Oh sure, I figured it was mostly facetious. But I think it's actually a reasonable question to ask, or at least it will be if Bridgewater continues to play anywhere near this well. I'll be pretty surprised if he does, though, and even if his overall numbers look better than expected, I suspect it's probably narrowing the number of ways they can win substantially.

Definitely doing a great job over there, though. Brees should come back to another contender.

Re: NFL 2019 Season
 

Id Wait till after the By the put Brees in. If there not loosing and Teddy playing good. Way the NFC is There record is pretty good. Brees should be put in not in a Rush unless loose a game or 2.

Re: NFL 2019 Season
 

Is it too early to call Dwayne Haskins a bust?

Re: NFL 2019 Season
 

This is the Internet, it's never too early to have an opinion.

A lot of talk in New England about what Brady will do after this year. Of course it's either retire, stay in N.E., or play somewhere else. A few insiders believe he will play somewhere else and there are some signs that point to that. Normally my thought would be that I want him to play here as long as possible, but thinking about N.E. with a new QB while Brady plays for another team is just too fascinating for me to root against. I'd love to see it.

Re: NFL 2019 Season
 

Same. For me, the big question is what Belichick would do, hypothetically, if Brady wanted to stay but holds on too long, which lots of these guys do. Normally I'd say he'd be cold-blooded enough to do whatever he thinks he needs to, but this might be the one exception.

Not sure what team would give Brady much at this point, though. Hasn't been a great year, and there's no long-term future in it, so the types of teams and situations where it makes any sense are really narrowed down, and would have to take an optimistic view of the guy on top of that. A guess a big part of it would be what kind of pay cut he'd be willing to take. Taking less to stay in NE might feel really different than taking less to go somewhere else. At a certain point these guys have all the money they'll ever need and it's more about the idea of it.

It'd be very intriguing, though, if it plays out that way.

Yep Belichick is the guy that would move on from him, but then Brady is the one guy that Kraft might have something to say about. He's always taken less, but obviously he doesn't need the money. What you hear is that it may have bothered him to only get a 1 year deal. Some of the teams that have been floated around are the Chargers, Titans, Bears, Broncos, and Dolphins. I think he'll get 30 million a year for 3 years easy if he wants it. Part of that is the fanfare that'd go with it. He's had a poor year but there's a lot of reasons for it. I actually don't think he's lost much at all and it wouldn't surprise me to see him win another MVP.

Oh, some team would definitely give him a decent chunk of money just for the press/attention. There's a lot of inept owners who overpay for Proven Winners too, at various levels of responsibility for that winning, because they think they'll bring a Winning Attitude or a Winning Culture or what have you. It doesn't usually end well.

I'd, uh, take that bet, to put it mildly.

He really hasn't lost much if anything, and if he went anywhere else, there's a variety of characters that might want to join him; Gronk, A.B., OBJ, Edelman, and Amendola would all be possibilities. And he'd be highly motivated.

Re: NFL 2019 Season
 

Yeah...I'd take that bet. Without hesitation.

I'd link some stats or analysis or whatever but I don't think that's the plane these kinds of beliefs usually operate on. And I doubt motivation is the issue.

Sure hope we get to find out, though. It'd be mighty interesting.

Stats or analysis?

Both, in concert, since that's usually the only way either is any good. And because I know literally any stat, no matter how straightforward or definitive-seeming, will get drowned out by the dozens of circumstantial things that exist on all teams at all times, and could theoretically be used to cast doubt on any performance-related conclusion.

I'm pretty sure most analysis would, too, though, so I don't think the distinction matters much in this case.

The stats are poor and would get drowned out, but for good reason. There's a local radio host who's an ex-NFL player and he thinks Brady is having one of his best years. I think that's going a little too far but I understand where he's coming from.

There's a lot to cover but I'll make it as quick as possible. Last year their rookie left tackle missed the entire year. They traded for Trent Brown who played well, then signed a record breaking deal this past offseason. Then that same rookie who missed all of last season got put on IR this year. He was eligible to come back, and has, but you're still talking about a guy who has played only a couple of NFL games. The left tackle who has played most of the year was rated the worst in the league. Their best and most consistent lineman, center David Andrews, will miss the entire year. His backup has missed time, as has the other lineman. Gronk retired and they didn't replace him. He was maybe the best blocking TE in football, and his backup, Dwayne Allen was also an exceptional blocker. They're both gone and their replacements are the worst in the league at blocking and receiving. Last year the Pats used a fullback more than any team in the league. He was a huge part of the running game. He is on IR and so is his backup. They have been using a defensive player in that role. What you end up with is no defense respecting your run game, and you don't have a back who's a breakaway threat on top of that. Of course all of this means poor pass protection as well. Sure enough, Brady leads the league In throwaways. On top of that, when James White is in the game, he is the back that leads the NFL in percentage where the team is most likely to throw the ball. When Sony Michel is in the game, he is the back with the highest percentage for the team being most likely to run. So there's predictability. Now onto the receivers; they do not have a guy who can stretch the field. Not only that, but the only guy who creates any separation at all is Edelman. He is so hurt that he shouldn't even be playing. But when you have no deep threat, the defense doesn't have to play the whole field. So you've got the defense crowding the intermediate routes; they don't have to respect the run, and Brady has had poor protection. He still has 22 TDS vs 7 interceptions, and he's been playing with an injured right elbow. This isn't like the end of Manning with his noodle arm. Brady is the same. There's a lot of reasons for his poor stats and it's really the offense as a whole.

"Brady has had a lot to contend with" and "Brady has declined precipitously" are not mutually exclusive ideas. Note that this is happening against one of the league's easiest schedules, and that he's had weak receiving corps before, and so on. There is always another piece of context to muddy the water with if the straightforward interpretation isn't to our liking. Which is the whole point.

He has had weak receiving corps before but not this type of snowball effect to the entire offense. And while those two things are not mutually exclusive, I just haven't seen the decline. I see the same guy.

Re: NFL 2019 Season
 

Not much to say then, since he looks awfully different to me (and not just this year), and apparently a number of others.

Maybe he'll do something interesting this offseason and we'll get to see what happens.

Meanwhile, looking to the future of the position, this boy is nuts:

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1208833227462340608
Between Jackson and Mahomes, it looks like the next-gen QB is "somehow throws off-balance the way other dudes used to throw with a full step...oh and also Michael Vick's legs just cuz."

This sums up my thoughts on Brady:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReONR213fP0

Jackson and Mahomes are fun to watch, but the best ability is availability, and I fear that they will have injury issues.

The arm strength gets tested in camp and it's as strong as ever. They also test running speed and oddly enough he's faster than he was as a rookie. How would you say he's regressed?