The Dynasty Quickie Recap: Episode 6 - At All Costs

Giardi: "This is a place that not only did it change my future from them paying me but it just changed me as a person. You can't come here and act reckless and do your own stuff." - Hernandez. I was there when he made those comments shortly after signing his contract extension. I believed that he was truly grateful and moved by the opportunity the Pats had given him. In that moment, he fooled me. 

I Didn't Know That

Bedard: The Tom Brady-Hernandez practice interaction ... and we get no comment from Brady about Hernandez at all?!

Giardi: Tom Brady apparently didn't say anything about Hernandez that was good enough to make the doc (yes, I'm saying that tongue firmly planted in cheek). Feels like a dereliction of duty, Mr. Filmmaker.

That Was Cool

Bedard: The footage of Cris Carter talking to the 2010 draft class about avoiding trouble, and Hernandez asking him a question about what changes he made after getting cut by Minnesota. 

Giardi: The behind-the-scenes footage of Robert Kraft talking to Belichick on the field, saying, "I think he's got such a good heart." (Of course, he's talking about Hernandez). Bill barely bats an eye.

Goosebumps Moment

Bedard: The opening Hernandez segment where he is filming a promo, with him looking into the camera. Man...

Giardi: "I think it was pretty glaring that there were issues." - Wes Welker, who had a locker next to Hernandez. It's not just the words. It's Welker's facial expression.

LOL Moment

Bedard: Not a whole lot of laughs in this one, but they get this gem out of the way early:

Giardi: I got nothing.

Biggest Nitpick

Bedard: I have always needed more about Belichick's response to the combine request. Did he relay it to the Krafts? Did he have team security to delve more into this? Did he do anything besides say no because a trade would have put the Patriots at a competitive disadvantage due to the dead cap hit?

Giardi: Belichick's unwillingness to delve back into what happened is understandable. I wouldn't want to, either. But it leaves unanswered questions about how he operated with Hernandez and why. The obvious answer is talent, but it's not as if we were talking about a game-altering player like a Randy Moss or Jerry Rice. I'll never get that aspect of it. He wasn't worth the headache, almost from jump.

I Wished They Talked About

Bedard: Did any players go directly to Belichick, the Krafts or any coaches and voice their concerns about Hernandez? What was the response?

Giardi: Team security. They've got "fixers" just as the University of Florida did (does. Everyone has 'em). Are you telling me they didn't hear anything about what Aaron was doing away from the field? That he never got pulled aside in those previous years and warned to clean his act up? 

Belichick Watch

Bedard: Belichick was largely hammered in this episode and I thought most of it was fair. He ignored the off-field stuff because of his relationship with Meyer. He let Hernandez do whatever he wanted despite his teammates having big issues. He gave him the way-too-early contract extension that really prevented them from moving on from him later on. Despite Hernandez taking the unprecedented step of going to the combine, where I encountered him, to request a trade to the West Coast and telling Belichick he feared for his family, Belichick basically just offered up more security and the flop house idea and didn't do more due diligence. At one point, Belichick knew Hernandez was spiraling so he brought in his brother, DJ, who couldn't reach him and Belichick didn't do anything. Belichick was slow to release Hernandez after his connection. All that is factually accurate. I mean, Pete Thamel and I were the first to report Hernandez was connected to the murder, and then that his arrest was imminent. There was more than smoke ... it was happening, there was evidence.

Jonathan is not wrong. But I thought two things were unfair: they downplayed Belichick's opening statement on Hernandez in the press conference, which was really good, and showing him deflecting questions was not fair to what happened that day. And the final Kraft part was just piling on.

I don't blame Belichick for what happened. You coach long enough, you are going to come across some people who just break bad at some point. I just wish he was a little more proactive on monitoring Hernandez to the point he should have known better about the extension. That was the big mistake. Hernandez got in trouble in California and Florida. A trade was not going to prevent a tragedy from happening. About the only thing that could have prevented it was the Patriots cutting him publicly, similar to Carter in Minnesota - which was some really good foreshadowing. 

Giardi : I just went back and re-watched that press conference from Belichick, and he did as good of a job as you could do, which is what I remember thinking sitting there in person that day. His recollection of how they decided to move on from Hernandez runs counter to what Jonathan Kraft says, for the record. So either Bill was putting a spin on it then, or Jonathan did now for the doc.

Kraft's Moment of Glory

Bedard: "When we bought the team, I said that we could make a difference in our community, and make things better. We didn't in this case. There are parents who wake up every day without their sons. And a young daughter without her father. We messed up on this one, and for those of you who feel pain ...

I mean, I appreciate the sentiment but you bought a football team to make money. Let's be serious. This is overreaching. I would have been fine if you took the first part out.

Giardi: No one gets any glory here, although this is truly the first time in the docuseries where Kraft admits he messed up, or in his words, "got duped." 

Patriots Hardo Moment

Bedard: Sorry, not much to puff your chest out about in this episode. Every team has its dark moments, especially over 20-plus years.

Giardi: Thinking that the "'Patriot Way' would be a great influence on him" (direct quote from RKK). And I'm getting confused. I thought the 'Patriot Way' was something the media made up and that they don't like in Foxborough? 

Episode MVP

Bedard: Deion Branch. He was chilling when it came to his relationship and his regrets.

Giardi: Branch and Welker. There was straight-up disgust from Wes when talking about Hernandez and Belichick putting up with the consistent level of disrespect shown by the tight end. As for Deion, to see someone who was always upbeat and positive beating himself up over what went down... was hard to watch.

Lingering Questions/Comments

Bedard: 

- No mention of Belichick's relationship with Urban Meyer?

- So if Hernandez admitted to Kraft in the weight room that he committed the murder, Kraft would have bankrolled his defense?

- Check out Giardi making a voiceover appearance.

- And you may have noticed a fat guy on the right in a green shirt.

- Brandon Lloyd, of all people, was phenomenal in this episode. That's pretty interesting because he was just as emotionally unreliable in the building as Hernandez in his NFL stops, including New England, and that's part of the reason why he was one and done. He looks and sounds great now.

Giardi: 

It was nice to see Welker finally included in an episode. That it had nothing to do with the crazy success he and Brady had together and how much Brady loved throwing to him remains an annoyance to yours truly. 

• As Greg noted, the Urban Meyer influence needed to be explored. What a hold he had on Bill for a while there. 
• Did anyone on the team hang out with Aaron away from the field?
• I think this docuseries has been incredibly underwhelming.  

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I'm just going to leave this here every week just as a reminder: