It Looks Like Tom Brady is Fixing His New Crush Josh Gordon

“It took a lot of effort and time and work put in studying. All around, just a concerted effort from the training staff and what I could do on my end and try to make it work. But, it was an awesome experience and I really enjoyed it and a great opportunity.

“I have no doubt I’m going to take advantage of this opportunity. I’m more than blessed. I’m extremely grateful to be put in this scenario. I think the only thing right for me to do is take full advantage of it. I’m loving it, I’m enjoying it, the guys here are great, it’s a real home environment and I feel as comfortable as ever here. It’s awesome.

“I mean, it’s awesome, just period, catching a pass from Tom at any point in time. He’s been rooting for me, and it’s been awesome to have his support and his love, as well as the rest of the teammates and staff here. You know, Tom’s a passionate guy and I love that, and I love the game of football and I think we’re going to mesh just fine.”
– Josh Gordon in his press conference

“He’s really been working hard to get things right. I don’t feel like I have had to worry about where he’s lining up or what he’s running. He was super confident. You could tell in his eyes he knew what he was doing. He’s been great since he came in. … When we really get to know each other, hopefully all the hard work really pays off and we become a great offense.”
– Tom Brady on WEEI

Can you feel the manlove tonight?

If you know nothing else about me, know that I’m a hopeless romantic. When it comes to this football team. Nothing so moves me like a blossoming bromance. Seeing two teammates fall in love plucks at my heartstrings, and Josh Gordon and Tom Brady are playing me like dueling virtuoso harpists right about now.

And like most great love stories, here are two damaged souls who need each other. One has seen his career pass him by and is looking for redemption. The other seems to have lost his way, having spent the last year feeling unloved and underappreciated in his professional life. And so it’s been hearteyes from the moment they met. These two had each other at “hello.” Brady loves Gordon for the man he wants to be and for the man he almost is.  They complete each other. Cue the music:

I mean, is there anything stronger instinct in a relationship than the desire to fix someone who’s broken? It’s why women take to outlaws and little boys take to stray dogs. Brady has a Danny Amendola shaped hole in his heart:

… that not many receivers could fill. But giving Gordon a redemption story could be just the thing.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m trying not to get too far out over my skis on this one because there’s a long way to go. But as a guy who is in love with love, I want to believe it can happen. When you hear the things Gordon is saying, it’s not hard to imagine how miserable his experience in Cleveland was. As any player will tell you, it’s hard to be happy when you’re losing, no matter how good you yourself are playing. Just ask Joe Thomas. So while I’m not absolving Flash of his share of the blame, it’s got to be damned near impossible to get your head on straight when your team is losing 40 out of 42 games. Marijuana might not be addictive, but failure is.

For now I’m going to let myself believe that this romance is not just a crush, but true love. Of the best kind: Tough love. I’ve been told that in Cleveland, the Browns coaches had an arrangement with Gordon that, when they were working with the defense, he was allowed to leave practice, go in the locker room and check his social media. Now that he’s working for a guy who doesn’t YouFace, InstantSnap or Pandorama, guess what won’t be happening here. And in that way that a generation ago, Terry Glenn – not a clubhouse cancer necessarily but for certain could’ve been listed by the FDA as a known carcinogen – responded well to Bill Parcells, Gordon needs the structure and zero tolerance of this organization. If that’s the case, this could be the be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Now all we have to worry about is jealousy. Which is a good problem to have.