Tag: Tedy Bruschi

ESPN analyst, former NFL great talks ‘underrated’ Renfrow

Former Clemson star Hunter Renfrow is getting ready to play in a big primetime game on Sunday night when the Las Vegas Raiders (9-7) battle the Los Angeles Chargers (9-7) in Las Vegas. On ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown, the analysts discussed the …

Former Clemson star Hunter Renfrow is getting ready to play in a big primetime game on Sunday night when the Las Vegas Raiders (9-7) battle the Los Angeles Chargers (9-7) in Las Vegas.

On ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown, the analysts discussed the Raiders-Chargers matchup (8:20 p.m., NBC) that carries playoff implications and marks the final game of the NFL regular season.

ESPN NFL analyst and three-time Super Bowl champion Tedy Bruschi was asked if the Raiders’ game plan should be to stick to the run game and then try to hit tight end Darren Waller.

“He’s going to help out a lot,” the longtime New England Patriots linebacker and Patriots Hall of Famer said. “But there’s one guy that you can’t forget about — and a lot of people do — and that’s Hunter Renfrow.”

Bruschi then broke down tape of Renfrow and talked about the receiver’s uncanny ability to get open, especially on third downs when the chains need to be moved.

“I mean, the saying, it’s ‘Third-and-Renfrow.’ This guy gets it going,” Bruschi said. “I’ve got a couple plays here to show you of him on third down and why he’s so difficult. You see him in the bunch formation. (Raiders quarterback Derek) Carr isn’t even looking his way, but he feels and he always knows where to be. He senses the trouble, boom, takes off. Carr now sees him, jump pass to him here, and he finds a way to get open for his quarterback, especially on third down like that third-down conversion right here.”

Renfrow has had a career year in his third NFL season. In 16 games heading into Sunday night’s clash with the Chargers, the 2019 fifth-round draft pick has racked up 99 catches on 123 targets for 1,025 receiving yards and seven touchdown receptions, all career highs.

Still, Bruschi believes Renfrow is underrated considering what he brings to the table as a playmaking slot receiver with his route running and craftiness to pick up yards after the catch.

“I don’t know how you play man coverage on him,” Bruschi said. “Stop, go, stop, boom — wide open, third-and-short. Oh yeah, by the way, you need me to come off my coverage, try to make a tackle. No, you can’t do that either. This guy is slippery, this guy is underrated… Waller is going to help, yes. Third-and-Renfrow, you’ve got to stop him.”

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Tedy Bruschi has sensible theory about Tom Brady’s Patriots departure

Tedy Bruschi has an interesting theory about Tom Brady’s departure from the Patriots.

With Tom Brady’s highly-anticipated return just days away, it has renewed speculation as to why Brady left the New England Patriots organization. Former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi has a theory of his own.

Spending 13 seasons in the Patriots organization, Bruschi got to know the tendencies of both Brady and Belichick quite well. He would go on to record 1,110 tackles 30.5 sacks and 12 interceptions in 189 games played.

Bruschi knows the value Belichick places on his players, and has an idea of when Belichick believes it is time for both parties to move on. Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2019 on a two-year, $50 million deal. He won a Super Bolw in his first season with the team.

Here’s Bruschi’s perspective on the situation:

“I think he (Belichick) had this feeling of what happens to a quarterback when he’s 43, 44, 45,” Bruschi said Wednesday on NBC Sports Boston’s “Early Edition.” “Could anybody project what they could have seen from Tom Brady’s season last year when he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a  Super Bowl? It would have been extremely hard to do.”

Bruschi added: “I would like to have seen maybe Tom still being here, but the formula that is Bill Belichick, he projects. His formula was moving on from Tom Brady. You’re talking about a man that doesn’t change his ways. There’s a formula that he believes in and he will stick to.”

With Tom Brady winning a Super Bowl and his first season with Tampa Bay, it goes to show that Belichick’s formula is a bold one.

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Bill Belichick appreciates having Tedy Bruschi at practice: ‘I’ve learned a lot from him’

Bill Belichick enjoys insight from Tedy Bruschi.

With training camp in full swing, several for the New England Patriots, players have been present for some of the practices. Count Tedy Bruschi among those who have visited. Tuesday, risk he was spotted at Patriots practice.

