Lane Johnson calls Patriots a “fear-based organization”; doesn’t think players have any fun

[CEN-CAL17]

Patriots suck! From the outside looking in, especially if they didn’t have Brady, I’d want nothing to do with that team.

 

That scheme and how well Brady runs it is what wins... as much as you guys would like to think it’s all Belichick and how he runs things cause it’s not.

 

No Bias... I’d rather play for McD than Belichick. Take out all the history and make a decision on the person alone... yep i take McD all day!

 

 

 

 

Edited February 11, 2018 by 1ZAYDAY1

[LA Grant]

To be honest, I wouldn't want to be the Patriots. I wouldn't switch places.

 

Yes, they have how many rings, how many appearances, etc. I get it. But it all feels hollow, and when Belichick leaves, and Brady leaves, okay, they're the GOATs. Good job, guys. But the way they've won is boring. All of their SBs have been close games which generally will make for an exciting game, except the way they play isn't exciting at all. They've had great players over the years but unless you are Brady or Belichick, the 'team' is expendable. Add to that the multiple cheating controversies, Aaron Hernandez, all of the weird creepiness of Brady & Belichick as people... I wouldn't want the peak of my team's success to involve all of the extra crap.

 

Ideally, you want to watch teams. This year's Eagles were a great and fun team. The Bills of the early 90s, or late 00s, or even this year's. The early Kurt Warner Rams teams. But when have the Patriots ever really been about more than Brady & Belichick? Was it ever really about Randy Moss or Corey Dillon or Troy Brown? Of course not. They were cogs. 

 

"Do the players get paid to have fun?" I think they do. Obviously it's a job. But they're professional athletes, which is to say, entertainers. When you see a live band, you're paying for them to play the music in the same room, but you're having a much better time if they're having fun on stage. Frankly, I'd be more embarrassed as a fan hearing players calling the team a "fear based organization" than I am if, say, Sammy or Marshawn doesn't like the city's nightlife. 

 

The Patriots have run up the score, maybe not with cheat codes, but in a clinical way that sucks the fun out of football for everyone except two people and Bob Kraft. For everyone else, The Patriot Way is a blackhole of joy.

 

3 hours ago, Doc Brown said:

I would argue Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers are/were just as good as Brady and their teams didn't come anywhere near what the Patriots have done.

 

I'd be happier as an Aaron Rodgers/Packers fan, than a Brady/Pats fan. I wouldn't trade "X more SB rings" for their reputation and overall sliminess.

Edited February 11, 2018 by LA Grant

[Paulus]

Reign in hell or serve in heaven. 

[WhoTom]

12 minutes ago, LA Grant said:

"Do the players get paid to have fun?" I think they do. Obviously it's a job. But they're professional athletes, which is to say, entertainers. When you see a live band, you're paying for them to play the music in the same room, but you're having a much better time if they're having fun on stage.

 

[blacklabel]

Last summer on the JM Show, Donald Jones, who was with the Patriots for a minute, discussed how he advised Stevie Johnson against signing there when Johnson was a free agent. We all know Stevie does what he does and Jones said he wouldn't have liked it or been able to be himself there. Just all business all the time. It works but it's also nice to see a team like the Iggles who seem to be a tight group that has a lot of fun and wins. 

[nedboy7]

one man's fun is another man's......?

[Buffalo03]

I remember Wes Welker saying the same thing a few years back when he went to Denver. He said he never had a whole lot of fun playing for them and he enjoyed playing for Denver more. I also remember Reggie Wayne saying that as well when he got cut after a preseason with New England right before he retired

[Buffalo Barbarian]

10 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

 

I'd rather win 5 super bowls. Besides if you do your job how is that not fun? These kids have no idea what it's like to work a real job where it's rarely fun. I hate when players say let's have fun out there. You're not there to have fun, you're out there to kick ass  and take names. If your playing for fun you don't really care how you play because it's just for fun.

 

Wonder what Chris Long thinks?

 

 

Edited February 11, 2018 by Buffalo Barbarian

[Buffalo Barbarian]

5 hours ago, jimmy10 said:

 

No, they’re paid to play a child’s game. Is finding some joy in being that lucky so wrong?

 

It not a child's game. Football is extremely complex and difficult and not just to have fun.

 

 

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

My work isn’t all that fun either- but a paycheck seems worth it 

[BuffaloDave55]

It's called work for a reason.  Yes, many times people excel when they like what they're doing, but you get a paycheck for a reason.  Should we examine other jobs... see who has fun?  As noted in another post, professional sports.. the fun is for the fans.  If the owners and athletes have fun it's a bonus.

[T-Bomb]

16 hours ago, WhoTom said:

I have a colleague who's a workaholic. He moonlighted as an engineer at a high-paced aerospace company while teaching college full-time. He has a patent. He wrote a textbook and he's working on another. He's got lots of money. By most "traditional" measures, he's more successful than I am.

 

But I have more fun, and I wouldn't trade places with him for anything.

 

Everyone's different.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm more of the former type, engineer with patent's etc.  I'll take personal accomplishment/achievement/financial gain over fun any day. Fun is too subjective and when it's over it's over and looking back on fond memories of "fun" is quite useless IMO.

