Mike Giardi On T&R: Bill Belichick Making ‘Planet Players’ Unhappy
Mike Giardi of NBC Sports Boston called in to 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich on Friday to discuss his latest report, which indicates that Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are still unhappy with Bill Belichick.
Giardi reported on Thursday night that a source believes the Pats’ “planet players” – a.k.a. Brady and Gronkowski – are “miserable” and “don’t feel appreciated for the sacrifice they make.”
For the uninitiated, “planet player” is a term coined by Bill Parcells that refers to the elite of the elite in the NFL. So Brady and Gronk are the only players on the Patriots who would fall into that category.
Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady high-five during a 2017 game between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos. The Patriots won 41-16. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
Giardi told T&R he believes that this reinforces the stories that have come out about the Patriots in recent months, concerning internal tension between Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, and others in the organization. Tension that still needs to be broken.
“It’s basically a reaffirmation of the stuff we’ve been talking about,” said Giardi. “There was a lot going on during the course of the year, and that team was able to block it out and get to the Super Bowl and have the ball with two minutes left with a chance to win. But they’re in a situation where they have some things that they really have to fix and some relationships that need to be mended, and that should be concerning.”
Giardi also agreed that the relationship between Belichick, team doctors, and Brady’s trainer, Alex Guerrero, is the “root of the problem” in a lot of ways. Gronkowski made headlines before the start of the 2017 season when he revealed he was adopting parts of Brady and Guerrero’s “TB12 Method”, and was reportedly spotted working out at the TB12 center in Foxborough in recent weeks.
Ultimately, Giardi’s source still believes that Gronkowski ends up getting a raise and all will be well with him and the Patriots. Perhaps the same will end up happening for Brady.
Listen above for the full interview!
