgers but at his age, he got a long term huge deal.  Brady was never afforded that with BB.

It's an interesting conundrum, though.  What will people remember in 25 years?  That Brady won 7, or Rodgers made $70M?  I think to some degree they are related, in the sense that with the cap, the resources to staff a team are not infinite.  I kind of view this as part of the trade-off for players to win.  I've long written that not every skilled player is a "winner", and not every winner is necessarily the highest skilled player.  There's a trait, there's a characteristic of winners.  Look at a Brady, or a Joe Burrow, and compare that to a Warren Moon, a Dan Marino, or any of 100 other players who were good, but could never get over the hump.  And there are those that have degrees of each, and it becomes a perfect storm when the gold ring is reached.

[King Postwhore]

I'd assume as he got older and dealing with BB when going through Deflategate and his mom having cancer chamged him. Add the struggles of getting a contract with his pedigree he decided to take control of his career and now we see him leaning more to how Rodgers acts.

His resentment over deflategate just makes him a dumbass. He simply didn't understand what was happening. As for any difficulty "getting a contract," taking less for the benefit of the team was always one of the things that made him special. And it's not something that changed when he moved to Tampa. He's making less now than he was in NE. I don't see how that could really be a factor.

Now he is but not back in 2016. 

2016 - 2 year deal.

2019 - 1 year deal (his call because he wanted out) but because they again wouldn't give him a long term deal.  No elite QB has to fight to get deals they want.  No one.

Not taking less but having to take a deal laced with incentives and for 1 year with options.  The way he was playing and winning SB's, no other QB with that pedigree would have to go through that.  Look at the playoff failings of Rodgers but at his age, he got a long term huge deal.  Brady was never afforded that with BB.

Which is exactly what he's playing under in Tampa. One year incentive-laden deal with voidable option years. Also, while he turned out to be correct, if he can't recognize that a team would lock him up years beyond the point where all other QBs have gone over the ledge, he's a dumbass for that, too.

[King Postwhore]

I'd assume as he got older and dealing with BB when going through Deflategate and his mom having cancer chamged him. Add the struggles of getting a contract with his pedigree he decided to take control of his career and now we see him leaning more to how Rodgers acts.

His resentment over deflategate just makes him a dumbass. He simply didn't understand what was happening. As for any difficulty "getting a contract," taking less for the benefit of the team was always one of the things that made him special. And it's not something that changed when he moved to Tampa. He's making less now than he was in NE. I don't see how that could really be a factor.

Not taking less but having to take a deal laced with incentives and for 1 year with options.  The way he was playing and winning SB's, no other QB with that pedigree would have to go through that.  Look at the playoff failings of Rodgers but at his age, he got a long term huge deal.  Brady was never afforded that with BB.

It's an interesting conundrum, though.  What will people remember in 25 years?  That Brady won 7, or Rodgers made $70M?  I think to some degree they are related, in the sense that with the cap, the resources to staff a team are not infinite.  I kind of view this as part of the trade-off for players to win.  I've long written that not every skilled player is a "winner", and not every winner is necessarily the highest skilled player.  There's a trait, there's a characteristic of winners.  Look at a Brady, or a Joe Burrow, and compare that to a Warren Moon, a Dan Marino, or any of 100 other players who were good, but could never get over the hump.  And there are those that have degrees of each, and it becomes a perfect storm when the gold ring is reached.

Here's the thing, I don't think Brady wanted Rodgers money, he wanted 25 mil for 2.  They couldn't even give that, plus he had incentive to get to 21 mil.  Belichick did not want to go long term with Brady.

[El Barto]

Based on what I've read about this latest lawsuit, Jerry Jones is a despicable individual. I suppose that is already known. Kind of in-line with most NFL owners I suppose.

