Patriots Legend Tom Brady Eviscerates Hated New England Rival

Tom Brady’s “199” newsletter gave New England Patriots fans a lot to chew on this week.

Brady’s newsletter is the 47-year-old’s musings about weekly events or a medium where the Patriots Hall of Famer offers life advice.

In this week’s newsletter titled “How to Build an NFL Team,” Brady referenced a newsletter post from entrepreneur Sahil Bloom about why people get stuck, using the idea of a “nagging pebble in your shoe” that might be easy to ignore. Brady used this lifestyle metaphor and applied it to football by not holding back on the state of the AFC East.

“I think this explains a lot about teams that always struggle or underachieve,” Brady wrote. “When we dominated the AFC East in New England, for instance, we were unquestionably the mountain of our division. We were sturdy and immovable, because our culture (aka, the people!) was sturdy and immovable. When you looked at the rest of the division — the Dolphins, the Bills, the Jets — we were definitely in their way, to the extent that they would have to go through us to win the division, but if you then look at each team’s fortunes over the last 5 or 6 years, after Bill and I both left, it becomes pretty clear for at least one team, the New York Jets, that the Patriots were not their biggest problem.

“The Jets’ issues were more about the Jets, not the Patriots. They had god knows how many pebbles in their shoes that they’ve struggled to shake out for a long time. It has hobbled them, set them back, and sent them off course. I’m sure they’re trying to build a winning culture like everyone else. You can want to win, but if your priorities and decisions are off, it will be represented in the win and loss column at the end of the year.”

Buffalo became the new dominant team in the AFC after Brady and Belichick’s departures, and Miami enjoyed its fair share of success. But it seems like there is no love lost with New York, which would make things interesting if Brady calls a Jets game this season.

The seven-time Super Bowl champion’s comment might sting for Gang Green. However, the fallout from the short-lived Aaron Rodgers era only served to support Brady’s argument. It will be a wait-and-see how the new regime with Aaron Glenn at the helm will perform as optimism around the Patriots grows.