However Your Monday is Going, it Can't Be as Rough as the One CJ Gardner-Johnson is Having After He Ripped Efton Chism for No Reason

“We’re not getting into no bulletin board material. An elevated guy made a helluva catch. Probably won’t hear from him again. Respectfully. I say that with a lot of confidence. because it’s like (Maye) didn’t put his confidence in his best player. He would have thrown to Doubs or somebody, but they won the game. Whatever, they didn’t do shit better than us. We gotta play better. They can mark that, we’ll be back to see them again. ... A practice squad player made a helluva play. You do it again, he probably won’t make it again. Simple.” 

--Former practice squad member, CJ Gardner-Johnson on Efton Chism, who has never been on a practice squad in his three NFL seasons.

"Simple" is the exact right word.

While the Patriots graphics department is printing this off and framing it to go up in Chism's locker, I'll point out that it is rare indeed that I use the same X post - the same Community Note-d X post at that - to start two blogs in one day. But this one is special. It's not often you get to witness anyone so delusional. So unable to understand the moment. And so enjoying the comfort of unearned confidence as Gardner-Johnson is here. 

And when he said these things on camera, there was no chance it wasn't going to generate a response. It's Newton's Law. For Gardner-Johnson's action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. You can't give material like this to Mike Vrabel, the Jeff Ross of coaching, and not have him turn it into Insult Comedy gold:

Followed by CJGJ getting gang tackled by most of the cast of Get Up! [cued up to the 1:55 mark]:

Rex Ryan suggested shooting his mouth off like this might cost CJGJ his job. “This is a player right here, he does this all the time," he said. "How many teams has he been with the last five years? … “Bye bye, see you later, you’re not helping us. The guy was a decent player, but it’s not worth it. He’s got his own agenda here.” 

And Tedy Bruschi has zero tolerance for this kind of slop as well. "Know your roster,” he said. “Efton Chism is a contributor for the Patriots. You lost the game, and it sounds like he doesn’t care that they lost.”

After Domonique Foxworth gave a sort of Low-T defense of Gardner-Johnson by suggesting he was trying to "light a fire" under his team, Bruschi was having none of it. "This dude is totally unaware of what championship football teams need to express after you just got beat at home! It doesn't matter who made the catch! It doesn't matter who made the pick. Or the defensive play. You didn't get it done!" 

“This is a total lack of accountability. This is not a championship team; this is not a championship attitude … this is bad. Championship teams don’t try to place the blame elsewhere.” 

Hunter Henry, who caught two passes off Gardner-Johnson for 34 yards and two 1st downs, sort of blew it off. But did confirm CJ runs his mouth during the game, as well as in the locker room after:

Followed by Christian Elliss, a former teammate of CJ's, which didn't prevent him from jumping on the pile:

All of which only makes this win all the more enjoyable. Give me that guy who talks a big game after a loss any day. When you've got opponents sounding triumphant in defeat, you know the Patriots are heading back to greatness. Reactions like this from beaten men was a hallmark of the Dynasty years. People never knew when they were conquered. 

My only regret about all this is the timing. The Patriots won't be able to play the Bills again until December. And by that time, CJ Gardner-Johnson will probably have been cut already. Then again, there's always the chance he'll end up on any of the seven teams they face between now and that next game. As Vrabel and Ryan said, that sort of seems to be his career path. 

While Efton Chism is a Patriot for Life.