Team chemistry is very real. It’s sensitive too. The article states Jenkins and Thomas killed the chemistry by publicly disagreeing with Brees. I’d say Brees killed the chemistry by being oblivious to the way his teammates and NFL colleagues would react to his statement. None of the other QB’s in the league had this problem this year. Brees decided to be Captain America.

Now when they had the team meetings I do believe the issue was solved. Losing and poor play opens up old wounds. Brees isn’t playing well. Most of us who are watching these games objectively can see that. So you have a 1st overall pick sitting on the bench. Everybody knows the playbook opens ALL the way back up if he hits the field.

Brees is playing like he knows somebody is coming for his spot. Like he’s scared to make a mistake and get benched. He did that to himself. You can’t make a statement contrary to the beliefs of your roster then come out there and check down to Kamara 20 times a game. Blaming Thomas and Jenkins for reacting to a public statement is odd when Brees never had to make the statement in the first place.

Whitlock is right. He isn’t the leader anymore. He did lose the locker room, but that’s not because of Jenkins or Thomas. It’s because he couldn’t read the room any better than he’s reading defenses right now.