In speaking to the media on Tuesday, head coach Bill Belichick indicated that he liked having former players at `practices. As Belichick noted, Bruschi was an important part of the New England Patriots linebackers group for several years. Last week, linebackers coach Jerod Mayo talked about how much the veteran impacted his career.

As for Belichick, he always enjoys listening to Bruschi  talk about the game.

“Look, we’re happy to have all players come back. We welcome them back,” Belichick said on a video conference call. “We’ve had several and I’m sure we’ll have more. So we’re always happy to see those guys. Tedy especially obviously had a great career here. Was a very, not only good player, but inspirational player and had a lot of leadership. I know that our players — both our veteran players and our younger players — have enjoyed talking to him. As the coaches, Tedy brings a great perspective on his playing career, a new generation of players and other things that he’s experienced.

“So I always enjoy talking to Tedy. I’ve learned a lot from him. Our conversations this year — and we talk at other points during the season as well from time to time — but his insight is always valuable and he has a great perspective and a lot of insight that I appreciate.”

Bruschi played for the Patriots for 13 seasons, hanging at the cleats in the summer of 2009. Recording 1,074 total tackles, he established himself as an integral part of the New England defense for many seasons. Now, he is passing on what he knows.

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Tedy Bruschi believes Tom Brady will want to ‘crush the Patriots’ in Week 4

This is the most anticipated NFL game for many different reasons.

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One of the most anticipated regular season games in NFL history is coming in Week 4 of the 2021 season.

Tom Brady, after spending two decades with the New England Patriots, will return back to Foxborough to take on Bill Belichick and Cam Newton. Brady obviously is coming off a Super Bowl win with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Bill Belichick is recovering from a 7-9 year with an entirely revamped unit.

This game will consist of zero excuses. It’s either Brady or Belichick and both teams will have a few gams to get into the groove of the season and prepare. Tedy Bruschi discussed the matchup and he believes Brady will come in with a killer mentality — which isn’t surprising.

“Throughout the course of the week, he’ll say all the right things and he’ll act the right way, and he’ll get his team to say all the right things too,” Bruschi said on ESPN’s Get Up. “But he can’t contain himself. “Those emotions, they’re just a fire in there that he’s always had. He’ll feel it, and he’ll want to crush the New England Patriots. He’ll want to score 30 to 40 points. That’s just who he is, no matter if it’s a divisional rival or it’s his old team. Brady will be emotionally, possibly, out of control at times.”

Brady will definitely carry more external emotions, but that could potentially be an advantage for him.

“Which one of them do I feel detaches better than the other?,” Bruschi said. “For me, it’s Bill Belichick, so for him, emotions won’t be there.”

Brady went to Twitter to comment on the matchup with a hilarious remark.

Belichick has one of the best offensive lines and a much-improved defense — making for a game full of fireworks and excitement.

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Tedy Bruschi’s suggestion Matthew Stafford lacked toughness to play for Patriots is wrong

Tedy Bruschi didn’t seem impressed with Matthew Stafford’s reported rejection of the New England Patriots.

Tedy Bruschi didn’t seem impressed with Matthew Stafford’s reported rejection of the New England Patriots.

The Lions agreed to trade Stafford to the Rams, but L.A. was hardly the only team interested in acquiring the veteran quarterback. Though he didn’t express an overwhelming preference on where he wanted to land, he did indicate that he would not play for Bill Belichick and the Patriots, according to reports.

“He’s not tough enough to play here,” Bruschi told WEEI sports radio on Wednesday. “He’s just not tough enough. I don’t think he’s tough enough to be coached hard. I mean, do you realize the mental toughness that Tom Brady had to have for 20 years to deal with Bill Belichick and that type of coaching? I mean, constant pressure every single day. Does Stafford sort of grab you as a guy who could handle that? I just don’t think so. So he went to Sean McVay and get his little best friend relationship and go have fun over there. That’s fine.”

Stafford endured 12 years of playing for the Lions, a franchise that went 0-16 before it drafted him at No. 1 out of Georgia. The quarterback went through season after season of poor coaching and general management. And he came out the other side as one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the last decade. He has demonstrated a rare toughness, performing well despite fairly consistent circumstantial adversity.

Plus, there’s this…

It’s not clear why Stafford didn’t want to play for Belichick. (It’s possible that Stafford’s fractured relationship with former Lions coach Matt Patricia has something to do with it.) Surely, Belichick has helped players maximize their potential in the past — but he couldn’t with quarterback Cam Newton.