Yeah, he's not exactly a pillar of human decency.    At the same time, from what I gather he's actually got a legit grievance here. He paid a ton of money to keep this quiet, and now it's out and people on prog music forums are calling him despicable. This can't be the first time NDAs regarding paternity have been violated, so I'm curious how this is supposed to play out. Or, for that matter, if it's even legal to have an NDA for that purpose.

Well, this is an interesting case for me.  Generally, you can contract for most things, unless they are prohibited by statute, but one thing you can't do is contract such that performance would require one to break the law.  So, here, her example is a response to an FBI inquiry about her parentage, with a penalty of perjury if she knowingly and with intent falsely represented her parentage.  The contract can't prevent her from disclosing that, but the court will have to decide if it CAN give Jerry the right to respond accordingly, including by stopping the payment. 

There are also requirements for there even to be a contract; generally minors cannot enter into a contract, and while a parent can bind their children to contracts, many jurisdictions have limits on that the YOUNGER the child is (the idea being that the younger the child, the less knowledge the child would have about the contract to begin with).   It's my understanding that it's a jurisdictional question - meaning, it depends on the law controlling the dispute - whether a minor can disavow their obligations once they reach maturity.  I would certainly question whether that agreement is binding on the then-one-year-old child to maintain confidentiality.  That, of course, is the child's position in the lawsuit.

Most of the NDA's I've dealt with (and there are 100's) have a clear clause that removes the necessity for confidentiality once the information itself is publicly available and through no fault of the party meant to keep the secret.  The key question is going to boil down to whether Jerry is still obligated to pay if the information is known for any reason.  It's an NDA, so that's a real possibility; it does matter that the money was intended for another's wellbeing and care.

One thing I hate, though, is the sensationalist media calling this "hush money" as if this is a bad thing.  It's perfectly legal to pay someone to refrain from disclosing information. We do this all the time.   KFC.  Coke.  Any company that submits pricing or intellectual property as part of a bid or proposal.  I think some people bristle when the concealment of the info is more about "brand" or "image" than something substantial, but it's not really that different.  Don't you think Coke's brand would suffer if the "secret ingredient" was found out to be Old Bay Seasoning, or something like that?   There are 100's of reasons for "discretion", and not all of them are bad.  Paying for that discretion is not a crime and shouldn't be treated as one.

The FBI never would have outed her, though. I'm guessing it would have been illegal for them to do so. I get that this is far more complicated than what a layperson would make it out to be, but it sure seems like she just wanted to renegotiate the deal, and used the FBI obtaining the info as an excuse to do so. To that end, sleazy though the whole thing is, I've kinda gotta take Jerry's side on this one.

[El Barto]

I'd assume as he got older and dealing with BB when going through Deflategate and his mom having cancer chamged him. Add the struggles of getting a contract with his pedigree he decided to take control of his career and now we see him leaning more to how Rodgers acts.

His resentment over deflategate just makes him a dumbass. He simply didn't understand what was happening. As for any difficulty "getting a contract," taking less for the benefit of the team was always one of the things that made him special. And it's not something that changed when he moved to Tampa. He's making less now than he was in NE. I don't see how that could really be a factor.

Not taking less but having to take a deal laced with incentives and for 1 year with options.  The way he was playing and winning SB's, no other QB with that pedigree would have to go through that.  Look at the playoff failings of Rodgers but at his age, he got a long term huge deal.  Brady was never afforded that with BB.

It's an interesting conundrum, though.  What will people remember in 25 years?  That Brady won 7, or Rodgers made $70M?  I think to some degree they are related, in the sense that with the cap, the resources to staff a team are not infinite.  I kind of view this as part of the trade-off for players to win.  I've long written that not every skilled player is a "winner", and not every winner is necessarily the highest skilled player.  There's a trait, there's a characteristic of winners.  Look at a Brady, or a Joe Burrow, and compare that to a Warren Moon, a Dan Marino, or any of 100 other players who were good, but could never get over the hump.  And there are those that have degrees of each, and it becomes a perfect storm when the gold ring is reached.

