As the calendar turns closer and closer to Sunday afternoon’s battle between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers, the hot takes out in Western Pennsylvania keep getting hotter and hotter.
The culprit this time is Colin Dunlap, a Pittsburgh sports radio host and columnist.
The low-hanging fruit of Deflategate and Spygate is an oft-used target for many who question the success of Tom Brady. And though some believe that defines Brady’s career more than others, Dunlap certainly buys into the hype, and thinks it puts him in the echelons that hold some of sports’ most notorious cheaters.
So he fired up his Twitter hot take machine and let loose.
Even the most staunch Brady opponents could probably agree this is something of a stretch. But even after having some time to think it over, he went on WEEI and doubled down on his statements.
“I have a hard time because I don’t know the degree in which he benefitted from cheating,” Dunlap told host Mike Mutnansky. “Either systemic cheating or cheating of his own accord.
“I think there’s a huge question with Tom Brady,” Dunlap continued. “I can’t quantify it — and this is just opinion — that he was able to benefit and was able to complete five more passes in his career, 75 (more passes,) if he was able to complete 150 more passes in his career because of both Spygate and Deflategate. Again, the NFL came down on (them). I didn’t make these things up. That’s why I have a hard time understanding where to put him among the greats, and not calling him a cheater.”
It’s a pretty convoluted argument, and one not too well-supported by Dunlap, who made sure to note his co-host on his radio show is Josh Miller, a punter who won a Super Bowl with the Patriots.
Regardless of who his co-host is, there is quite the war of words brewing leading up to Sunday.