Stafford should thrive under coach Sean McVay, one of the brightest offensive minds in the NFL.

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Tedy Bruschi returning to alma mater in advising role

Tedy Bruschi will be returning to the University of Arizona.

Tedy Bruschi is headed back to his alma mater. Monday, it was announced that Bruschi would serve as a senior advisor to new Arizona head coach Jed Fisch.

For his part, Fisch was the quarterbacks coach for the New England Patriots in the 2020 season. He replaces Kevin Sumlin, who was fired in December.

For his part, Bruschi was one of the best Wildcats of all-time. He recorded 185 tackles, 74 tackles for a loss and recorded 52 sacks. He tied the NCAA Division I-A sack record with that number. He played for the Wildcats from 1991-95.

In a statement put out by University of Arizona, Bruschi expressed his excitement for coming back.

“I am very excited to re-establish my connection to the Arizona Football program,” Bruschi said. “Coach Fisch, and his vision for the program, is the main reason for my new level of involvement. I look forward to assisting Coach Fisch and the program in any way I can as we develop the next generations of Wildcats who are purposeful, resilient and original. Bear Down!”

It will be interesting to see what kind of impact Bruschi makes in his new role. If the impact is anything like what he accomplished in New England, it will certainly be a positive one.

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Matthew Stafford isn’t a ‘winner’, leaving Tedy Bruschi skeptical about his fit with Patriots

“He is a star, but, yes, he is not a winner.”

Similar to the 2020 offseason, there’s going to be endless debates on the New England Patriots’ quarterback situation going into 2021.

There isn’t much information coming from Bill Belichick and the team, but speculation is leading to the fact that Cam Newton is on his way out in free agency. Whether or not the Patriots seek out a veteran or find their guy with the No. 15 pick is an absolute mystery.

One quarterback that does stand out is the 32-year-old Matthew Stafford, who’s mutually parting ways with the Detroit Lions this offseason. Because Stafford still has two years remaining on his contract, the money situation will be tricky and the Patriots are one of the few teams who can afford him. Former Patriots executive Michael Lombardi laid out the financial scenario and explained why the Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts are front-runners.

Rodney Harrison gave his insight on the situation and believes Stafford would be a ‘perfect’ choice for the team. Tedy Bruschi doesn’t agree and he argued his point Wednesday on WEEI’s “Ordway, Merloni and Fauria.”

“No, I don’t agree with Hot Rod there,” Bruschi said. “I’m a fan of Matthew Stafford, the player. I’m just not a fan of his teams. And so what does that say? It says watching him play is fun — sling it all over the place, the arm angles, taking chances. All of that stuff, that’s great. But it never equals into anything substantial, anything meaningful for the victory.”

And Bruschi is correct — Stafford is a 12-year veteran who had solid teams in Detroit and he only produced three playoff appearances, with no wins.

“He is a star, but, yes, he is not a winner,” Bruschi said. ” … There’s a lot of guys out there with a lot of stats that have no playoff wins, and I think Stafford doesn’t have playoff wins for a reason.

“Now if he comes to New England, you’re gonna have to drop in pay, you’re gonna have to learn to play a different way. And if there’s anyone that knows what kind of player you are, he’s on the staff now, who’s just been hired, and that’s (former Lions head coach) Matt Patricia.”

Newton was willing to risk time with his family and learn a new system, but he talked numerous times about the mental grind of playing in New England. Like Bruschi said, Patricia would know best if Stafford had that ability in him.

“I would say this, winning football is something that I don’t really recognize when I watch him play,” Bruschi said. “I just recognize the highlight plays that he has and that’s really not gonna work with this type of team, in my opinion.”

The Patriots met with Alabama’s Mac Jones at the Senior Bowl and they have options in other places if Stafford doesn’t pan out.

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Tedy Bruschi proposes a QB he thinks would be perfect for the Patriots

“I think the pressure is higher than ever in New England in terms of who the next quarterback is going to be.”

It’s another offseason and the New England Patriots have no answer at the quarterback position. Bill Belichick will spend the offseason searching for a signal-caller after a rough season with quarterback Cam Newton in 2020.

It isn’t that the Patriots are definitely done with Newton. But the fact that he’s not under contract in 2021 speaks to New England exploring other options. And there’s one option that former Patriots linebacker and current NFL analyst Tedy Bruschi likes the most.