Here's the thing, I don't think Brady wanted Rodgers money, he wanted 25 mil for 2.  They couldn't even give that, plus he had incentive to get to 21 mil.  Belichick did not want to go long term with Brady.

Nobody would. That's the point.

[KevShmev]

I like this.  Everything you said here comes out in one form or another in the Monday Night Football broadcasts he does.  He's got a genuine love of the game, he's got a genuine appreciation and respect for those that play it at a high level, and he seems to have a genuine interest in those guests that DON'T have a connection to football, but love the game themselves.   As you noted, it may be carefully crafted, but it FEELS real.  It FEELS honest.

Yep, people in general, I think, just gravitate towards what feels real and honest, and I will usually two examples, the first of which I know you will like.

Taylor Swift - for as many who roll their eyes about her writing about exes back in the day or her personal life, she puts it all out there.  Everything she puts into her songs is real, is honest.  It never feels fake or contrived.  She never feels fake.  And people get that, why is one reason people are drawn to her.

Scott Hall and Kevin Nash and the nWo - when they arrived in WCW in 1996, there was a "this is real" feel to it, and that sucked wrestling fans in. For as scripted as pro wrestling is, it felt like what they were doing was real and not just part of the script.

With Tom Brady, it often feels like he is saying one thing when you know he is thinking another. He comes off as fake.  And I don't think that was just him doing the Patriots Way thing.  He still comes off as a guy who you imagine says something while laughing to himself about what is really thinking.

[King Postwhore]

In 2016 someone would.  Funny how the league in 2020 would only go 2 years with Brady but others....

Ryan Tannehill - Re-signed with Titans (4 years, $118 million)

Teddy Bridgewater - (3 years, $63 million)

You telling me that these 2 are better than Brady? 

I find if funny how it all worked out.  Maybe most thought Brady was a product of BB.  I find that hard to believe. 

Not a big deal El Barto but it is weird how in that 4 year period, it shook out that was for Brady.

[King Postwhore]

I like this.  Everything you said here comes out in one form or another in the Monday Night Football broadcasts he does.  He's got a genuine love of the game, he's got a genuine appreciation and respect for those that play it at a high level, and he seems to have a genuine interest in those guests that DON'T have a connection to football, but love the game themselves.   As you noted, it may be carefully crafted, but it FEELS real.  It FEELS honest.

Yep, people in general, I think, just gravitate towards what feels real and honest, and I will usually two examples, the first of which I know you will like.

Taylor Swift - for as many who roll their eyes about her writing about exes back in the day or her personal life, she puts it all out there.  Everything she puts into her songs is real, is honest.  It never feels fake or contrived.  She never feels fake.  And people get that, why is one reason people are drawn to her.

Scott Hall and Kevin Nash and the nWo - when they arrived in WCW in 1996, there was a "this is real" feel to it, and that sucked wrestling fans in. For as scripted as pro wrestling is, it felt like what they were doing was real and not just part of the script.

With Tom Brady, it often feels like he is saying one thing when you know he is thinking another. He comes off as fake.  And I don't think that was just him doing the Patriots Way thing.  He still comes off as a guy who you imagine says something while laughing to himself about what is really thinking.

Do you feel like that for the 2 years he's been in Tampa minus the retirement thing?  I felt he became a blabbermouth once he left NE. 

[El Barto]

In 2016 someone would.  Funny how the league in 2020 would only go 2 years with Brady but others....

Ryan Tannehill - Re-signed with Titans (4 years, $118 million)

Teddy Bridgewater - (3 years, $63 million)

You telling me that these 2 are better than Brady? 

I find if funny how it all worked out.  Maybe most thought Brady was a product of BB.  I find that hard to believe. 

Not a big deal El Barto but it is weird how in that 4 year period, it shook out that was for Brady.

