I feel for Tom Brady.
No, its not because he’s struggling as a quarterback and his Tampa Bay Bucs are 3-5. It’s not that at all.
I feel for Tom Brady as a man, as a husband, and as a father.
He and his wife are now divorced after 13 years of marriage and two children.
Brady also has a son with actor Bridget Moynahan.
We all know it’s none of our business what goes on in anyone’s personal life, including the athletes we witness and follow.
This is not a gossip column that delves into the circumstances of what people may think happens behind the scenes. Things we don’t really know.
Forget about being the GOAT. The Greatest Of All Time. As a quarterback.
I realize that sports fans judge athletes and teams on how they perform on the field.
There may be other things affecting a player’s showing, but we never think about those things.
For one, I, and many others, have written and spoken about Tom Brady, perhaps more than any athlete in any sport because he has accomplished marvelous things ever thought possible.
Leading teams to 10 Super Bowls, winning a record seven.
He led the New England Patriots to nine of them, and the Tampa Bay Bucs to one.
His first world championship was in 2002, and his last one was in 2021.
That’s why he’s the greatest.
The moment of truth apparently came when he retired after last season and less than two months later decided he was going to play again.
It has turned out to be a bad move on many fronts.
When he first announced his football career was over he said he wanted to spend more time with his family.
When he returned, actually 40-days after retiring, he claimed there was “unfinished business” with the Buccaneers.
Last season he led the league in most statistical areas but Tampa Bay was eliminated in the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs.
He came back, now at the age of 45, seeking one more Super Bowl ring.
His return didn’t sit well, to say the least, with his wife, Gisele.
Brady took several weeks off during training camp, and when the season began, it was announced he would take off Wednesday’s during the regular season. Wednesday happens to be a key day in a team’s preparation for its next opponent.
So far this season, the Bucs’ offense ranks 25th out of 32 teams averaging under 20 points per game.
It’s not all on Brady, of course.
The Bucs’ offensive line has lost some key players due to injury and retirement, and Brady’s receiving corps is not as good as it has been.
It’s amazing sometimes how some pro athletes always think there is more in the tank and that they are ready to go through the rigors to give it one more shot.
We’ve seen it with Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, and Joe Montana.
It’s hard to walk away.
But there is a time when you have to weigh the pros and the cons.
As far as Tom Brady is concerned, I was surprised he came out of retirement.
He achieved the ultimate, I believe, in going to another team and winning yet another Super Bowl.
But now his life is off the tracks personally and professionally.
I know this is not the first time this has happened to people in sports, and in the show business life.
But it is appropriate here, in focusing on the one man who has symbolized the NFL for so many years.
Achieving success, fame, and millions of dollars may look like, to some, the perfect life.
But there is no guarantee that combination translates into true happiness
It is one thing for him to struggle on the field.
It’s another to see his personal life explode as well.
That is why I feel for Tom Brady.
A word about the media covering the NFL, in particular Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
Rodgers has been outgoing with his criticism of the Packers offense, including the lack of experience by his receivers, and the play-calling of head coach Matt LaFleur.
The Green Bay front office traded their best receiver Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders during the off-season. That move angered Rodgers who has been left with pass catchers who have been sub-par.
You can question that trade, but when Aaron Rodgers airs his discontent it does absolutely nothing to help his team.
When he complains of his head coach’s affinity for players in motion prior to the snap, that, too, does absolutely nothing to help his team.
Bill Belichick, on the other hand, gives little to reporters asking questions of his moves and the Patriots performances.
Belichick never breaks down his club’s play after a given game, except for generalities which hardly makes news.
The media is critical of the head coach. But the head coach is smart.
Why give the public, which includes his opponents, any clue as to specifics in regards to how he runs his team?
Why reveal who his starting quarterback will be when it’s in question?
As a result, his critics have come down hard on him as an impersonal figure who has seen the game pass him by.
They are wrong on both counts.
Bill Belichick happens to be a man who is quite the opposite from how he is portrayed.
I know this first hand.
As for his football sense, he remains head and shoulders above virtually every other head coach.
It’s all about obtaining players, developing them, and getting them in the right frame of mind to compete.
Belichick, after all his successes, can’t possibly have the very best players, especially in recent seasons.
If he doesn’t, the Patriots fall short.
His critics have practically lost their mind making fun of the way he has had a former defensive expert call the plays for the offense.
They have knocked his quarterbacks, second-year Mac Jones, and to a lesser extent, rookie Bailey Zappe. But both have played well, and the Patriots have hung in the AFC race with a 4-4 record.
My feeling is Bill Belichick knows what he’s doing.
My question here is whether Aaron Rodgers does?