Tag: Tedy Bruschi

Shannon Sharpe loves Commanders duo of Daniels & Kingsbury

Shannon Sharpe would take Daniels over the NFC East’s other quarterbacks.

Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe really likes what he sees in Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.

This week on ESPN, Sharpe, Stephen A. Smith, and former Patriots LB Tedy Bruschi assessed Daniels’ place among NFC East quarterbacks.

Sharpe declared: “Guys, you all know I hate being a prisoner of the moment. But the way this young man is playing now, and the way Kliff Kingsbury is in his ear and dialing up the plays? You’re absolutely right I am taking him over anybody else in that division.”

“Oh, I get it. It is a college offense, and it’s very simplistic. Well, a lot more teams need to make their offense simplistic if it’s going to cause their quarterback to play like this young man is playing.”

“He’s more mature than you would think. He had 55 career starts in college. I think that has a lot to do with it, and he has Kliff Kingsbury. No matter what you think of Kliff as a head coach, Stephen A., Bruschi, you know, there’s no denying his offensive mind and his ability to coach quarterbacks.”

Sharpe then discussed how Kingsbury coached Johnny Manziel, Patrick Mahomes, and Kyler Murray.

“There’s no denying his ability to relate, and to get on their levels, and extract the best out of a quarterback. I absolutely, right now, would take Jayden Daniels over any other quarterback in that division.”

Here is a video of the segment of the panel statements

Stephen A. Smith would take Commanders’ QB over others in NFC East

Stephen A. Smith is high on Jayden Daniels and the Commanders.

A recent ESPN “First Take” segment featuring Stephen A. Smith, Tedy Bruschi, and Shannon Sharpe focused on Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels’s early performance in his first four NFL games.

Smith wasn’t shy about praising Daniels over the other NFC East quarterbacks.

“I am rolling with Jayden Daniels. First of all, I’m not rolling with a guy like Dak Prescott, who’s had eight years to win a Super Bowl and can’t even win more than two playoff games in eight years. As far as I’m concerned, he has shown me what he is. He’s elite in the regular season but far from it in the postseason.”

“This brother (Daniels) brings me hope. Let’s understand something, 82.1 % completion percentage. Over their three-game winning streak, this man has scored on 22 of 24 of their drives over the last three games. Ten touchdowns, ten field goals, excluding kneel downs.”

Smith then referred to Dan Quinn saying he blew a 25-point lead in the Super bowl, but that he also got his team to the Super Bowl and concluded “he kinda knows what he is doing.”

Smith admitted then he had been down on Kliff Kingsbury, not thinking he had deserved a shot at an NFL head coaching job. He then said Kingsbury did not deserve to by pass a lot of other NFL coordinators to get that head coaching job with the Cardinals.

“But we all knows as a coordinator, he can call up some plays. We all know as coordinator he’s cultivated relationships with quarterbacks…and that’s going a long way. Now he is doing it with Jayden Daniels, because Daniels has raved about the level of communication they have with one another.”

Smith then recalled how much talk pre-draft was the number of hits Daniels took at LSU and how would he survive in the NFL “That’s not what he is doing. He is being smart, he’s running with the football, making plays with his legs. He’s certainly making plays with his arm.”

“We are looking at Washington being formidable, they could potentially win this division…The way this kid is playing, and the pieces he has around him, I like what I see.”

As if that wasn’t enough, Smith did his version of the NFL power rankings, and the Commanders were ranked No. 5.

Here is a video of the entire segment.

ESPN’s Tedy Bruschi unleashes savage Jets zinger in front of Rex Ryan

Tedy Bruschi must have waited a lifetime to unleash this savage remark

Former New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi must have waited longer than Gambit from Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine” to drop the one-line zinger he savagely dropped on the New York Jets.

It happened during Monday’s episode of “Get Up,” when Bruschi, Mike Greenberg, former Jets coach Rex Ryan and former Jets lineman Damien Woody were discussing Tom Brady’s response to Baker Mayfield’s comments about making football less stressful.

“I think the thing that stood out to me the most during my team in New England, and Tedy knows this, get comfortable with being uncomfortable,” said Woody. “That’s what Tom was referencing. Like bro, if you want to be comfortable and all that type of stuff. Cool…”

Bruschi then suddenly interjected: “Play for the Jets.”

Ouch.

The fact that Bruschi dropped that comment with a former Jets coach and offensive lineman was chef’s kiss-worthy.

It’s proof that the Patriots and Jets rivalry still runs deep even after all these years.