No, I'm telling you that they're younger. Bridgewater is never going to be as good as Brady when Brady's playing well, but one of them is in his prime years and one is a statistical outlier. Keep in mind all of this came up shorty after we saw Peyton completely break down. For how long have we all been speculating that Brady will hit the wall? Just because we were wrong and he hasn't doesn't mean that investing in him long-term would be a sensible decision.

If TB told you he could play for four more years would you offer him 130 million for 4 years right now? If he's correct he'd be an absolute bargain. If he's not then you just screwed your team for years to come. There's also the injury aspect. Teddy Bridgewater was able to come back from a devastating injury, in large part because of his age. The next time Brady misses time will quite possibly be the last time he plays. TB is a high risk/high reward investment, and the further the two separate the less sense it makes to commit.

[King Postwhore]

Oh, I get that El Barto.  Let's talk 2016 though, it was Jimmy G that make BB think he didn't have to pay Brady.  Once they traded Jimmy G, they "should" have locked up Brady to a long term deal.  That's what was confusing to us Pats fans.  Once you make a decision to trade one QB it should mean the franchise QB is here for the long run.  That was perplexing.  Not the 2019 deal.  Once you saw that Brady got the no franchise tag on the contract, we knew he was probably gone.

[El Barto]

Oh, I get that El Barto.  Let's talk 2016 though, it was Jimmy G that make BB think he didn't have to pay Brady.  Once they traded Jimmy G, they "should" have locked up Brady to a long term deal.  That's what was confusing to us Pats fans.  Once you make a decision to trade one QB it should mean the franchise QB is here for the long run.  That was perplexing.  Not the 2019 deal.  Once you saw that Brady got the no franchise tag on the contract, we knew he was probably gone.

Garoppolo was traded in 2017. Specifically because TB12 felt threatened by the presence of a younger QB on the roster. (Remember, no player is more important than the team!) 2018 would have been the time to sign him to a long term deal. He'd have been 40, and a little older than the Peyton Manning who couldn't throw the ball more than 20 yards, and could barely hold off Brock Osweiler for the starting job. There might have been GMs that had sold the farm for him, and in retrospect they'd have been right, but that doesn't mean it would have been a good move.

Also, part of the reason I don't much care for the guy is because of the JG deal. He forced NE to unload him, and then bailed himself. He should have just demanded a trade and gotten out of town. I think he handed it poorly.

[King Postwhore]

I'm not sure if he handled it poorly at all.  He never brought it to the public like most players or their agents do.  It was like a marriage gone wrong.  I still lay blame more on BB.  How he handled Brady towards the end is why the player left.  His #'s were MVP caliber with no neck surgery like Peyton.  Peyton fell off because of the injury.  Which is too bad because his mind was still sharp as a nail.  Guys like him and Brady know what's going on from the reads which is a talent like no other in the NFL.

[Stadler]

Based on what I've read about this latest lawsuit, Jerry Jones is a despicable individual. I suppose that is already known. Kind of in-line with most NFL owners I suppose.

Yeah, he's not exactly a pillar of human decency.    At the same time, from what I gather he's actually got a legit grievance here. He paid a ton of money to keep this quiet, and now it's out and people on prog music forums are calling him despicable. This can't be the first time NDAs regarding paternity have been violated, so I'm curious how this is supposed to play out. Or, for that matter, if it's even legal to have an NDA for that purpose.

Well, this is an interesting case for me.  Generally, you can contract for most things, unless they are prohibited by statute, but one thing you can't do is contract such that performance would require one to break the law.  So, here, her example is a response to an FBI inquiry about her parentage, with a penalty of perjury if she knowingly and with intent falsely represented her parentage.  The contract can't prevent her from disclosing that, but the court will have to decide if it CAN give Jerry the right to respond accordingly, including by stopping the payment. 

