The New England Patriots’ quarterback room nears the summer break with two locks.
One of those locks is coming off his sixth Super Bowl victory and is scheduled to carry
a cap number of $27 million into the final year of his contract with a
base salary of $14 million. As for the other lock? That’d be the 11th QB
New England has selected since Bill Belichick returned to the war room
as head coach in 2000.
Tom Brady and Jarrett Stidham are eras apart. Now they find themselves in the same one.
Both will celebrate birthdays this August, with the former turning 42
and the latter turning 23. Both will be on the active roster this
September, with Brady entering his 20th NFL season and Stidham entering
his first. But for every commonality there is a contrast. Be it pre-star
or five-star recruit. Be it Michigan or Auburn product. Be it No. 199
or No. 133 overall draft pick.
Time will tell whether there is company.
New England has entrusted a rookie as Brady’s lone understudy twice
over the past decade. In 2009, Michigan State undrafted free agent Brian
Hoyer found himself the second and final quarterback on the roster. And
in 2014, Eastern Illinois second-round pick Jimmy Garoppolo became the
next following Ryan Mallett’s trade to the Houston Texans on cutdown
day.
It’s possible such a scenario could play out again.
Hoyer, who has been around the league and back, will have to put his
experience above Stidham’s projection. But the Patriots have shown
confidence in numbers when it comes to the 33-year-old Hoyer. He has an
upcoming base salary of $2.8 million, a cap number of $3 million and
$1.5 million guaranteed remaining on his deal.
That reflects the strong roster outlook of a veteran backup who has started 36 career games. Hoyer has appeared in 10 games since returning to Patriots in the fall of 2017, and gone 5-of-8 passing for 49 yards with 15 kneel-downs in the process.
The Patriots will kick off their mandatory three-day minicamp on
Tuesday, giving us our first extended look at the 2019 version of the
team. It should provide an opportunity to see Tom Brady for the first
time this spring, as well as newcomer Michael Bennett and perhaps some
others who have yet to make an appearance.
While the only difference between minicamp and the OTA session the
media was invited to watch two weeks ago is the mandatory element, the
non-padded practices do provide an opportunity to start assessing the
potential depth chart and to watch the younger players operate in the
Patriots system.
With no contact it’s difficult to judge performance – and Bill
Belichick often cautions against doing that anyway as he views these
workouts as instructional and not for evaluations. But three days of
work, plus an additional OTA practice open to the media next week, will
provide a glimpse of what we’ll see come the opening of training camp in
late July.
Until then, here are five things we’ll be focusing on this week.
Brady’s presence – Assuming Brady will be back in
the fold, it’s always news when the quarterback is involved. For the
second straight spring he’s chosen to do his prep work on his own, which
is unfortunate because it would be great to watch Brady work with
rookie first-round pick N’Keal Harry a bit more extensively. Still,
there should be some chances for the two to connect this week and we’ll
likely hear from Brady at some point as well.
Finding Wynn – So far we’ve had just one chance to
watch practice (May 23) and Isaiah Wynn was not present. Instead we saw
left guard Joe Thuney man the left tackle spot in place of the departed
Trent Brown. Wynn continues to recover from a torn Achilles that wiped
out his rookie season and offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia said
several weeks ago that he hadn’t yet been cleared for full on-field
work. Although it’s not with pads, it would be nice to see Wynn in
uniform and working his way back into form. If not, it will be worth
watching to see if Thuney remains at left tackle, a position he played
at a high level while earning All-ACC honors at N.C. State.
Crowded secondary – Joejuan Williams was drafted
in the second round, one year after Duke Dawson was taken in the same
round. The two corners join J.C. Jackson, Jason McCourty, Jonathan Jones
and Keion Crossen in a fight for playing time with No. 1 corner Stephon
Gilmore. Williams’ size is intriguing as a potential matchup weapon for
Belichick, who could use a rotation of corners depending on a specific
opponent from week to week. Williams should get a lot of chances to lock
horns with Harry in a battle of tall, physical performers. We’ll be
watching those closely.
Tight quarters – The tight end position is
arguably the one that has drawn the most concern among Patriots fans
this offseason following Rob Gronkowski’s retirement. The former All-Pro
added a measure of finality to that over the weekend when he told
reporters that rumors of a possible return could be put to rest. Whether
that ultimately is true or not, it’s time to figure out how the
position might look without him. Benjamin Watson will miss the first
four games while serving a suspension for PED use, and we’ve yet to see
veteran free agent addition Austin Seferian-Jenkins. Matt LaCosse looked
like a candidate to fill a pass-catching role a couple of weeks ago,
albeit in shorts under far-less-than-competitive circumstances. LaCosse
moves well and it will be interesting to see what if any work he gets to
do with Brady.
