Patriots Lean Into Tom Brady's 'Everyone Thinks We Suck' Mantra With Twitter Video: 'Take That'
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- You have got to give the Patriots credit for this: Despite being by far the most successful franchise in the NFL over the past 20 years, despite finishing this season with the two-seed and a first-round bye, and despite still employing the greatest quarterback of all time and the greatest coach of all time, the team has still managed to find a way to carve out an underdog's mentality.
That's a rare skill, the likes of which has not been seen since a victorious Rodney Harrison said "nobody thought we could do it" to the cameras as confetti rained down on the 14-2 Super Bowl-champion Patriots of 2003.
And, after Brady dropped his "everyone thinks we suck" line to Tracy Wolfson on Sunday, the Patriots' Twitter account is leaning in. Heavily.
The team shot out this little spiking of the football on Monday afternoon:
It's a fun video, one that will surely get the fan base riled up. And it provides a basis and an answer to those who were accusing Brady of creating imaginary critics in his postgame interview.
It is a little bit disingenuous, though, if we're being honest -- and that's not because the criticism doesn't exist. It surely does, and it's right there in the video.
It's just ... if Max Kellerman has proven anything over the past few years, it's that as a football analyst, he makes a great boxing commentator. That is to say ... he knows very little about football, and what it takes for football players to excel, and what it takes for football teams to be good. He's made that abundantly clear in recent years, so his words don't exactly carry much weight.
And Stephen A. Smith, for as fun as he can be, may also not be the best when it comes to football commentary these days:
Among real football minds, the words of these two folks doesn't really count as quality analysis.
Nevertheless, the Patriots' social media team made a fun video, and it's clear that the team is embracing a "nobody believes in us" attitude. At this time of year, that's a very dangerous element.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
