ESPN's Steve Young, Trent Dilfer Very Critical Of Patriots Management
BOSTON (CBS) - If you tuned in early to the Monday Night Football broadcast and stayed up late watching its conclusion, then you probably heard some very harsh criticism of the Patriots' upper management from former quarterbacks Steve Young and Trent Dilfer, who took the team to task for not surrounding Tom Brady with enough talent.
If you missed it, here's the transcript:
Steve Young pregame:
"Can I complain for Tom? You're the fifth youngest roster in the league. Obviously they're transitioning, and they're transitioning while they have the marquee red Tesla in the driveway. If you're going to do that, you're saying to Tom Brady, 'Hopefully we transition while we play great football. You'll pull us up and we'll literally give you no help whatsoever.' How do you look Tom Brady in the eye and let Logan Mankins go? They say to him it's for the team and the cap, but what you're saying is, 'We're transitioning Tom. Hope it works out, but it's not about you.' I've got to believe it needs to be about Tom Brady while he's still here."
Trent Dilfer pregame:
"What about the urgency that Steve [Young] is alluding to in the front office? The head coach. There is a sentiment in the NFL, it's kind of this dirty secret that organizations just want to get in the tournament. They're trying to fill their seats, make money, and try to put a good enough product out there that it's competitive. If you look at the New England Patriots after the championship run, that's how they've drafted, that's how they've handled free agency -- not to go attack a championship and say, 'We have Tom Brady. We need to take some chances to go win one more.' The mistake has been not making it about Tom Brady, because that's how you win Super Bowls. How do you look at Tom Brady in the eye right now?"
98.5 The Sports Hub's Gresh & Zolak don't agree with their assessment, because in their mind they did sell out for a Super Bowl when they signed Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner in the offseason. They also don't think Young and Dilfer would be as hard on the team if Mankins were still here.
Fair points.
Keep in mind that the quotes above were from the pregame, so you can only imagine what it sounded like following the game, after the Patriots were embarrassed by the final score of 41-14.
Young and Dilfer did not change their tune one bit.
Steve Young postgame:
"The biggest story it seems is how the Patriots have left Tom Brady naked. How is it possible with all these draft picks, and all this 'guru' stuff we hear coming out of the personnel expertise of the Patriots and how great they've been for so long, how have they been able to not support Tom Brady in his career in the last five years -- especially this year -- with enough personnel to go attack a Super Bowl? Tom either gets no help at the line of scrimmage, or no help down the field. You saw the tape. Nobody is open! In the end, if anyone wants to go after Tom Brady come through me, because I guarantee you this guy is still capable of taking anyone that's really any good to the Super Bowl. Go back to Logan Mankins. Think about what that says. You've got a young roster, you let go of your best lineman, you know your lineman are going to be in-and-out, you don't have a deep threat, and all your speed is young players who haven't played. They've asked Tom to do this for the last four or five years and he's done spectacularly. He's done the most with less than anyone in the league, and this year it's finally too much."
After playing the ESPN Monday Night Football audio, Gresh & Zo dissect Young and Dilfer's comments more thoroughly.
Listen below:
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