It’s official: Pats were always Tom Brady. Not Bill Belichick.

[Prison Bitch]

Bill falls to 2-4 without Brady.

Brady goes to 5-2 with Tampa, turning them into a title contender immediately.

Tampa had the #1 SRS (points above avg team) in the NFL of +13.1. And that was before they trashed the Fighting Chuckies today.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by WhiteWhale

Yeah, that's the problem.

If it was only about billy and Tommy, they would have won 20 rings.

I didn't frame the conversation. I'm only participating it.

If you want to expand the conversation to give credit to a bunch of other people, that's a different discussion and we can certainly have it.

As it is, we were talking about Brady and Bill. Omitting other players form the conversation isn't about not giving them credit, it's about them not being part of the discussion from the beginning.

[CapsLockKey]

I think the argument should be more around Josh McDaniels whose touted as some great offensive mind being a fraud without Tom than BB. Pat's are losing because their offense is hot garbage without Brady. The defense has actually been pretty good considering all the guys that opted out.

Where Belichick absolutely deserves criticism is his awful drafting. Every draft he's praised as winning the draft because of the constant moving up and down the board to aquire more picks but what good is that when majority of the actual picks stink?

[tredadda]

Originally Posted by CapsLockKey

I think the argument should be more around Josh McDaniels whose touted as some great offensive mind being a fraud without Tom than BB. Pat's are losing because their offense is hot garbage without Brady. The defense has actually been pretty good considering all the guys that opted out.

Where Belichick absolutely deserves criticism is his awful drafting. Every draft he's praised as winning the draft because of the constant moving up and down the board to aquire more picks but what good is that when majority of the actual picks stink?

Brady has masked a lot of deficiencies on that team. He was the "Patriot Way" which is why almost everyone that leaves that organization fails elsewhere trying to implement that system.

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by CapsLockKey

...Pat's are losing because their offense is hot garbage without Brady...

Their offense was not good last year WITH BRADY.

[FloridaMan88]

Will Blowjob Bob Kraft and his loser son have the guts to “fire” Belichick the GM?

[Wallcrawler]

To be fair, Brady pulled about as close to a Lebron taking his talents to south beach as you could get without joining KC.

I mean God damn, look at all the talent on the team he joined. Anyone not named Jameis Winston could do what Tom is doing. Even Alex Smith, on one leg could do what Tom is doing in TB.

[Clyde Frog]

Not a valid poll without a "cheating" option.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by tredadda

Brady has masked a lot of deficiencies on that team. He was the "Patriot Way" which is why almost everyone that leaves that organization fails elsewhere trying to implement that system.

Yep.

[KChiefs1]

I’ve said it many times:

Bill Belichick has a losing record as a head coach without Tom Brady as his QB.

[DRM08]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

I’ve said it many times:

Bill Belichick has a losing record as a head coach without Tom Brady as his QB.

This is true. But you put Brady in a shitty situation like the Jets, Browns, Lions, and so forth. He would not have 6 rings. He would likely have a big fat 0 rings in that situation. It was the combination of the coach & QB, certainly not 100% one guy and 0% the other. Brady seemed to recognize this given that he stayed in New England for less money. He could have chased bigger contracts and much better weather in free agency over the last 10+ years.

[MartinThore]

I thought this was an interesting admission on BB's part:

Bill Belichick as honest as ever on OMF: 'We sold out and won three Super Bowls'

Bill Belichick was perhaps more open than ever before Monday during his appearance with Ordway, Merloni & Fauria.

The Patriots coach made headlines over the weekend when he said to Charlie Weis on Sirius XM NFL radio that the Patriots were playing more younger players than in the past this season because of a lack of depth that had to do with salary cap limitations.

Belichick was asked about the comments and them potentially being an excuse for the lack of success this season and he said that wasn't the case at all.

“Look, we paid Cam Newton $1 million. I mean it’s obvious we didn’t have any money. It’s nobody’s fault," he said. "That’s what we did the last five years. We sold out and won three Super Bowls, played in a fourth and played in a AFC championship game. This year we had less to work with. It’s not an excuse, it’s just a fact.”

So, was it inevitable that would catch up to the team at some point?

“The structure of the league is the structure of the league. That isn’t going to change," he said.

Belichick was also asked if a lack of success through the draft in past years has played into the number of young players playing this season and he responded following a long pause with: "I don't know."

The Patriots are 2-5 and losers of four straight games, which is the first time that has happened since 2000."

[MartinThore]

Not sure I've ever heard a coach come out and say they "sold out" during a season, and I'm not sure how many people are buying this. This kinda statement can't be good for the morale of the players currently on the roster. Also think it's interesting that he dodges the draft question with an "I don't know."

I know they've been an organization hit pretty hard by covid, but I think it's pretty clear to everyone he's dropped the ball in recent drafts and they are struggling because of it.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by MartinThore

Not sure I've ever heard a coach come out and say they "sold out" during a season, and I'm not sure how many people are buying this. This kinda statement can't be good for the morale of the players currently on the roster. Also think it's interesting that he dodges the draft question with an "I don't know."

I know they've been an organization hit pretty hard by covid, but I think it's pretty clear to everyone he's dropped the ball in recent drafts and they are struggling because of it.

But they didn’t, really, did they? I don’t recall any major FA signings. I mean they gave Gilmore money, but they didn’t go get a bunch of guys.

And has their salary cap been that bad? I mean we had $177 at the start of FA. And isn’t he some genious? That’s what I keep hearing anyway.

This is awesome. Belicheat always has to be the smartest guy in the room. And to his credit he usually is. But you can tell his ego is getting in the way. It’s grating him to **** up his legacy. It warms my soul. I mean this dude is spinning a bullshit web that would make King Carl blush.

This made my day better.

[MartinThore]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

But they didn’t, really, did they? I don’t recall any major FA signings. I mean they gave Gilmore money, but they didn’t go get a bunch of guys.

And has their salary cap been that bad? I mean we had $177 at the start of FA. And isn’t he some genious? That’s what I keep hearing anyway.

This is awesome. Belicheat always has to be the smartest guy in the room. And to his credit he usually is. But you can tell his ego is getting in the way. It’s grating him to **** up his legacy. It warms my soul. I mean this dude is spinning a bullshit web that would make King Carl blush.

This made my day better.

Yeah, I don't think they sold out. I can't recall anything that would point to this, can't recall any discussion of this being a possibility from anyone. I agree, I think this is an ego thing for him. Just weird to see from BB of all people -- can't recall a time he sounded so desperate.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I've NEVER said it was all Tom.

I've gone on record saying SEVERAL times that Tom was the driving force behind the championships, but I've NEVER said BB contributed nothing. I've literally never said that.

I've even gone on record saying it's somewhere between 60/40 and 75/25.

So you're wrong.

"Brady was the Patriots."

That pretty well indicates what you think on the subject.

I'm not going out on a limb in saying that good-to-great defenses, outstanding offensive lines, and an offense tailored to suit Tom's skillset with receivers that could execute it had a lot more to do with Bill than people here are giving credit for. Tom was in a perfect situation with Bill. I have a lot more faith that Bill could have won multiple Super Bowls, albeit not necessarily 6 or dominate the way they did, with quite a few QBs compared to Tom winning multiple without Bill.

The fact he got handed the keys to a playoff-ready team now doesn't make the Patriots dynasty more about Tom, and it seems the Pats' lack of success this year comparatively is skewing people's opinions rather significantly.