There are also requirements for there even to be a contract; generally minors cannot enter into a contract, and while a parent can bind their children to contracts, many jurisdictions have limits on that the YOUNGER the child is (the idea being that the younger the child, the less knowledge the child would have about the contract to begin with).   It's my understanding that it's a jurisdictional question - meaning, it depends on the law controlling the dispute - whether a minor can disavow their obligations once they reach maturity.  I would certainly question whether that agreement is binding on the then-one-year-old child to maintain confidentiality.  That, of course, is the child's position in the lawsuit.

Most of the NDA's I've dealt with (and there are 100's) have a clear clause that removes the necessity for confidentiality once the information itself is publicly available and through no fault of the party meant to keep the secret.  The key question is going to boil down to whether Jerry is still obligated to pay if the information is known for any reason.  It's an NDA, so that's a real possibility; it does matter that the money was intended for another's wellbeing and care.

One thing I hate, though, is the sensationalist media calling this "hush money" as if this is a bad thing.  It's perfectly legal to pay someone to refrain from disclosing information. We do this all the time.   KFC.  Coke.  Any company that submits pricing or intellectual property as part of a bid or proposal.  I think some people bristle when the concealment of the info is more about "brand" or "image" than something substantial, but it's not really that different.  Don't you think Coke's brand would suffer if the "secret ingredient" was found out to be Old Bay Seasoning, or something like that?   There are 100's of reasons for "discretion", and not all of them are bad.  Paying for that discretion is not a crime and shouldn't be treated as one.

The FBI never would have outed her, though. I'm guessing it would have been illegal for them to do so. I get that this is far more complicated than what a layperson would make it out to be, but it sure seems like she just wanted to renegotiate the deal, and used the FBI obtaining the info as an excuse to do so. To that end, sleazy though the whole thing is, I've kinda gotta take Jerry's side on this one.

Well, I didn't get any of that from the one article I read (and I'm pointing fingers at the the one article I read, not you; I trust that you know more about this than I do), so if that's the case, then I certainly agree with you on this.  Whatever you think about him, in the most simplistic of terms, if he entered into a deal of cash for silence - nothing illegal about that - if he's paying the cash, he ought to get the silence.   And if the other party doesn't want to keep silent, they ought not keep the cash.   

[Stadler]

I like this.  Everything you said here comes out in one form or another in the Monday Night Football broadcasts he does.  He's got a genuine love of the game, he's got a genuine appreciation and respect for those that play it at a high level, and he seems to have a genuine interest in those guests that DON'T have a connection to football, but love the game themselves.   As you noted, it may be carefully crafted, but it FEELS real.  It FEELS honest.

Yep, people in general, I think, just gravitate towards what feels real and honest, and I will usually two examples, the first of which I know you will like.

Taylor Swift - for as many who roll their eyes about her writing about exes back in the day or her personal life, she puts it all out there.  Everything she puts into her songs is real, is honest.  It never feels fake or contrived.  She never feels fake.  And people get that, why is one reason people are drawn to her.

Scott Hall and Kevin Nash and the nWo - when they arrived in WCW in 1996, there was a "this is real" feel to it, and that sucked wrestling fans in. For as scripted as pro wrestling is, it felt like what they were doing was real and not just part of the script.

With Tom Brady, it often feels like he is saying one thing when you know he is thinking another. He comes off as fake.  And I don't think that was just him doing the Patriots Way thing.  He still comes off as a guy who you imagine says something while laughing to himself about what is really thinking.

Do you feel like that for the 2 years he's been in Tampa minus the retirement thing?  I felt he became a blabbermouth once he left NE. 

Yeah, but even as a fan, there's a... smarminess to him now that wasn't always there.  I don't know if it's the "celebrity" factor or what, but once the man "Tom" turned into the brand "TB12" it sort of got... sterile.

[El Barto]

Based on what I've read about this latest lawsuit, Jerry Jones is a despicable individual. I suppose that is already known. Kind of in-line with most NFL owners I suppose.

