The Era of Transparency
The idea of Bill Belichick snorting and mumbling his way through a press conference somehow became a polarizing topic for some in New England. Some Patriots fans were irritated by the media’s frustration every time Belichick would stand at the podium and say nothing. How many times did a fan write on social media or call-in to a radio show and say, “Oh, the media’s just upset because Bill won’t be their friend? He won’t feed into the narratives…Good for Bill!!”
What those fans failed to realize was that, for the vast majority of the media, it was never about friendship. It was never about trying to get Bill to say something to help a radio talk show “narrative.” It was, is, and will always be about one thing: Accountability.
When the head coach gets in front of the microphone, they are expected to be accountable. When the GM/President of Operations stands in front of the “scribes” (shoutout Ernie Adams!), they’re expected to be accountable. Accountable for the team's play, good or bad. Accountable to the ownership, the team, the staff, and most importantly, the fans.
The media is the conduit between the fans and the franchise. It is the media’s obligation to ask the hard questions in an attempt to get the critical answers, so the public can be informed. That’s how it works. And, even though a certain percentage of fans couldn’t care less and just want to watch the games, the responsibility still remains to the others.
As great as Belichick was as a coach, and we will not dismiss his track record and say it was “All Brady,” he consistently had problems taking accountability for certain decisions he made. Especially as the personnel decision-maker of the organization. As the years went on and the success faded, we got less and less of it.
Well, here we are, seemingly entering a new era. Jerod Mayo at the coordinator press conference on Wednesday told the media (therefore the fans) that he was going to make himself available as much as possible. The team held a “media social” following the press conference, so the media and new coaching staff could professionally get to know each other. Then we found out that Eliot Wolf will be speaking at the combine. Yes, the guy with the final say on personnel is actually going to SPEAK at the NFL combine!
Now, we must acknowledge that this is the honeymoon phase. If you watched the first two episodes of “Dynasty,” you know that the Belichick of 2000 and 2001 wasn’t the Belichick of 2023. As time goes on, friction occurs. Mayo, the coaches and Wolf may end up slowly moonwalking themselves away from Bedard & Co. and towards the dark recesses of Gillette.
But, all we can do is judge the present and have hopes for the future. In this moment, these are all important steps to opening up the communication between the team and its fans. The fans that pay their hard-earned money to go watch the product at Gillette. The fans who spend their valuable time watching the game on Sunday and devouring the content all week leading up to the next one.
For those fans who care about the answers and holding the team responsible for its success or failures, it’s a breath of fresh air. For those fans who don’t care and have never cared, cool, you can go about your day as you were. But, to this writer, transparency and accountability are important and good for everyone involved.
Tatum Talks BIG During All-Star Weekend
Just last week we wrote about Jayson Tatum’s transition to being treated as an elite superstar. You can check out that column here.
During All-Star weekend, Tatum was ready to embrace that idea more than ever.
It began with Tatum in a press conference admitting that winning the MVP is something important to him. That’s certainly not breaking news, but some could read that as “selfish” and open up a barrage of talking heads criticizing Tatum’s comments. In our humble opinion, it was a superstar admitting that individual accomplishments do mean something and there are goals that don’t involve the team. Nothing more, nothing less. There’s nothing wrong with that and it was actually refreshingly honest from Tatum. We had no issue with it.
But, Tatum didn’t stop there.
Speaking with ESPN’s Malika Andrews, Tatum called himself the best player in the NBA. Last year, Tatum gave that moniker to Giannis Antetokounmpo. This year, here’s what he had to say to Andrews, “I’ve got a lot of respect for a lot of guys in this league, Giannis for sure, Jokic obviously just won, Embiid, guys who’ve won MVPs. The list goes on. The league is in a great place. I truly do believe every night I step out on the floor that I’m the best player.”
Tatum also sat with Jared Weiss from The Athletic.
Tatum’s confidence just shines through the entire interview, including this comment, “Learning from experience, I understand that I’m good enough that I can relax and defer a little bit. Then, the fourth quarter comes, and I know I can score 20 in the quarter.”
OK, then.
Tatum, when discussing becoming the face of the league, said this to Weiss, “I feel like it’s mine to take. I do feel like, if we win a championship, it would be more distinguished and clear. But I understand I’m [on] that shortlist for sure.”
Before going any further, we need to make this clear: Tatum has also acknowledged that winning to him means the most. He’s spoken eloquently about falling short in prior years. He understands that he needs to win and badly wants to do just that.
Meanwhile, this space finds it intriguing that Tatum is now answering these types of questions the way he is. He’s confident. He’s mature. He’s a leader. Even though he hasn’t won “the big one,” he’s won at a higher clip at his current age than 99.8% of the players who have come before him. Oh yeah, and he’s damn talented. It’s time he takes all of this publicly head-on.
We’re not sure if this will be the year for Banner 18, but Tatum is more ready for it than he’s ever been. That’s a very good thing.
Good News From the Red Sox? Really?
Let’s begin by stating the obvious: This week wasn’t a good one for John Henry or the Red Sox franchise.
Dustin Pedroia facetimed. Rafael Devers put Henry on front street for being cheap and not bringing in enough talent to compete.
But, amongst all the justifiable smoke from former and current players, there was a sliver of good news. The Red Sox are approaching their young talent and looking to get extensions done. Yes, it took them forever to come around to this idea, which ultimately helped cost them Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts, but we’re trying to be positive!
Discussing an extension with Triston Casas makes great business sense AND helps address the talent level of the roster moving forward. Being reportedly close to getting Brayan Bello to sign on the dotted line creates optimism about the future at the front of the rotation.
Sox fans need something to feel good about. Wins are what matters, but locking up a talented young nucleus would be a meaningful step towards good vibes and more wins.
Now we’ll just sit back and see if these deals actually get done.