Bennett Brothers 2.0 – Michael Bennett has yet to make an appearance during practice but is expected to be in Foxborough this week. He ostensibly replaces Trey Flowers, and while at 33 he may not be able to handle the full workload, he possesses more explosiveness as a pass rusher. Again, shorts and T-shirts work will only tell so much but Bennett is an interesting character very much in the mold of his brother Martellus, who had a couple of stints as a Patriot. Bennett will be worth a look as well as a listen.
This is one of the most ignorant theories used to discredit Brady’s greatness. Another lazy and tired take. Here’s my rebuttal to the haters who claim Brady’s only good against bad teams.
“Well Brady’s Success is due to the AFC East”
The AFC “Least”- Not quite true
The AFC East is thought to be the worst and most dysfunctional division in the NFL. Believed by many as the reason Brady and the Patriots are any good. My question is, are these teams really that awful and dysfunctional, or do the Patriots make them look that way? Using stats it shows that if you remove each division winner from each division, the AFC “Least” has the highest win percentage in the NFL (.457). Looks like that theory holds no weight.
“But Brady wouldn’t thrive in ANY other division!”
Once again the Tom Brady difference shows otherwise. Brady’s win % in every division proves the haters wrong. Let’s take a look.
Here’s the AFC win percentages. AFCE: 79% AFCN: 81% AFCS: 79% and 65% in the AFCW.
Here’s the NFC win percentages. NFCE: 81% NFCN: 85% NFCS: 75% and the NFCW: 67%
So Brady Vs NFC teams is 76% and 77% against the AFC. Another theory debunked, Tom Brady would be a dominant QB anywhere he played. Case closed.
“Yeah But he Needs to Deflate Footballs to win!”
The proof that Deflategate never happened will be In part 3 of this ‘Brady Difference’ Article. Science, math and evidence will be used, along with studies from the top scientists in the country. They’ve debunked the witch hunt called “Deflategate”
That being said, let’s see what’s happened since the second half of the famous AFC championship game. The footballs were inflated to regulation regarding PSI, and Tom Brady went off on the Colts in route to SB49 against the Seahawks. Two weeks of insanity ensued and the NFL had the game balls under lock and key.
Since The Second half Tom Brady has played the best football of his career, weird huh? With regulation footballs all Brady has done is Win three Super Bowls, two SB MVPs, broke the passing record and then broke his own twice! He was also League MVP, selected to two All Pro’s, 4x Pro Bowl selections, and led the league in passing yards and touchdowns. His record since then is 47-13 with 125 TDs, four SB appearances and three straight trips to the big game. The haters will say he gained an unfair advantage, his stats show he’s only gotten better while being under a microscope.
How about a couple HOF QBs having Brady’s back. Joe Montana’ “It’s a stupid thing to even be talking about because they shouldn’t have the rule anyway.”
Dan Marino said “Every quarterback that has ever played the position understands that getting the footballs the way you like them before a game is part of the game. I mean I did it for years, Jim Kelly up in Buffalo did it, Tom’s doing it, Peyton Manning did it.” There was no unfair advantage at any point.
“Brady Doesn’t Have Any Individual records”
This is the Strangest thing I’ve seen from Brady Haters, so here’s a short list, just to show how nuts people get when talking about the GOAT.
Don’t forget about the 25 point comeback
“Brady Is the check down king”
There is this misconception that Brady doesn’t throw passes further than 5 yards. The problem with this theory is that Brady is 19th in the NFL throwing short passes. His 35.28% of short pass plays is better than quarterbacks like Big Ben, Luck, Ryan, Mahomes and the “Greatest” ever Aaron Rodgers.
The quarterback with the “most talent” Aaron Rodgers, who’s compared to Brady for reasons I don’t understand, throws short more than Tom.
Part 3 will include “Rodgers is better than Brady”, “The science behind Deflategate”, and much more. Feel free to give me any nonsense you’ve heard about Brady and we can put it on the list for the Haters.
Bill Belichick doesn’t do flashy when it comes to free agency, although there are exceptions like the signing of Darrelle Revis back in 2014, expressly intended to bring a lockdown cornerback to the defense who eventually helped New England win a Super Bowl. However, Belichick is all about filling square holes with square pegs. There is never a thought to wooing a big-money free agent into the fold just to put fans in the seats and hype the upcoming season. This is Titletown, and there is more than enough rapt attention surrounding this team each and every year. Belichick crafts each iteration of the Patriots with the express design of being able to morph his team each week into whatever it is that will present their adversaries with the most daunting lineup to confuse, and ultimately defeat them. Unless the Patriots decide to make a bid for the services of former Buccaneers defensive lineman, and six-time Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy, the die is cast and the Patriots will go into this season with their usual collection of plug-n-play role players. They are all more than willing to serve the specific purpose for which the Dark Master has uniquely conjured for each and every member of his squad. A quick check of the NFL odds found over at Sportsbook Review, tells us that all of the best online sportsbooks are again unfazed at the Patriots’ lack of star power being culled from this year’s free agency herd, and have again made them one of the favorites to win the AFC and the Super Bowl. With the possible exception of former Eagles defensive lineman, Michael Bennett, who was acquired via a trade with Philadelphia and not a free agent signing, the new names on New England’s defensive roster won’t be familiar to the casual NFL fan. Hopefully, Bennett will fill the void left by last season’s defensive stalwart Trey Flowers, who exited Foxboro for “greener” pastures in Detroit, but the rest will fill a role that will change, to varying degrees, each week depending on the opponent. Belichick decided that re-signing the immortal John Simon was a small piece of the puzzle, as was signing safety and special teams’ specialist Terrence Brooks. New England could very well have gotten a steal by inking former Jets’ defensive lineman Mike Pennel to a two-year pact after Pro Football Focus rendered him a lofty 87.1 grade for his performance last season. Let’s also not forget that Belichick tapped four defensive players in the draft by trading up to select rangy cornerback Joejuan Williams at the top half of the second round, linebacker Chase Winovich of Michigan in the third round, defensive tackle Byron Cowart of Maryland in the fifth round, and lastly Ole Miss cornerback Ken Webster in the seventh.