Yeah, he's not exactly a pillar of human decency.    At the same time, from what I gather he's actually got a legit grievance here. He paid a ton of money to keep this quiet, and now it's out and people on prog music forums are calling him despicable. This can't be the first time NDAs regarding paternity have been violated, so I'm curious how this is supposed to play out. Or, for that matter, if it's even legal to have an NDA for that purpose.

Well, this is an interesting case for me.  Generally, you can contract for most things, unless they are prohibited by statute, but one thing you can't do is contract such that performance would require one to break the law.  So, here, her example is a response to an FBI inquiry about her parentage, with a penalty of perjury if she knowingly and with intent falsely represented her parentage.  The contract can't prevent her from disclosing that, but the court will have to decide if it CAN give Jerry the right to respond accordingly, including by stopping the payment. 

There are also requirements for there even to be a contract; generally minors cannot enter into a contract, and while a parent can bind their children to contracts, many jurisdictions have limits on that the YOUNGER the child is (the idea being that the younger the child, the less knowledge the child would have about the contract to begin with).   It's my understanding that it's a jurisdictional question - meaning, it depends on the law controlling the dispute - whether a minor can disavow their obligations once they reach maturity.  I would certainly question whether that agreement is binding on the then-one-year-old child to maintain confidentiality.  That, of course, is the child's position in the lawsuit.

Most of the NDA's I've dealt with (and there are 100's) have a clear clause that removes the necessity for confidentiality once the information itself is publicly available and through no fault of the party meant to keep the secret.  The key question is going to boil down to whether Jerry is still obligated to pay if the information is known for any reason.  It's an NDA, so that's a real possibility; it does matter that the money was intended for another's wellbeing and care.

One thing I hate, though, is the sensationalist media calling this "hush money" as if this is a bad thing.  It's perfectly legal to pay someone to refrain from disclosing information. We do this all the time.   KFC.  Coke.  Any company that submits pricing or intellectual property as part of a bid or proposal.  I think some people bristle when the concealment of the info is more about "brand" or "image" than something substantial, but it's not really that different.  Don't you think Coke's brand would suffer if the "secret ingredient" was found out to be Old Bay Seasoning, or something like that?   There are 100's of reasons for "discretion", and not all of them are bad.  Paying for that discretion is not a crime and shouldn't be treated as one.

The FBI never would have outed her, though. I'm guessing it would have been illegal for them to do so. I get that this is far more complicated than what a layperson would make it out to be, but it sure seems like she just wanted to renegotiate the deal, and used the FBI obtaining the info as an excuse to do so. To that end, sleazy though the whole thing is, I've kinda gotta take Jerry's side on this one.

Well, I didn't get any of that from the one article I read (and I'm pointing fingers at the the one article I read, not you; I trust that you know more about this than I do), so if that's the case, then I certainly agree with you on this.  Whatever you think about him, in the most simplistic of terms, if he entered into a deal of cash for silence - nothing illegal about that - if he's paying the cash, he ought to get the silence.   And if the other party doesn't want to keep silent, they ought not keep the cash.

I wouldn't trust that. 

My understanding of it is that the FBI was doing a simple FS-86 background check for her so she could access the White House as a congressional aide. Those are understandably confidential. You want people to be truthful. According to Jerry, who's obviously not a reliable source, she (via her attorney) approached him a couple of times to get more money out of him. When he (via his attorney) declined she went public. Obviously we don't know if that's true, but it does seem like there's no reason to go public unless you're looking to get a raise. Like I said, the FBI wasn't going to out her.

[El Barto]

I like this.  Everything you said here comes out in one form or another in the Monday Night Football broadcasts he does.  He's got a genuine love of the game, he's got a genuine appreciation and respect for those that play it at a high level, and he seems to have a genuine interest in those guests that DON'T have a connection to football, but love the game themselves.   As you noted, it may be carefully crafted, but it FEELS real.  It FEELS honest.

Yep, people in general, I think, just gravitate towards what feels real and honest, and I will usually two examples, the first of which I know you will like.

