BSJ Daily Briefing 06.19.18: What's fair and unfair in the Tom Brady discussion

Good morning!

A few random thoughts while I try to figure out if Jim Gray lives in Tom Brady's guesthouse, or if he has his own place.

• It's certainly fair to question whether or not Tom Brady has changed in terms of his commitment to football and why that has happened in roughly the past 6 months.


• Obviously, his commitment has changed. You don't go from, I'm giving up my life, so you better be willing to give up yours, to, Yeah, I don't need to practice with my teammates this offseason even though I have a host of offensive players I need to break in this year, and still be able to say you have the same level of commitment.


• And it's fair to wonder about his motivation for doing so. It's probably a combination of things, from a tradeoff with the wife and wanting to spend more time with the kids, to finally growing tired of Bill Belichick's constant grinding and the fact that Brady has no competition for his spot.


• I think if Jimmy Garoppolo was still here, Brady might still be doing this and daring the Patriots to trade or release him. You don't want me? Fine. I'm going to retire anyway so you can't get anything in return. Suit yourself.


• But what I don't think is fair, as Felger & Mazz did yesterday, is to compare Brady audio from Peter King's post-Super Bowl win podcast and the Oprah interview and say Brady's done a bait-and-switch (it's fair to argue that, just not using the audio).


• Brady was quite obviously on a post-Super Bowl high when he talked with King and spoke about playing, seemingly, forever. Ask any player after a Super Bowl win and they'll tell you how great they're going to be for years to come. Ask a player, especially Brady, after a season like this past year — "different" in Brady's words — and they start to contemplate their own football mortality.


• Anybody else, after Hal Steinbrenner's latest words, have the feeling that the Yankees will make a few moves before the trade deadline that will leave the Red Sox in the dust? How about Madison Bumgarner in pinstripes? Looking forward to Dave Dombrowski's bullpen arm.


• Just a reminder: I need your help/input on a new offseason project.