“Any other quarterback, why do you want to follow Tom Brady?” Bruschi asked on WEEI sports radio during an appearance this week. “You’re always going to be compared to the successes and the past, and that is going to make it a tough job. That’s going to make it a job to where guys will come in, ‘I can’t live up to that.’ I think the pressure is higher than ever in New England in terms of who the next quarterback is going to be.

“You better have some guts to come in here,” added Bruschi. “I’ll tell you that right now because from Day 1 it is going to be like, ‘OK, we’re ready for a Super Bowl championship.’ And [that quarterback] will have to deliver because that’s what [fans] are used to here. I think (Jimmy Garoppolo) Garoppolo knows that. I think Garoppolo could even say, ‘You know what, I can do it. I know how it’s done.’ To me, maybe that is the best option because of the amount of pressure the new guy is going to have. It’s going to be a hard, hard task.”

Garoppolo is currently under contract with the San Francisco 49ers, who acquired him in a trade with New England. However, Garoppolo’s deal has an easy out after this season, which makes him a viable trade or cut candidate.

Newton discussed the burdens of following Brady. The issues Newton recognized the most were in dealing with the playbook, which Belichick, Brady and the Patriots offensive coordinator built through the years. It was comprehensive — and built for Brady. But then Newton was dealing with the expectations in New England, which were established during the Brady era when he won six Super Bowls.

“We are depending on a lot of people who are not used to the pressures of being a New England Patriots player,” Newton said. “And honestly, if I am being honest and candid, I am one of those players.”

You know who does? Jimmy Garoppolo, who played for the Patriots for two and a half years and went 2-0 as a starter. The one concern with him is injuries. He suffered an injury during his second Patriots start and couldn’t finish the game. And he has dealt with a handful of problems during his 49ers tenure, too.

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Ex-Patriots Tedy Bruschi, Chris Long react to Bill Belichick declining the Medal of Freedom

“Proud to have played for this man…”

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick decided to decline accepting the Medal of Freedom from President Donald Trump, an event which had been on the White House schedule for this week.

Belichick had planned to accept the award, but changed his mind after the deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol last week, which President Trump instigated at a rally prior to the events. Five people died as the mob attacked and breached the Capitol.

“One of the most rewarding things in my professional career took place in 2020 when, through the great leadership within our team, conversations about social justice, equality and human rights moved to the forefront and became actions,” Belichick said in a statement on Monday night. “Continuing those efforts while remaining true to the people, team and country I love outweigh the benefits of any individual award.”

Here’s how two of his former players reacted.

It will be interesting to hear from the leaders in New England’s locker room in Devin McCoury and Matthew Slater, who have been outspoken about putting social justice at the forefront.

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Tedy Bruschi lays out two specific reasons for Tom Brady’s struggles in Tampa

It makes perfect sense.

Despite having a 7-4 record, Tom Brady has struggled as of late.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost two of the last three games and Brady’s deep ball hasn’t been in sync like it was previously in the season. He has one of the deepest group of skilled players with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski, Cameron Brate and many more — but, they haven’t been on the same page.

Patriots legend Tedy Bruschi has a theory for the mishaps in Tampa.

“I think there is a combination of two things that is holding the Tampa Bay offense back and also Brady in terms of his success and one is Bruce Arians because the guy is just stubborn,” Bruschi said, via WEEI’s Ordway, Merloni & Fauria. “Tom is in the middle of a team with a head coach that our old Patriots teams would love going up against team like this. They have the philosophy of we do what we do and we’re just going to do it, we’re better than you, we think our players are better so go ahead and do what you want I’m still going to throw my deep routes and all this and all of that. We would just adjust to it and take it away know that they still force it in there and we would pick it off. We would do something like that. Bruce Arians and that type of stubbornness …

And the second thing is holding that offense back are the running backs. They can’t catch. … I mean as a quarterback, let me get my five, man. All I want is five. Catch it and fall forward and it’s 2nd-and-6 or it’s 2nd-and-7. You never know, you break a tackle and you’re moving the chains. That’s what they are not getting. To watch over and over, Fournette drop it. Jones drop it. You can see the look on Tom’s face, ‘Dude, you will never be James White.’ Something like that that. Those are the easy yards that you take that Tom just doesn’t have anymore so he’s got to push it down the field.”

Regardless of how many problems happen in Tampa Bay, it’s not as bad as Bill Belichick’s situation in New England.

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