Just when you thought Belichick was done, he reached out to old friend Jamie Collins, who was
dealt under a cloud of suspicion to the Cleveland Browns for a conditional third-round pick in
the midst of the 2016 campaign. It was rumored that Collins had done a bit too much
freelancing and wasn’t sticking to Belichick’s defensive script. Collins had been tapped by the
Patriots in the second round of the 2013 draft and was a second-team All-Pro just two years
later. But Belichick doesn’t play favorites and many were stunned at Collins’ sudden departure,
but even more, groused about the return New England was given for a player of his caliber and
physical attributes. Collins would sign a four-year $50 million deal with the Browns in 2017 but
after an administrative shakeup he was shown the door after last season and Bill came calling
for his old pal…at a discount price.
The Patriots were ranked a woeful 29 th in rushing yards allowed last season and it wouldn’t take
much for this year’s defense to improve upon that. The question remains, as it does every year
at this time, whether or not the injection of new, unheralded, talent will be good enough to
take the Patriots to another championship title? If history tells us anything, we’ve got a pretty
good feeling that Bill’s master plan will deliver yet again.
Rob Gronkowski won’t be walking through that door this season due to his somewhat surprising announcement he would retire, effective immediately. With no legitimate backup waiting in the wings, the conventional wisdom had the Patriots moving up from their No. 32 overall pick to jockey into a slot that would allow them to snatch Iowa’s talented tight end T.J. Hockenson. However, with the eighth overall pick, the Detroit Lions selected Hockenson in what many draft pundits considered a bit of a reach – just a bit.
Most of the mock drafts and some of the best online betting sites found over at Sportsbook Review, had the 6’5” John Mackey Award winner landing somewhere between the mid-teens and early 20’s, a spot where Bill Belichick could reasonably swap first-round picks plus a bit more without too much collateral damage to the many picks he had acquired in preparation of the 2019 draft. Besides, there was always Hockenson’s teammate, Noah Fant, the Robin to his Batman in the Hawkeyes’ battery of twin tight end terrors. But Belichick likes a tight end who can block and catch, however, Fant was more adept at the latter rather than the former, and that limitation wouldn’t warrant Belichick trading up to nab Gronkowski’s heir apparent.
Fant would vanish from the draft board at No. 20 when Denver decided to make him a Bronco but there was still one more tight end to be had, Irv Smith Jr., formerly of the Alabama Crimson Tide. Many believed Belichick had once again masterminded his way into a top tier tight end without moving an inch. After all, Smith had NFL pedigree with his father Irv Smith Sr. having toiled in the professional ranks during the ’90s and was also mentored under the legendary Nick Saban, with whom Belichick shares a deep friendship and has profound respect.
The pieces had all fallen into place but whatever you think Belichick will do, you can be sure he won’t. Yet again, Belichick flipped the script and added a player the same height as Smith Jr. (6’2”) but with more speed and a greater vertical downfield threat when he selected N’Keal Harry as the newest weapon in his offensive arsenal. Think of it this way, when you’ve been tooling around in a Lamborghini for so long, it’s tough to trade it in for a Ford F-150. Sure, a pickup is durable, practical, and will get you from point A to point B but when you already have a few in your garage, it doesn’t make sense to go out and buy a newer model just hoping the engine has a little more giddy-up.
Instead, Belichick took a hard look at his receiving corps and realized that this was the area of greatest concern. With all due respect to Chris Hogan, Phillip Dorsett, and the rest of the 2018 New England Patriots’ wideouts, that crew was simply not going to cut it in light of an aging Edelman with plenty of wear on his treads, and a wildcard in Josh Gordon whose status is perpetually uncertain. The coup de grace is that Belichick not only passed on a tight end in the first round but didn’t even have to trade up to land Smith in the second, as he was still sitting there when the Patriots selected Vanderbilt’s rangy cornerback Joejuan Williams at No. 45. Irv Smith Jr. would be taken a few minutes later at No. 50 by the Minnesota Vikings so that ship had sailed. However, there was still some decent tight end talent to be had as Drew Sample of Washington went to the Bengals in the second round shortly after Smith. Four tight ends were taken in the third round and a grand total of 16 overall were plucked from the 2019 draft, but not one was selected by New England.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins will headline the tight end stable this season, but the former second-round pick of the Tampa Bay Bucs has never lasted a full season without injury. Maybe Belichick overplayed his hand this time and Tom Terrific will have one less pass-catching outlet this season. However, if you’ve been watching Bill Belichick long enough, chances are things will work out just fine.
