The sports media talking heads were on cloud nine Monday morning.
Aside from Skip Bayless and Colin Cowherd, pretty much everyone involved in morning sports talk shows loves to hate on the Patriots. So, after New England lost to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night, you knew some hot takes and overreactions were right around the corner.
Well, the ever nonsensical Rob Parker certainly did his part, and fellow Patriots hater Nick Wright laid into Tom Brady and the defending champs, as well.
“Tom Brady’s the G.O.A.T.,” Wright said during Monday Morning’s “First Things First” episode. “But up until this point in the season, he’s been around the 11th- to 13th-best quarterback in football. He’s been playing under the most advantageous circumstances any quarterback could possibly play in. They always have the lead, the other team is always pressing.
” … He has not played very well and yesterday, he was clearly one of the Patriot weak links.”
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"Tom Brady is not very good right now. No one disputes that Brady's the GOAT. … But some of this has to sit on Brady's shoulders as well, along with the 9 Super Bowls, 3 MVPs and 6 Super Bowl rings. Yesterday, he was clearly one of the Patriot weak links." — @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/sFRMyVdMhf
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) November 4, 2019
"Lamar Jackson showed you his time is now and Tom Brady's time does appear to be fading. There was no channelling some GOAT greatness for Brady. … The Ravens had the better QB and maybe the better team." — @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/CZrUjj0GQ0
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) November 4, 2019
Honestly, Wright is flat-out wrong.
Could Brady be playing better? Certainly. Do some of the offense’s issues fall on his shoulders? Of course.
However, the truth is that Brady has played some of his best football over the last four weeks. Forget the 281.8 passing yards average and 4-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio; Brady largely has overcome a brutal offensive line, ineffective running game and revolving door at receiver to keep the Patriots offense at least functional. He’s made a ton of vintage throws (along with a few duds, to be fair) and looked like his usual, precise self, all while being under arguably more pressure than he ever has faced during his career.
Don’t let these talking heads gaslight you. Brady is playing great and is the least of the Patriots’ problems.
As for the “Lamar Jackson is better” comment, we’ll allow the stupidity of that one to speak for itself. He’s great and is a deserving MVP contender, but let’s pump the brakes and see what happens in January.
