Patriots quarterback Tom Brady periodically conducts interviews with Jim Gray of Westwood One. Brady’s latest spot has slightly more significance than most others.
Addressing the ESPN report indicating an atmosphere of dysfunction among and between Brady, coach Bill Belichick, and owner Robert Kraft, Brady disputed the sense that anything is amiss.
Via Ryan Hannable of WEEI, Brady said that the work environment within the organization hasn’t changed.
“I see it as I’ve seen it the last 18 years — that we are all there to do a job and that is to go out and do the best to help the team win,” Brady said. “That has been very consistent here. That has been a big reason why our team has been so successful and I don’t see that any different going into this week.”
Brady specifically denied the existence of any negativity in the organization, at least as it relates to him.
“My relationships with everybody that I deal with I feel are so positive,” Brady said. “To think anything differently of that is complete nonsense.”
Brady attributes the ESPN article to the contrary to the vacuum that needs to be filled when covering a successful program.
"[Winning] forces people to be creative with what they talk about, the things that they write and the things they speculate on because diagnosing football plays doesn’t get the attention that some of these other things might,” Brady said.
The ESPN article and its aftermath definitely have gotten plenty of attention. The silver lining for the Patriots could be that the ESPN report draws everyone closer together, creating an “us against the world” vibe that could carry the franchise to its sixth Super Bowl win.