Plaschke tries so hard to avoid lauding Brady, he rambles on strangely . . . . .

And many of those humorous comments are misguided, incorrect or just plain dumb.

 

Perhaps, though not as many meet that standard as those that appeared in Bill's column.

 

Double Down - which column did you use as a teaching tool?

 

Poindexter,
I'm in the APSE judging rooms when his columns are critiqued.
It's fine to be critical. It's fine to have a difference of opinion. But, "piece of shit" and "pile of dung" are never used in the note space of his submitted columns.
So, to use a one-line blast on a postboard for reaction-sake, clouds an already asinine argument.

 

The combination of Brady and Moss created an offense as good as any in the history of game. Clearly, the addition of Moss gave Brady a weapon unlike any he has ever had.

However, here are some examples of how Brady made receivers around him better:

Wes Welker
In 16 games with Brady, 112 catches, 1,175 yards and 8 touchdowns. In 46 games with Miami, 96 catches, 1,121 yards and 1 touchdown.

Troy Brown
In 84 games with Brady as the starter, he has 337 catches for 3,595 yards and 19 touchdowns. In 108 games before Brady, Brown had 220 catches, 2,771 yards and 12 touchdowns.

David Patten
In 54 games with Brady, he had 165 catches, 2,513 yards and 16 touchdowns. In 88 games with other teams/QBs, he has 188 catches, 2,040 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Christian Fauria
In 64 games with Brady, 79 catches, 790 yards and 13 touchdowns. In 127 games with other teams, 173 catches, 1,739 yards and 9 touchdowns.

Randy Moss is is among the best receivers ever, but even he reached heights with Brady that he never reached before. Before Moss, there was not a Patriot receiver - save for a brief stretch with Troy Brown - who was considered Pro Bowl caliber.

I think it's fair to say Brady is plenty capable of making players around him better, which is usually a common characteristic among the all-time greats.

 

I've said it a million times. His sports analysis columns are a pile of crap. I stand by it. I've dissected them here several times - I quit doing it years ago. It's done elsewhere on the internet. When he is writing about the Compton High softball team, or handicapped people with Dodger websites, he's the best in the business.

When he writes analyzes the Dodger roster moves, or, in this latest case, Tom Brady, he's laughably bad.

Which columns wins him awards: The Compton High Softball team? or Paul DePodesta critiques?

 

Poindexter, you just don't agree with what he writes. That doesn't mean his analysis is bad.

 

Again, I'm a big fan, but Bill's analysis of DePodesta and his understanding of sabermatics is/was bad. Very bad.

 

Gotcha.
Tom Brady is football's, well, um, Alex Rodriguez.
and
They will forget that, in one of his four Super Bowl championships, Joe Montana drove his San Francisco team 92 yards for a last-second, game-winning touchdown.
and
He doesn't have a growl to his voice because today's huddles don't require it.

is just spot-on, direct, concise analysis. Tom Brady, broken down like never before. You are right, I am wrong. That's Plaschke just flat out delivering, showing his football acumen. I don't know how I missed it before. Bill Plaschke knows sports like nobody else. You nailed it.

 

Re: Plaschke tries so hard to avoid lauding Brady, he rambles on strangely . . .

i admit I didn't read the DePodesta column.

 

It wasn't one column. It was sort of a campaign. Bill's not a fan of the Jamesian/Beane team-building philosophy. There were a lot of jokes about nerds with slide rulers and calculators and a plea to bring back the grizzled, veteran baseball men who scout based on "feeling."

 

Re: Plaschke tries so hard to avoid lauding Brady, he rambles on strangely . . .

Oh, they went on for years. Plaschke nails DePo for using a computer at work. Went on for literally years, crying about how losing Paul LoDuca (the heart of the team!!) for Brad Penny (how'd that turn out).

Finally admitted screwing that one up after LoDuca starred in the Mitchell report.

Yeah, maybe it wasn't so bad trading a washed-up roider for an all star pitcher.

For more Plaschke stupidity, here's a pretty good place to start

http://www.firejoemorgan.com/search?q=plaschke