With the NFL draft only hours away, the rumors of a Josh Rosen trade continue to percolate. The Arizona Cardinals will trade Rosen if they take Kyler Murray first overall tonight. The Patriots should strike if that happens. Here are some reasons why he would be worth it, what has gone wrong, and what it would take.
Josh Rosen The Prospect
What made Rosen a top 10 pick last year? Here are his college stats from Sports Reference:
Keep in mind, Tom Brady never threw more than 16 TDs in any year, and finished with a 134.9 career rating at Michigan. This is the kind of performance that can get you in the upper tier of NFL prospects.
Josh Rosen stepped into a Pro Style offense at UCLA and performed right away as a Freshman. After some injuries his Sophomore year, he got right back to it as a Junior. The guy is a tremendous talent. Here is what an anonymous coach told NJ Advanced Media:
“He’s polished,” the coach said. “He stayed healthy when he was just getting killed out there. He’s a natural passer and he’s athletic.”
All looked good for a transition to the NFL, so what happened?
A Lost Year With The Cardinals
Josh Rosen had a terrible year. That goes without saying. 11 TDs, 14 Ints, and a 66.7 rating. The Cardinals wouldn’t have the #1 pick in this year’s draft without Rosen having a terrible year.
When things go wrong like this, explanations must be given. Here’s one talking about him being ‘too smart for his own good‘. But there’s also this quote within the story from an anonymous Cardinals player:
The player said that Rosen is a good guy despite persistent murmurs that he’s a bad teammate. The player said that Rosen is a different guy, however, with a “f*** it” attitude when he makes a mistake.
That sounds like a player who could go wrong in a bad situation, like the 2018 Arizona Cardinals. It also sounds like someone who has a hard edge that would fit right in with Belichick and Brady.
Trade & Salary Cap
No less an authority than Peter King has weighed in on this topic:
Suppose my mock is correct, and Washington and the Giants use the draft to take young quarterbacks, and Miami and the Chargers are the only teams with even some interest in Rosen, and GM Chris Grier tells Arizona GM Steve Keim on draft night: “We’ll give you our third-round pick—78 overall—for Rosen. That’s it.” Tough call for Keim, but knowing Rosen would be an unhappy camper behind Kyler Murray, and figuring this is a good depth draft in the first three rounds … well, that’s a lot to think about right there.
That’s a lot of moving parts, but he posits that a third round pick would do it. The Patriots have 12 draft picks in this year’s draft. Every Pats’ fan knows the Patriots are not going to make 12 picks. Within those, there is a first rounder (#32), two second rounders (#56 and #64), and a third rounder (#73). More than enough ammunition to get this done.
As for the cap, Overthecap.com shows how affordable he is. $17 Million total through 2022. That comes out to around $4.4 Million per year. Gotta love first contracts in the NFL. If he is what many think he is, worthy of a first round pick and on a cheap contract, the potential successor to Tom Brady, it’s a no-brainer.
And Brady will be 45 in August of 2022, just in time for Rosen to get paid. Hmm.
Rumors
There are a lot of ping pong rumors going around. There’s this:
Adam Schefter on @MutCallahan says the Cardinals do not have a deal in place to trade Josh Rosen and have not spoken to the Patriots this offseason about a potential trade. They have talked to only two teams — Dolphins and Giants.
But news out of Arizona is the Patriots are still considered in on Rosen. It’s fairly certain that a move like this would not leak out, so of course it’s all speculation. The Patriots keep player transactions close to the vest. Think about the Garoppolo trade, the Collins trade, the Moss trade, the Gilmore contract, it goes on and on.
Rosen is reportedly tough, smart, and not willing to sit behind a 2019 rookie. But would he sit and learn from the GOAT? If the answer is yes, the Patriots should do this.
Plus, they might get to stick it to the Giants. Bill loves that kind of thing.
As the Patriots began OTAs last this week their 2019 schedule was released. When you break it down it looks a far easier task than last year. Similar teams, but those teams have become weaker with off season moves. This means once again the Patriots should be in the playoffs for a record breaking 16th season.
The Patriots will open their season at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football. The change comes as the NFL have chosen to start the season with a Thursday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. This is as part of the NFL 100 promotion celebrating the leagues 100th season.
