January 5th, 2018, Seth Wickersham, an ESPN Senior Writer, published, what was supposed to be, an expository report detailing the impending downfall of the Brady, Belichick, and Kraft Era due to their clashing personalities and egotistical power struggles.

Before I delve further into my reactions on this article, I'd like to personally thank Mr. Wickersham for doing what Roger Goodell accomplished last season and the general media succeeded in 2014: poking the bear. The Patriots play better when the world is against them. Part of what being a New England fan is all about is the satisfaction of winning when the general public wants you to fail.

For the most part, you either love the Pats, or you hate them, and that includes their coach and Hall-of-Fame quarterback. However, it doesn't take a genius to catch the pattern. Piss the Patriots off, accuse them of cheating, tell Tom he's too old or lacking in talent, and you'll be sorry.

Alright, now the article itself. Where do I begin? Now I'm not a professional journalist by any means, but I'm pretty sure if you're going to release a story like this, you should, I don't know, cite some credible sources. Let me just hit you with some of my favorite highlights, and remember this is a word for word interview straight from his report:

"But according to interviews with more than a dozen New England staffers, executives, players and league sources with knowledge of the team's inner workings, the three most powerful people in the franchise -- Belichick, Brady, and owner Robert Kraft -- have had serious disagreements."

"Those interviewed describe a palpable sense in the building that this might be the last year together for this group."

"The meeting ended in a "little blowup," according to a source."

"Those interviewed describe a lingering sadness around the team as if coaches and staff know that the end might be near."

And then finally, the author decides to contradict himself and highlight one of the glaring flaws in his own work, "Belichick being Belichick, those around him know nothing of his plans."

Who? Who are these 'sources', who are 'those interviewed', who are 'these staffers and players'? And how are all of them able to express 'lingering sadness' and 'fear of the end' so clearly? I would say about 90% of this article comes from speculation and using ambiguous and untraceable means of evidence to support claims.

The claims themselves are neither ground-breaking nor objective enough to warrant much attention. To suggest that three powerful leaders in the same field 'disagree' or experience a divergence in their ideas or beliefs is not exactly what I would call 'bold', and certainly not exposé-worthy.

Wickersham even dedicates a section of his piece to the apparently 'volatile' nature between Tom Brady and Bill Belichick as the coach offers critique to his star player (Hmmm: a coach giving negative feedback to an athlete...sounds like something that's never happened before).

He contradicts himself yet again by saying that Brady is, "showing the slippage of a 40-year-old quarterback," but admits that "he is contending for MVP and is as deadly as ever with the game on the line," in the very same sentence.

Wickersham attacks Brady's TB12 Method, as if we didn't already know it was unconventional, but does so without much conviction, for example, saying that, "injuries to his shoulder and Achilles have done more than undermine claims that the TB12 Method can help you play football virtually pain-free." Last time I checked, Brady has played every single game this season, and after winning their 9th straight AFC East divisional title seems like the team isn't in too much trouble. Oh and he also questioned, "whether Brady had earned long-term security from the Patriots, or if he would finish his career somewhere else," so...

Wickersham also tried to convert Brady's energy at a practice after the Garoppolo trade in late October, early November into him seeming, "especially excited, hollering and cajoling," because he, "was once again the team's present and future. His new backup, Brian Hoyer, was a longtime friend and not a threat."

Brady denied these allegations later in a radio interview saying it was, "disappointing to hear that someone would express that, or a writer would express that because it's so far from what my beliefs are." For someone who claims to be so well-versed in the mind and ways of Tom Brady, he seems to have missed the mark pretty badly on this one.

Grasping at straws, the journalist uses something as vague as the year '2014' to really signify the beginning of the end as within those twelve months Brady and his business partner, Alex Guerrero, "decided to market their business as revolutionary...Brady began to speak unwaveringly about playing into his mid-40s;...and Belichick drafted Jimmy Garoppolo out of Eastern Illinois -- the first sign that Belichick was invested in a future that did not include the quarterback who had changed his life and legacy,". Sharknado 2 also came out in 2014, so maybe that was also a sign?

I will admit that Wickersham has some good intentions in noting the adversarial nature between the Patriots and Alex Guerrero's involvement in the team therapy and facilities; however, that's not what this article is supposed to be about. He's arguing that Kraft, Belichick, and Brady's poor relationships with each other will eventually cause a deep enough divide to prevent the team from being successful. At the end of the day, what could've been an interesting investigation on players' private business endeavors and how they impact a team's chemistry, turned into a story filled with mystery sources, far-fetched claims, and just a whole lot of hate against the Patriots.

This isn't new for Patriots Nation. We've been here before. The general media is trying to please the public, and the public hates a team that always wins. They want to find something, anything, to discredit the team's success, and tear apart their leadership. They can try to pull us apart, but that is neither part of the Patriot Way nor the TB12 Method.

The big three, Kraft, Belichick, and Brady released a statement shortly after the publication of Wickersham's article confirming what all Pats fans already knew to be true: "For the past 18 years, the three of us have enjoyed a very good and productive working relationship. In recent days, there have been multiple media reports that have speculated theories that are unsubstantiated, highly exaggerated or flat-out inaccurate. The three of us share a common goal. We look forward to the enormous challenge of competing in the postseason and the opportunity to work together in the future, just as we have for the past 18 years. It is unfortunate that there is even a need for us to respond to these fallacies. As our actions have shown, we stand united." (Reiss).

So thank you, Seth Wickersham, for giving us even more fuel to our fire- on our quest for our sixth ring and our second Super Bowl victory in a row.