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Ty Law shares hilarious story of Tedy Bruschi helping him skip huddles

Ty Law credits Patriots legend Tedy Bruschi for his Hall of Fame journey

The New England Patriots’ defensive units in the 2000s were some of the best in the organizationā€™s history.

Several players made that defense unstoppable, including the likes of Hall of Fame cornerback Ty Law and linebacker Tedy Bruschi. Law told a funny anecdote about Bruschi in an episode of Julian Edelmanā€™s ā€œGames with Namesā€ podcast.

Law was a tremendous corner for the Patriots throughout the course of his career, tallying 36 interceptions in 10 seasons with the team. Bruschi was a stout linebacker in his own right, as he was able to record 1,074 tackles over a 13-year career.

Perhaps more than their statistical accolades, the ability of Bruschi and Law to play off each other was impressive. Law told the story of how Bruschi made his life a bit easier in terms of coverage. The linebacker would often call Cover 2 plays to benefit Law, who was winded from lockdown coverage.

“I wouldn’t be where I am today as a Hall of Famer without that damn Tedy Bruschi,” said Law. “Know why? I didn’t know what in the hell was going on. I’m like, ‘Who I got? Give me him.’ Bruschi would be like, ‘Hey Ty, you got him’ or ‘We’re doing this.’ Because I would never come into the huddle. If you watch the old films, you would never see me go in the huddle when everybody run back to it. Dammit, I’m too tired. I just ran nine routes because people would always just run you off.”

The synchronicity of the two is certainly impressive, and it evidently worked on the field. Those Law and Bruschi-led defenses are a big reason why the Patriots won their first three Super Bowls.

Tedy Bruschi questions Patriots’ future with Bill Belichick at helm

Tedy Bruschi thinks Patriots owner Robert Kraft has to start considering the possibility of moving on from Bill Belichick.

Former New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi believes time might be up for Bill Belichick as Patriots coach.

Bruschi was a part of the better years for New England, winning Super Bowls in 2002, 2004 and 2005. He enjoyed a stellar career with the team, recording 1,065 total tackles and 30.5 sacks in his career. His best season came in 2003, when he recorded 131 tackles on the year.

Simply put, he knows what it takes to win in the NFL. Lately, Belichick and the Patriots have not done much of that. They currently sit at 1-5 and rank near the bottom of the NFL.

Bruschi appeared on ESPNā€™s ā€œGet Upā€ on Monday morning and made his case for Belichick to retire.

“I think Bill Belichick is considering it, and I think Robert Kraft is the one who has to start to considerā€”is it time to move on?” asked Bruschi. “Because right now, if they get a top-five pick, Mr. Kraft has to decide if Bill is the right one to take one of those three, four quarterbacks, whatever it may be that you can possibly get, and if he wants to start over with Bill. Thatā€™s Mr. Kraftā€™s decision.”

These are certainly strong statements, given that Bruschi has been a supporter of the Patriots during his career as an analyst.

Nevertheless, it could very well be time for a change, as New England continues to lose football games. Things won’t get any easier with the Buffalo Bills coming to town for a visit in Week 7.

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54 days till Patriots season opener: Every player to wear No. 54 for New England

Here’s a list of every Patriots player to wear the No. 54 jersey number

There are 54 days before the New England Patriots kick off their regular season opener. So we’re continuing our countdown series by listing every Patriots player that has ever worn the No. 54 jersey.

The two names that jump out in relation to that number are Patriots Hall of Famer Tedy Bruschi and a surefire future inductee, Dont’a Hightower. Both legendary linebackers spent their entire careers with the Patriots organization and won three Super Bowls each.

They’ve also both had at least one All-Pro nod.

More importantly, they have forever endeared themselves to Patriots fans by coming up with some of the biggest plays in franchise history. Who could ever forget Hightower’s strip sack on Matt Ryan to help New England complete the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history at Super Bowl LI?

And what about the epic stadium snow celebration, following Tedy Bruschi’s game-cinching interception against the Miami Dolphins in 2003?

The No. 54 holds some truly great memories in the Patriots’ organization. Here’s every player that has worn the number throughout franchise history (via Pro Football Reference):

Tedy Bruschi sees a change in Bill Belichick, and not the good kind

Tedy Bruschi was completely shocked by Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s latest comments.

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick caught people by surprise with his latest comments at the NFL annual meeting on Monday, including ESPN analyst and former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi.

When fielding questions from media members, he pointed to the last 25 years as a reason Patriots fans should feel optimistic about the future. It was a rare flex from the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach.

This wasn’t the “on to Cincinnati” version of Belichick fans had grown accustomed to seeing. That remark came from a coach that seemed annoyed at the way his legacy was being picked apart and questioned by outsiders.