Taylor Swift - for as many who roll their eyes about her writing about exes back in the day or her personal life, she puts it all out there.  Everything she puts into her songs is real, is honest.  It never feels fake or contrived.  She never feels fake.  And people get that, why is one reason people are drawn to her.

Scott Hall and Kevin Nash and the nWo - when they arrived in WCW in 1996, there was a "this is real" feel to it, and that sucked wrestling fans in. For as scripted as pro wrestling is, it felt like what they were doing was real and not just part of the script.

With Tom Brady, it often feels like he is saying one thing when you know he is thinking another. He comes off as fake.  And I don't think that was just him doing the Patriots Way thing.  He still comes off as a guy who you imagine says something while laughing to himself about what is really thinking.

Do you feel like that for the 2 years he's been in Tampa minus the retirement thing?  I felt he became a blabbermouth once he left NE. 

Yeah, but even as a fan, there's a... smarminess to him now that wasn't always there.  I don't know if it's the "celebrity" factor or what, but once the man "Tom" turned into the brand "TB12" it sort of got... sterile.

TB12 is another example of him being a bit of a douche. You're right. His tantrum over his own trainer being denied access is a good example of that. That might be an example of the beginning of his decline.

And this is more a question for King/TAC, but wasn't there a similar problem with his repaired knee? My recollection is that his insistence on using his own guy rather than the team's guy resulted in a significant infection and a delay in his recovery. I think they may have actually had to go back in and repair something they'd bungled. Again, not necessarily the behaviour of a team player.

[faizoff]

Bruce Arians is so chill with the cigar in his pocket during the press conference. Brady was there in the conference too and anyone watching that press conference can tell how chill the whole vibe is between them all. He did end with a mic drop moment thanking all the press across the country and saying how much of a pleasure it was. Then ended with "Florio, you can write what you want, It's ok"

[King Postwhore]

I like this.  Everything you said here comes out in one form or another in the Monday Night Football broadcasts he does.  He's got a genuine love of the game, he's got a genuine appreciation and respect for those that play it at a high level, and he seems to have a genuine interest in those guests that DON'T have a connection to football, but love the game themselves.   As you noted, it may be carefully crafted, but it FEELS real.  It FEELS honest.

Yep, people in general, I think, just gravitate towards what feels real and honest, and I will usually two examples, the first of which I know you will like.

Taylor Swift - for as many who roll their eyes about her writing about exes back in the day or her personal life, she puts it all out there.  Everything she puts into her songs is real, is honest.  It never feels fake or contrived.  She never feels fake.  And people get that, why is one reason people are drawn to her.

Scott Hall and Kevin Nash and the nWo - when they arrived in WCW in 1996, there was a "this is real" feel to it, and that sucked wrestling fans in. For as scripted as pro wrestling is, it felt like what they were doing was real and not just part of the script.

With Tom Brady, it often feels like he is saying one thing when you know he is thinking another. He comes off as fake.  And I don't think that was just him doing the Patriots Way thing.  He still comes off as a guy who you imagine says something while laughing to himself about what is really thinking.

Do you feel like that for the 2 years he's been in Tampa minus the retirement thing?  I felt he became a blabbermouth once he left NE. 

Yeah, but even as a fan, there's a... smarminess to him now that wasn't always there.  I don't know if it's the "celebrity" factor or what, but once the man "Tom" turned into the brand "TB12" it sort of got... sterile.

TB12 is another example of him being a bit of a douche. You're right. His tantrum over his own trainer being denied access is a good example of that. That might be an example of the beginning of his decline.

And this is more a question for King/TAC, but wasn't there a similar problem with his repaired knee? My recollection is that his insistence on using his own guy rather than the team's guy resulted in a significant infection and a delay in his recovery. I think they may have actually had to go back in and repair something they'd bungled. Again, not necessarily the behaviour of a team player.

If I remember correctly there were infection issues.  That was the worry after the surgery.  We didn't know much about Guerrero until the 2010's as fans.