 

 

[CA OC Bills Fan]

56 minutes ago, BuffaloDave55 said:

It's called work for a reason.  Yes, many times people excel when they like what they're doing, but you get a paycheck for a reason.  Should we examine other jobs... see who has fun?  As noted in another post, professional sports.. the fun is for the fans.  If the owners and athletes have fun it's a bonus.

 

I disagree. Perhaps “fun” is going too far, but you should enjoy your job. People leave well paying jobs all the time because they don’t like their boss, their colleagues, the company culture, etc. We spend most of our waking hours at work, ͏y͏o͏u should not be miserable their. Now, I also think part of enjoying your job is being successful, so, if the rest is great but the company is consistently doing horribly, that can take much of the enjoyment out.

 

The original premise was 5 rings (I.e. consistent success) in a fear based organization vs. 1 ring (I.e. some success) in a fun organization.

 

I think it still depends on the person as many likely don’t consider the one fear based as much as driven to succeed. But, I think if as am employee you believe it’s fear based, you’d prefer to be in the occasional success environment.

[Mr. WEO]

So because they don't put on dog masks in interviews, they are robots?

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

13 hours ago, Thurman#1 said:

 

 

And most of that is the Cassel year when they had an extremely easy schedule. The Dolphins went 1-15 the year before, then 11-5 that year against the incredibly nice AFC East schedule, and then 7-9 the year after. That year was a fluke. 

 

And as you know, turns out the NFL thinks Garoppolo is pretty good too, even without being in Foxboro.

 

And Brady could have had that 2008 team finish 15-1 possibly. They just went 16-0 the season prior. So while 11-5 is generally considered good. It's still a 4-5 game drop off compared to what Brady likely could have done.

[WhoTom]

1 hour ago, T-Bomb said:

 

I'm more of the former type, engineer with patent's etc.  I'll take personal accomplishment/achievement/financial gain over fun any day. Fun is too subjective and when it's over it's over and looking back on fond memories of "fun" is quite useless IMO.

 

 

 

I have my share of personal accomplishments, and I'm proud to look back on them, but I prefer a life of balance. Many of my fondest memories are the good times I've had with family and friends.

 

As people approach the end of their lives, I doubt many of them are saying, "I wish I had spent more time at the office."

 

 

 

[Boatdrinks]

1 hour ago, Mr. WEO said:

So because they don't put on dog masks in interviews, they are robots?

 

 No, but they generally act like tools in interviews and media interactions. What is being lost on many in this thread is that the vast majority of Pats players in the Brady era likely have 1-2 SuperBowl  rings, not 5. That is only a select few such as Brady himself.  Johnsons comments are from a players perspective , not a fan's. Many ex Pats say it is a horrible environment to work in up in Foxboro. So it's not surprising for a player to say he'd rather get a ring and have fun doing it. He's likely not getting 5 rings in New England anyway. Also, it IS a virtual certainty that BBs Gestapo would have been shut down LONG ago if not for the incredibly fortunate drafting of one Tom Brady. 

20 minutes ago, WhoTom said:

 

I have my share of personal accomplishments, and I'm proud to look back on them, but I prefer a life of balance. Many of my fondest memories are the good times I've had with family and friends.

 

As people approach the end of their lives, I doubt many of them are saying, "I wish I had spent more time at the office."

 

 

 

  So true. Most of us here in the USA spend way to much time worrying about being overhoused, overfed and " keeping up". I mean, we all need jobs and money but not at the expense of enjoying the ride. 

[Beast]

I wonder how the late 80’s, early 90’s Bills would have done under a more structured enviroment.

[Kemp]

To some, being a Bills fan means bashing the Pats in any way possible, every chance they get. It's a loser's mentality, in my opinion.

 

That we have literally had hundreds of threads about the Pats is pathetic.  

[CEN-CAL17]

3 hours ago, BuffaloDave55 said:

It's called work for a reason.  Yes, many times people excel when they like what they're doing, but you get a paycheck for a reason.  Should we examine other jobs... see who has fun?  As noted in another post, professional sports.. the fun is for the fans.  If the owners and athletes have fun it's a bonus.

BS... I’ve served in the Military for 13 years now. We are professionals, it is work, hard work, Ive deployed in hostile areas etc, but it’s also fun and I enjoy what I do every single day.

 

We are encouraged to have fun as long as we take care of business, to say you can’t have both is crap. I think people here are confusing fun with having enjoyment in what you do... Lane was basically saying he’d rather be somewhere where he can be himself and enjoy himself vs a place that tries to control every faucet of your day including your personality.

 

Why is it people here disagree with him? I wouldn’t work anywhere I had to act like a robot, and that’s exactly what he’s saying.  Even when you hear posts of Welker and Chris Long stating similar thoughts... fans here still want to say “it’s their job, it’s not supposed to be fun, they are professionals” etc. BS if you don’t like what you do, or don’t think it’s fun and enjoyable or you can’t be yourself maybe you’re in the wrong business or like Lane is saying, on the wrong team.

Edited February 11, 2018 by 1ZAYDAY1