— Bauston Diehards 🏈 ⚾🏀🏒⚽ (@BaustonDiehards) April 17, 2019
The steelers are a much different looking side as they have been in the past. A literal off-season from hell for Mike Tomlin and his coaching staff. After Le’Veon Bell chose to sit out the entire 2018 season, he moved on to the NY Jets, and star WR Antonio Brown forced a trade to the Oakland Raiders. In the past this has been a crucial fixture in deciding home field advantage for the playoffs. But this year it may be nothing more than a game the Patriots win on their way to another playoff appearance, while the Steelers could miss the playoffs for a second year running.
The AFC East
There’s the usual 6 games in the division against the Jets, Dolphins and Bills. The Jets on the surface have gotten stronger with the offseason signing of running back Le’Veon Bell. Sam Darnold, heading into a second season, should show signs of improvement at QB after a full season leading the offense.
The Bills are very much the same as last year. A few new signings in Cole Beasley from the Cowboys and Frank Gore from the Dolphins will add weapons for Josh Allen. He will be the starting QB for the Bills again this season.
Finally the Dolphins round out our division. However, with former Patriots defensive coach Brian Flores taking over, their focus isn’t so much on winning this season. They are focused on tanking for the number 1 draft pick in 2020 to hopefully draft Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa. A campaign the fans and local media are calling #TankforTua. So although normally a tough game in the heat, this year the Pats could get the win down in Miami.
Looking at the division again this year, the Patriots should be confident in grabbing 6 wins from 6. Though I could see the Jets stealing the win in week 7 on Monday Night Football. Miami could be a tough game down there. But this year, with the way Miami will be setting up to tank, we should come away with the win.
The Tough games
Looking at the schedule there are a few potential tough games that I can see the Patriots losing. The Patriots will welcome the Cleveland Browns to Gillette in week 8. The new look Browns aren’t going to be the push overs they have been in the past. With a potentially good QB at the helm, and some very good weapons out wide like Odell Beckham Jr and Jarvis Landry to partner an already good established Tight end in David Njoku. They also have a good running attack with Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson Jr. One of the saving graces for the Patriots is that the Browns will be coming to Foxboro, a place were not a lot of teams come and win.
In week 11 the Patriots travel to Philadelphia for a big game against the Eagles. This is a team that I think poses the greatest threat to the Patriots for a loss. They are hard to play in Philly. They have a very good QB in Carson Wentz when healthy, some good wideouts having added Golden Tate to that depth chart, and a very good TE in Zac Ertz. But their defense is something the Patriots can and have exploited in the past, like Super Bowl LII.
The last of the potential tough games for the Pats is week 14 when the Chiefs come to town. A team that doesn’t seem to fear coming to Gillette stadium as we saw week 1 in 2017. The night the Patriots raised their 5th championship banner. The Chiefs will be a different team than that of 2018.
While Pat Maholmes is showing signs of greatness, they are already without Kareem Hunt, who was cut after an off-field incident. They may well be without Maholmes main strike weapon Tyreek Hill after his own off-field indiscretions. They’ve lost some main parts on the defense as well. Releasing safety Eric berry and LB Justin Houston, along with trading defensive end Dee Ford.
Potential Challenges
One game that may challenge the Patriots is the week 9 game away to Baltimore. While the Ravens aren’t what they used to be, they still have a good defense that may challenge the Patriots. They also have an enigma at QB with Lamar Jackson. While his passing game isn’t the best, he has the ability to extend the play with his legs and can break through for big chunk plays, or touchdowns in the redone.
This season will see somewhat of a marquee match up for the Patriots if for nothing more than TV ratings. The Dallas Cowboys come to town for the 1st time since 2015 in week 12. The Patriots also haven’t lost to the Cowboys since 1996 in a game that ended 12-6. While it will rate well throughout the country, this is a game the Patriots will expect to win. But it could be the type of game that exposes the Pats, especially since Ezekiel Elliot’s running game could cause problems for the defense.
My Prediction
When I look at the schedule for 2019, I honestly can see the Patriots going 15-1. That loss most likely being against the Eagles in week 11. Obviously, with the way the team is presently constructed, a lot of work through the draft and trades is needed to build a roster to compete like last year’s. Never the less, they have Tom Brady. And while last year wasn’t his best, the Patriots adapted to play a style to suit the roster they had.
Obviously they could lose more than the 1 game I have picked. An unexpected loss at Washington or the Texans wouldn’t surprise me. One thing is for sure, after last season, and the panic from media and fans alike during the pre-season, I put my trust in the coaching staff lead by Bill Belichick to deliver a roster or game plan capable of making it to another Superbowl in 2019, continuing this amazing dynasty that is heading towards its 3rd decade. Unbelievable.
Tom Brady theory’s or “myths” claiming he’s not a great QB make me laugh, so I’ve compiled the first edition of Tom vs Truth. I am a fan, yet I am using facts to end these ridiculous claims.
They Love you Until they Don’t
Once upon a time Tom Brady was America’s golden child, beating the greatest show on turf put him on the map. Fast forward to the present day and many things have changed. Six Super Bowl wins, multiple MVPs and a supermodel wife has had the country turned against the GOAT. Let’s start with these theory’s about TB12.
