We know at least two ESPN employees who must be shocked that the New England Patriots will be playing for a championship in two weeks. Trent Dilfer, who proclaimed that the Patriots just “not good anymore,” and Chris Mortensen, who published a report about “tension” between Tom Brady and New England’s coaching staff, look a bit silly at the moment.
Let’s start with Dilfer. After the Patriots were manhandled by the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4, Dilfer thought he was being the edgy, bold analyst by bashing the Pats.
“You come to a bully’s house and you get the snot beat out of you,” Dilfer said during the postgame show. “We saw a weak team. The New England Patriots, let’s face it, they’re not good anymore.”
To his credit, Dilfer later admitted that he had egg on his face and that he jumped to conclusions.
“I made the mistake I hate making in this job, and that’s knee-jerk reacting to what you see in real time and not thinking about who you are saying it about,” he said a month later. “What I forgot at the moment, and what I think anybody who wrote the Patriots off early forgot, is what Bill Belichick has done over his career: getting the most from the least and the best from the best. And let’s not forget, that’s what coaching is. So at its core, being a great coach is getting the most from the least and the best from the best.”
And how about Mortensen? On Oct. 6, Mort reported that there is tension between Brady and the Patriots’ coaching staff that could result in rookie quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo taking over for Brady “sooner than later.” However, Mort did note that no one was saying “sooner” meant during the 2014 season. Phew. If not for that comment, we all thought Brady was about to be benched for a rookie.
Moral of the story? Sometimes people just need something to talk about. Knee-jerk reactions make the sports media world go ’round, but they often result in people like Dilfer looking like idiots.
