Hurley: Tom Brady's Interest In Winning Made Football's Analytical Crowd Lose Their Minds
Michael Hurley from CBS Boston Sports joined The Adam Jones Show to discuss the Boston sports scene, including the Patriots, Red Sox and Bruins.
On the Patriots, Hurley said there's no way the Patriots could ever recreate their dual-tight end offense that they had with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, because there's just no player with the skill-set of Hernandez. As for what the Patriots can do, he said the team should do whatever it takes to get Andre Johnson to Foxboro.
"I know it's kind of a pipe dream and I know a lot of things are going to have to work, but Andre Johnson is the fit. He's the guy, to me, the golden goose," Hurley said. "It's time to break the mold and go after him. It's time for the outside guys to be a factor, and I'm not sure Aaron Dobson is ready to be that guy in year two.
Jones asked Hurley if he subscribed to the belief of where there's smoke, there's fire.
"I do, and I do even though there are so many hurdles," Hurley said. "There's the salary, there's the price it would cost Houston to make that move, they would have to eat a lot of money. But I do, it just seems like the perfect fit. He seems like the last guy in the league who would speak up and want out, so when he wants out, it actually means something. And what is he looking for? He's obviously looking for a stable coach/quarterback situation that can get him where he needs to be. And it just so happens that one of the best coaches of all time and one of the best quarterbacks of all time really need a No. 1 receiver to be reliable on the outside.
"From a Patriots standpoint, whatever it costs to get that done, I think has to be done."
Speaking of Brady, what did Hurley make of Tom Brady's comment that winning is the only stat that matters?
"I loved it," he said. "For one, it served the purpose of stating the obvious, which is why players play the game. But for two, it made the whole analytical crowd lose their mind. They sort of collectively just went crazy, saying, 'What?! He thinks wins are important?! He's not obsessed with yards per attempt?!'
"Obviously, those stats are useful for us and for coaches and for media and fans to use to analyze in certain ways, but when you're out there playing, when you're actually taking snaps on the field in the fourth quarter down by three, all you're thinking about is doing what's necessary to win. So I think it was a good reminder of sports. I like the analytics sites, I think they do a lot of good work, but to see so many people freak out about the fact that a quarterback only cares about winning, it was high entertainment."
Hurley then went on to discuss the state of the Red Sox, John Lackey's retirement contemplation, and what the Bruins should do in the offseason. Listen below.