“Tom Is A Product of the Patriots System”
Haters across the country can’t stop calling Brady a system QB. While every team has a system, and 3/4s of the teams using the same style. Why aren’t they playing in February? The answer is Tom Brady. We know his skill, so let’s look deeper. Brady has had numerous Offensive Coordinators. In the beginning it was Charlie Weiss. Charlie’s offenses in NY and NE before Tom Brady were ranked 12th, 5th, 19th and 25th. Compare those numbers with a very green, backup QB in Tom Brady. Charlie’s 4 years with Tom his offenses ranked 6th, 10th, 12th and 4th. This is what I call the Brady difference. Weiss left after 4 years with Brady to coach Notre Dame, ending with a record of 41-49.
McDaniels Makes Brady
Josh McDaniels makes Tom Brady Great. Well no, not at all. He has had success with Tom just like Weiss, but without Brady his numbers declined drastically. Working with Brady, Josh McDaniels offenses have been incredible. The worst those two finished was 10th in points and 11th in yards. Every other season with Brady, New England’s Offense was ranked top 3 in points, with one top 5 finish. McDaniels in St.Louis and Denver running the same system, ranked 20th, 19th and dead last at 32nd. (Brady Difference.)
Bill O’Brien in 2011 must’ve been the reason Brady and the offense was 3rd in points scored right? I don’t think so, since leaving the Pats O’Brien’s offenses in points scored rank 14th, 21st, 28th, 17th and 11th. Quite the drop off without Brady under Center. So if you say “System QB”, I say it’s the Brady difference.
Well What About Bill Belichick? “He makes Tom Brady”
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick stands alone as the greatest HC, he must be why Brady’s so great
First let me say that while Bill is the best coach of all time, that didn’t really start until Brady came into the mix. In Cleveland Bill went 35-55, along with 5-11 his first year in NE without Tom. There’s that Tom Brady difference again.
2008 Same Team No Brady
But Matt Cassel went 11-5 when Brady was hurt
This argument often made by haters really grinds my gears: “If Brady is so good then how did Matt Cassel go 11-5?”
Well let’s break it down. The 2007 and 2008 teams had the same roster minus Donte Stallworth on offense. In 2007 Tom Brady and his offense set records for TDs, Rec TDs and points scored. The team went 18-0 only to lose the SB just missing the perfect season. The 2007 offense with Tom had a 315 point differential, compared to Cassel’s team dropping 214 points all the way down to a 101 point differential. So the same team, with different QBs went from the best offense ever, to average and missing the playoffs.
2007 Brady- 4,806 yards, 50 TD/8 INTs with a 117 Passer rating along with MVP honors.
2008 Cassel- 3,693 yards, 21 TD/11 INTs with an 89 passer rating with the same offense. (Brady Difference)
In 2010 Matt Cassel made the playoffs and the Pro Bowl with KC. He was no stiff, throwing 27 TDs to just 7 INTs, which was the second best ratio in the league that year. Who could’ve been number 1 I wonder? Tom Brady of course, as he won the only unanimous MVP in league history. Sorry to say again but the Brady Difference is quite obvious in this popular theory among haters.
“Tom Isn’t Good without a Great Defense”
The Patriots had a very good defense in Tom’s early years, and certainly was a huge factor in the first 3 Super Bowls. People say Brady was carried by his defenses, which is not the case. From 2001-2004, with Brady coming in as a backup, he put together 10 4th quarter comebacks and 15 game winning drives. The numbers seem to show he did his part and then some, but that’s not what the haters want you to think.
Brady led the NFL in TD passes in 2002, so it’s not a reach at all to say the Patriots may have not won those Super Bowls without Tom Brady. For example, in Super Bowl 38 the Pats defense gave up 29 points to the Panthers. A young QB named Tom Brady going up against a fierce defense threw for 354 yards, 3 TDs and his second clutch SB game winning drive. Without Brady things could’ve been a lot different that day.
Jumping ahead to Patriots Defenses that weren’t as talented. The four year stretch from 2010-2013, New England’s defense was never better than 25th in total yards allowed. But again Brady in 2010 won MVP and got the #1 seed. 2011 the Pats were back in the Super Bowl despite being 31st in yards against, and that’s due to Tom Brady. In 2012 and 2013, Brady and the Pats went back to the AFC Championship but lost. Some people think going as far as possible in sports and losing is worse than not making the championship game at all. Ridiculous.
In 2017 the defense was ranked 29th. Brady and the offense once again were back in the Super Bowl. Bill Belichick shocked Pats nation by benching Malcolm Butler. The defense got shredded by a backup QB, giving up 41 points. Even in defeat Brady put up historic numbers, throwing for 505 yards with 3 TDs with no INTs.
