Tom Brady Says He's Not Going To Retire

I really haven’t moved much since the game ended. I wasn’t even confident going into this game but that doesn’t make losing any better. People on the internet are being mean. I couldn’t believe it. Mean! On the web! Have you ever heard of such a thing? Unreal.

It’s natural for Brady to say he’s not done after that ending. That’s no way for a career to end. It’s nearly impossible for it to end perfectly for a quarterback, but it can surely end better than that. Because here’s the thing: for as much shit as I gave Brady this year I don’t think he was the problem today. They moved the ball, dominated time of possession the first half, and then ran the same exact play three consecutive times from the one yard line and were too afraid to go for it on fourth down. Really ever since that Ravens game kicked off the team was unrecognizable. And it all felt like unforced errors. Dropped passes, fumbles, careless penalties, special teams gaffes, losing the battle at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and a Ben Simmons-esque cowardice on fourth down. Brady wasn’t razor sharp like he was in his prime, I don’t think anyone expects him to be. I do recognize the rest of the League still thinks he can win. Go on Twitter, find a fan of the Chargers or the Bears or some mid team like this, check their timeline, you’ll see Brady wearing their jersey right now. It’s the darnedest thing. You wont find Browns fans photoshopping Josh McDaniels into their sweatshirts. I might after I finish this blog, but they wont.

If Brady wants to play quarterback for the New England Patriots until he dies on the field I don’t have a problem with it, he’s earned that right and much more. If he thinks he’s got a better shot with someone else then I hope we beat that team by one hundred American football points. If Bill puts his foot down to move on and Kraft let’s him have his way then it is what it is. I don’t think the night you get eliminated is the time to reminisce on the good times, but if this was it I think we can all agree that was a fucking sick run. If it’s not the end, even better. Let’s run it back, fire Sanu – who I think we can all agree was a sleeper agent sent from the Falcons as a form of revenge – into the Sun and pick up the pieces from there. Like we’ve done after the other 13 times the Patriots didn’t win the Super Bowl during this run.

And while Brady’s getting all the much deserved attention and conversation right now, it was talked about prior to the season that Devin McCourty might hang ‘em up at the end of the year. And during his post game press conference he stayed at the podium the longest, gave the most insightful answers, and felt like he didn’t want to leave. He said at the beginning he planned on playing another year, but throughout his time talking he didn’t so much walk it back as he did come down from the emotions of that loss and start accepting reality. If McCourty is done, hats off to a tremendous career. Patriots Hall of Famer and the best overall safety during this entire run. Was Rodney Harrison better talent wise? Absolutely. Same with Lawyer, for that matter. But Rodney did it for half the amount of time McCourty did. McCourty was as dependable and reliable a player as I’ve ever seen and has been an anchor for this defense through thick and thin.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have no idea how to watch football this early in January without the Patriots still involved in some form or fashion. I’m going to do some Googling and find out what other people do this time of year. Is it knitting? I bet it’s knitting.

Tomorrow’s the most Monday feeling Sunday I’ve ever felt in my life. People across New England are going to pile into their cars and show up to the office only to realize it’s still Sunday. That’s how unfamiliar this territory feels. And if I can be honest with you, I don’t much care for it. Nope. Not one bit.