And yet, the fact remains that Belichick and the Patriots haven’t won a playoff game since Tom Brady was under center at quarterback. They’ve also missed the playoffs in two of their last three seasons.

This is not the New England team of old, and some cracks are starting to show from arguably the greatest coach of all time.

“Right now, Coach Belichick is off-message,” said Bruschi, when appearing on “Get Up” on Tuesday. “That is something that his players shouldnā€™t hear ā€” that he is basing some optimism to fans on ā€˜what Iā€™ve done in the past 25 years.ā€™ I donā€™t know if Iā€™ve ever heard Bill mention something like that in terms of his whole body of work.

“It was surprising to me. I donā€™t know whatā€™s going on in that locker room now, but players can hold coaches accountable. Iā€™ve done it with Bill before when he said things postgame or during the week that I did not like, and we had discussions in captains meetings or after games or whatever. But Iā€™m not in that locker room anymore. I’m hearing it, and Iā€™m just surprised because that is not the Bill Belichick that I know.”

Despite all of the struggles in 2022, Belichick has operated like it’s a business as usual approach. If you didn’t know any better, by the way he conducts his media conferences, you’d think it was 2018 and the Patriots were still a perennial Super Bowl contender.

That might have worked when the Patriots were winning football games, but losing changes everything.

Even owner Robert Kraft sent out a letter to season ticketholders promising changes moving forward. As great as Belichick has been as a coach, he still has yet to prove he can make a run without Brady.

It’s hard to lean on the last 25 years of work if the general consensus is that the quarterback was in the driver’s seat and Belichick was riding shotgun all along.

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Tedy Bruschi implores Patriots to make trade for this playmaking WR

Tedy Bruschi wants the Patriots to go after this rising star receiver.

Former New England Patriots linebacker and current ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi is lobbying for the organization to make a trade for a star receiver.

Bruschi wants to see Tee Higgins in New England.

Higgins is coming off a third NFL season that saw him record 74 catches for 1,029 yards and seven touchdowns. The yardage numbers were slightly down from a 2021 season which saw him record 1,091 yards and six touchdowns. Higgins helped form a dynamic duo with Jaā€™Marr Chase in Cincinnati, as the Bengals made it to the AFC Championship Game for the second year in a row.

Higgins had over four games with 100-plus receiving yards in 2022, as he was able to stretch the field for the Bengals.

Bruschi emphatically believes the Patriots should make a move for him, per CLNS Mediaā€™s Mike Kadlick.

Higgins would immediately provide an upgrade to a Patriots wide receiver room desperately searching for a No. 1 wideout. It could be a game-changer to see him work in a new Patriots offense led by Bill Oā€™Brien.

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Tedy Bruschi: Giants’ Nick Gates deserves Comeback Player of the Year

Tedy Bruschi, who knows something about making miraculous comebacks, thinks Giants OL Nick Gates deserves Comeback Player of the Year.

New York Giants offensive lineman Nick Gates beat impossible odds to play again this season after he shattered his leg last year in what many felt was a career-ending injury.

Gates has gotten little attention when it comes to the Comeback Player of the Year, however. As the season has gone on, that has changed a bit.

There is a sudden groundswell of support for Gates as the Giants are once again in the playoffs and his story is becoming more well-known.

You can add ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi — the former New England Patriots linebacker who himself won the award back in 2005 — as another heavyweight in Gates’ corner.

Bruschi suffered a stroke early in 2005 but battled back to play midway through the season. His endorsement alone holds a lot of weight but it may not put Gates over the top for the award.

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Tedy Bruschi calls out former teammate for Bill Belichick comments

Tedy Bruschi thinks his former teammate’s dig at Bill Belichick was “ridiculous”

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has faced plenty of criticism for his handling of the teamā€”some warranted and some that seems to go a bit too far off the deep end.

Former Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel’s recent comments fall in the latter category.

Following the Patriots’ embarrassing blowout loss at home to the Chicago Bears, Samuel called Belichick an “average coach” without Tom Brady on social media. It was a harsh jab at a coach coming off a season where he took the team to the playoffs with a rookie quarterback under center.

Former longtime Patriot Tedy Bruschi chimed in and laughed off Samuel’s comments as “absolutely ridiculous.”

An argument could be had regarding the person most responsible for the success the Patriots had for nearly two decades with the greatest quarterback and greatest coach of all time paired together in the same place.

But it’s obvious neither man would have had the same level of success without the other. It was the perfect storm that should be celebrated as a whole and not attacked separately.

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