My conclusion on this theory about his Defenses is that Brady always has done his part to win games and make it to the AFC Championship or Super Bowl. I don’t see him being carried by anything, like the haters do. Another interesting stat: In 17 seasons the Pats Defense was statistically better than the offense only 3 times. In 9 of those 17 seasons with Brady as the starter, the defense was ranked 20th or worse in yards allowed. Defensive “myth” shut down with facts.
“Joe Montana Never Lost in the Super Bowl”
Key Number here is 4
The debate over Montana and Brady has many factors. Joe Montana was the Greatest ever in my eyes, up until Brady’s comeback in Super Bowl 49 against the Seahawks. Since Brady tied Montana with 4 Super Bowl wins, he has gone to 3 straight Super Bowls and won 2. The real crime here is the loss to the eagles. Brady had the best Super Bowl performance of all time.
Some people say Brady can’t be better than Montana because Joe cool never lost in his 4 chances. The fact of the matter is that every athlete would tell you getting to the Championship and losing is better than not making it there at all. As we all know, Brady’s been to 9 Super Bowls with 6 wins. Let’s not forget the amount of Hall Of Fame players Montana had on both sides of the ball. He also had a coach in Bill Walsh who came up with an offense no one had ever seen before. It took years for teams to adjust to this new style of football, a great coach and system that Montana thrived in.
Brady on the other hand did not, and still doesn’t have anywhere close to the number of Hall Of Fame players Joe had. The comebacks alone in Super Bowls favor Brady, having 6 in 6 wins. And did his part in the losses too, by getting the lead, only for the defense to break at the end.
Montana has been bounced twice in the divisional round, twice in the Wild Card and three times in the NFC Championship. Montana in 11 seasons has gone one and done in the playoffs 4 times.
The GOAT Tom Brady in 16 playoff runs is 13-2 in the divisional round, 2-1 in the WC round and 9-4 in the AFC Championship. Brady in 16 seasons has gone one and done just twice in the playoffs.
Is 4-0 better than 6-3 in the Super Bowl? If you’ve never played sports then maybe you’d say yes. The ultimate goal of any athlete is to go as far as you can. That is something Brady’s done better than Montana. Doing so with less talent, an offense that has been seen before (unlike the 49ers), all while getting better with age. Brady wins this round, the numbers don’t lie.
“Montana Played in a Tougher and Better Era”
Again, not taking anything away from Joe Montana, I’m just telling it how it is. Sure the rules for QBs have changed over the years, but Brady played in a tough era of football himself. Rule changes to help offenses didn’t make an ounce of a difference until 2011. QB numbers didn’t go up or benefit Brady for an entire decade. From 2000-2011 only two players had a season with great numbers, Brady in 2007 and Manning in 2004. Since 2011 pretty much every QBs numbers are inflated like never before.
Defining the toughness of different eras contains a few different things:
Free Agency -Montana played when teams didn’t change and Hall Of Fame players typically stayed together. Brady has had a revolving door of players throughout his entire career, mostly castaways who were turned into Champions.
Defensive players -Tom Brady has played and shredded some of the best defenders and all time defensive units and coaches. The 2000 Steelers and Ravens, 2003 Buccaneers, The LOB Seahawks were no match in the Super Bowl, 2015 Broncos, 2017 Jags, the two Giants Super Bowl teams and the 2018 Rams. Just think of the players on those teams, and how if it weren’t for Brady most of them would have Super Bowl rings.
Geography – Joe Montana Played in a sunny warm climate, while Brady’s been playing in the Northeast. Freezing temperatures, snow and rain in a division where he plays in Boston and New York. No problem for #12.
This is the first of my 3 part Myth Busting Brady Hate. Next up will be topics like “The AFC Least”, “Deflategate, “Brady has no records” and my personal favorite: QBs like Rodgers, Marino, Brees and Manning being on Tom Brady’s level. Starting to feel like I’m writing a book, so these next topics plus more will be coming out soon. Hope you Pats fans can use some of these facts when arguing with Brady hating friends.
The New England Patriots just love being the underdogs. So often favorites to win on the big stage, Bill Belichick’s men strolled into Kansas City – with many backing the Chiefs to go on and represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. New England’s doubters got it massively wrong on that day and critics were wrong again in the National Football League’s showpiece game just two weeks later.
Heading into the 2019 season, New England may slip further down the projected pecking order. Tom Brady is the greatest player of all-time but age will catch up with him at some point. However, he showed no signs of slowing down last season and plenty of punters will fancy the Patriots quarterback to lead the franchise to another successful year. Write New England off at your peril; that will only fuel their hunger and desire.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the Patriots and NFL (more competition for Patriots players in free agency creates challenge for team; Adam Humphries; wide receiver remains big need; Patriots-Browns too good for opener?; special 2018 locker room etc.). <a href=”https://t.co/Q0ambzH12v”>https://t.co/Q0ambzH12v</a></p>— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) <a href=”https://twitter.com/MikeReiss/status/1107225444796059649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>March 17, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
Tom Brady will be 42 years old when the 2019 season gets underway. We repeat: Brady will be 42 years old. He is playing like a 24-year-old and it would be foolish to suggest that his decline is imminent. With Peyton Manning, you could see his form deteriorate but Brady is still one of the best in the business. In those clutch situations, he gives the Patriots a clear advantage over his rivals at the quarterback position.
