As the Tom Brady Deflategate scandal appears to be winding down and a four-game suspension looms for the New England Patriots quarterback, the first four teams on the schedule should be breathing a sigh of relief.
However, don’t count Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus amongst those happy to not see Brady lining up opposite of them during his suspension. That’s because Dareus is actually sad he won’t be able to take it to Brady in Week 4 of the season.
“I hate that Brady’s not going to be there,” Dareus told NFL Network on Wednesday. “When he come back … it’s on.
“For him not to be out there just kind of tears me up a little bit, but the second time I see him, like, we going to be excited to play against him. That’s the win we want.”
It makes sense for a competitor like Dareus to want to take on the best and beat them. Doing so only helps to legitimize a franchise that has struggled to get over the hurdle of the Patriots in the AFC East division.
But, don’t get it twisted, Dareus isn’t going to pass up the opportunity to hand another W on the wall even if Brady isn’t available to the Patriots in Week 4. It just won’t be the same since the two are huge competitors.
“I mean, we win, all right, we win,” Dareus told NFL Network. “But I don’t feel like I really won until we beat the guy. I love playing against Brady. I get up for him. I’ve been playing against him every year. He knows I’m coming.”
Call us crazy, but getting a win over Jimmy Garoppolo doesn’t have the same cache as getting the same win over the Patriots when Tom Brady is under center.
The only way Brady doesn’t serve his four-game suspension is if he decides to appeal previous court rulings up to the United States Supreme Court and the court agrees to hear the case. That seems highly unlikely on both fronts, especially since the U.S. 2nd District Court of Appeals issued all of a one-sentence rejection of the appeal on Brady’s behalf this week.
One has to wonder if players on the Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, and Houston Texans feel the same way as Dareus does about not facing Brady.
[ESPN]
