🧓🏻 Tom Brady yells at cloud...

Good Morning, Boston

💨 Jarren Duran is fast. He’s really, really fast. I mean, he’s so fast, he makes fast people look…not fast. Just please…don’t talk to hecklers anymore.

What’s on tap today:

• W for the W

• Planting the flag (football)

• Brown going Jay-Z?

Let’s get into it…

LEADING OFF

Tom Brady wants to keep it old-school

Tom Brady knows a few things about quarterbacking… Shocking, I know. The man otherwise known as “The G.O.A.T” so perfected the position that he broke the record for oldest Super Bowl-winning QB twice. Specifically, Brady’s mental mastery of the game may be unmatched, which should also serve him well as he steps into the broadcast booth as an analyst for Fox this fall.

…Which makes his latest thoughts on young QBs interesting. During a conversation with ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith, the former Patriots legend called out the entire culture of QB development in college and pro football today.

Among his criticisms:

• Teams force rookie QBs onto the field too soon – something he called a “tragedy”

• That rush to play young QBs too soon leads to coaches “dumbing down” the position, making it less likely they’ll learn the game on the deeper level that elite play requires

• College’s transfer portal rules make it too easy for players to skip town rather than overcome adversity

TL;DR: Brady says today’s kids aren’t on his level and need to get off his lawn.

He’s not wrong…but there’s more to it. In all seriousness, Brady has a point: the NFL doesn’t have much patience for QB development anymore. There’s more money riding on the position and more value in cheap rookie contracts now than every before. Teams also adopt more modern college philosophies than simply hammering in “pro-style” offense. But as fellow Hall-of-Fame QB Peyton Manning pointed out this week, adapting to fit young QBs’ strengths and ease their transition into the league doesn’t have to be bad.

Brady’s comments point directly at Drake Maye. You can already see Brady advocating for Maye, the No. 3 overall pick, sitting behind his old backup Jacoby Brissett for a year. In a perfect world, I believe that’s what the Patriots would do. But at some point, isn’t on-the-job experience and learning from your mistakes more valuable than scrolling through a tablet on the sideline? If Maye’s ready to play as a rookie, the Patriots will play him – just as the team did with Brady back in 2001.

Brady’s first year in the booth will be fascinating. Will Brady cling to his old-school ways or evolve as he spends more time looking at the game through a new lens? Which QBs (aside from Patrick Mahomes) will he like the most? (My money’s on Brock Purdy.) How will he handle covering his first Patriots game, especially if a young Maye is at the helm? One can already envision the “I’m better than that guy” vibes Brady will give off when he inevitably sees someone screw up. Granted, he’s probably not wrong.

BOSTON SPORTS

Quick hits & headlines

🏈 The other Patriots rookie you should be watching. You’ve heard a lot about Drake Maye, Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker at Patriots camp. But what about fourth-round pick Layden Robinson? The under-the-radar offensive lineman is quietly pushing for a starting job at one of the guard spots and has impressed the coaching staff. What Robinson lacks in experience he makes up in solid technique and a nasty disposition as a blocker. Between him and Caedan Wallace, the Patriots might have two solid young pieces in front of Maye going forward.

⚾ Ceddanne the Magnificent deserves your fandom. Ceddanne Rafaela probably won’t win AL Rookie of the Year in 2024. But you won’t find many rookies in the league who have mattered more to their team than him. He flashes leather wherever the Red Sox put him on the field, and he’s already one of baseball’s best clutch hitters. If the Sox were better and didn’t also have another ROY candidate (Wilyer Abreu) standing out, Rafaela might be getting more love. Regardless, the future is bright at Fenway. 

🏀 WNBA dominates at TD Garden. Women’s basketball didn’t even need its most popular player to earn a sellout crowd in Boston on Wednesday night. The energy for the Connecticut Sun-Los Angeles Sparks tilt was top-notch, and the game itself held up its end of the bargain. Hopefully, whoever’s planning on buying the Celtics will take notice and get a WNBA franchise here STAT. Maybe then, ESPN will find a way to get the game on its air.

POLL

Let’s hear it!

BEYOND BOSTON

Out-of-town report

Bo Nix wins Broncos starting QB job. I admit, I clowned the Bo Nix pick during the draft. But now…I’m still clowning it. Good luck with that, Denver. But also, good for Nix. Maybe Drake Maye will be the next rookie to win a job.

Brian Flores answers for Tua treatment. The former Patriots assistant and Dolphins head coach must have been a little … extra …  for Nick Saban to seem like a chill guy to Tagovailoa. Also, that’s why a head coach does matter for QB  development.

Elly de la Cruz joins 60/20 club. Gen Z Rickey Henderson is bringing back the stolen base. Here’s hoping he gets to 100 at some point in his career.

Happy Belated Birthday, Usain Bolt! Rumor has it Tyson Gay still wakes up in a cold sweat thinking about this man running away from him.

Last Call

Flag on the play …

USA flag football channels its inner Noah Lyles. On one hand, flag footballers are allowed to feel protective of their sport heading into the 2028 LA Olympics. Elite flag football is no joke and requires some different movement skills and strategy than the contact version. But…I’m pretty sure Patrick Mahomes would still be better at it than anyone alive. So I’m gonna need you to hush, “Housh.”

The Best Thing I Saw in Sports

Not exactly Jay-Z …

🎤Jaylen Brown drops bars (NSFW). Seriously, what is this guy not doing this summer? As something of a rap head, Mr. Brown’s flow feels a bit like him dribbling with his left hand. But I do dig the Mick Jenkins vibes and the underhanded shots at Kevin Porter Jr. Intellectual bars will always trump club music for me.

Let us know what you think of the newsletter so far:

🗞 That’s a wrap. I’ll be getting in the booth and putting the mixtape together. It would definitely be better than that. (Sorry, Jaylen.)

📲Keep up with us @BSideSports on IG, TikTok, and X (coming soon). Send comments and suggestions to [email protected]