On paper, the AFC Conference is wide open – the gap between the Patriots and the chasing pack is now closer than ever. There are at least seven or eight contenders to win the AFC title and that enhanced competition will act as the catalyst to motivate Belichick and co. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see New England send out a real statement of intent in the early stages of the 2019 campaign.
While the standard inside the conference is improving, the same cannot be said for the AFC East. This is New England’s territory and the free sports picks will all suggest another divisional title. It is hard to see one of the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills or Miami Dolphins bridging the gap to the Patriots. At some point, New England’s rivals will turn things around but not whilst Brady and Belichick are at Gillette Stadium.
Predicting the Patriots to win the Super Bowl is almost expected these days but reaching the showpiece fixture at 42 years old would be Brady’s best achievement. Retaining the AFC East title for the 11th year in a row has to be the primary objective but New England fans will want more than that. With time running out for both Brady and Belichick, Patriots followers will be hoping for at least one more Super Bowl crown.
The Patriots might not have the most talented roster but anything can happen when you have the greatest head coach of all-time and the greatest player of all-time on your team. If New England reaches the latter stages of the playoffs, the rest of the NFL will start to panic. When push comes to shove, the Patriots step up and prove their worth on the big stage. Watch this space, another Super Bowl berth beckons in 2020.
It’s no secret that the Patriots have a plethora of key free agents that will likely seek greener pastures. Trey Flowers is the big name that comes to mind, along with a majority of the receiving corps. The other large, pun intended, free agent set to cash in is offensive tackle Trent Brown.
The Patriots acquired Brown during the 2018 draft, and only swapped third and fifth round picks with the 49ers to do so. That 5th round pick ended up yielding Ja’Whaun Bentley, which could turn out to be a steal.
At the time, no one thought too much of the Brown trade, other than the Patriots got an enormous human being. With the loss of Nate Solder, Brown looked to be the new left tackle, but there was also the new first round pick to consider.
New England drafted Isaiah Wynn with the 23rd overall pick out of Georgia. The Patriots initially saw him as the potential heir to Brady’s blindside, but then Bill Belichick stole Brown from San Francisco. Wynn isn’t considered a traditional tackle, as he only stands 6’2″, which is a lower height than average. He moved around the entire line at Georgia, but definitely possesses the talent to play the tackle position well.
It looked to be a position battle going into camp, with both Brown and Wynn vying for the starting role. Brown was the more obvious choice, as he had the experience and measurements over Wynn. However, Wynn came out of college highly touted, and Belichick gave him a shot in the preseason. That shot lasted exactly one quarter.
Wynn went down playing right tackle when newly acquired Michael Bennett put too much weight on Wynn’s Achilles. He hobbled off the field and didn’t see it again for the rest of 2018, ending up on Injured Reserve. This was the case for most of New England’s rookie class, but Wynn is all set to go for 2019.
With Brown more than likely leaving unless New England breaks character and signs him to a massive deal, can Wynn fill his predecessor’s humongous shoes?
Assuming Brown does depart, the job is absolutely Wynn’s to lose. There aren’t many solid offensive tackle options on the market or in the draft (in the Pats range), so Wynn looks to be the next man up. Belichick didn’t acquire Brown until day 2, so he drafted Wynn with the starting job in mind.
There is definitely a lot to like about Wynn. He is a great lineman all round, excelling at moving around and creating holes for the running back. He was dominant in the 2018 Rose Bowl, keeping Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm protected the entire night. There shouldn’t be much worry about Wynn’s athleticism. He will do extremely well with open field blocks and leading the charge downfield.
If there is one area of concern however, it would be his ability to stand up to NFL caliber linemen. He will be dealing with players that far exceed his height and weight, which was the knock on Wynn coming out of college. The left tackle is arguably one of the most important positions, and protecting Tom Brady’s blindside is crucial at this point in his career. A 42 year old man doesn’t need to be taking hits from his backside throughout a season.
There is a lot of hope for Wynn, especially on the Patriots staff. He was the top pick for New England a year ago, and needs to live up to that in 2019. To answer the question of, “Can he replace Trent Brown?”, I believe he can. Brown was a solid player in the 2018 season, but did seem lazy at times. He wasn’t the best at keeping guys off Brady’s back, and that’s the area Wynn needs to prove himself at.
At this point, there should be no excuses for the sophomore, as he will have arguably the NFL’s best offensive line coach, the legendary Dante Scarnecchia, guiding him along the way. It will be interesting to see if they capitalize on Wynn’s athleticism in ways they couldn’t with Brown. If all goes according to plan, the Patriots will have their left tackle of the future in Isaiah Wynn.
