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In today’s age of hot shots and being forced to choose one side or the other, we can’t say that both options can be correct. Sometimes, however, it’s just plain the truth, like when you’re talking about Tom Brady vs. Bill Belichick.
People have been discussing this for years. Who is most responsible for the success of the New England Patriots, Brady or Belichick? The truth is, neither of them would have been able to accomplish the things they have together on their own. If the quarterback had gone to another head coach, he would have been successful, maybe even winning a Super Bowl or two, but he never would have won six. As Belichick always says, it’s a gamer game, but without great training, gamers can only lead you so far.
Another thing to consider is that without a coach who had the courage to bench the highest-paid QB in NFL history for an unproven sixth-round pick, Brady might never really have had a real chance. Yes, Drew Bledsoe did get injured which gave Brady his first chance, but he came back healthy during the regular season. The Patriots had just given him the league’s first $ 100 million contract this offseason, and Belichick decided to continue rolling with the sophomore. Brady, of course, made the most of it, and it would be enough for the Patriots to trade Bledsoe in the offseason, but if he had had a different coach he might not have had the chance.
Brady needed Belichick, but the opposite is also true. In order for his system to work that long, he needed his quarterback to have a full buy-in. He needed the quarterback to take the hard training the same way everyone else in the organization. Brady set an example for the rest of the team. If he could take the coaching, they had no choice but to take it. There have been other great quarterbacks in the league over the past 20 years, but are you sure they would have reacted the same way Brady did? Could you see Aaron Rodgers doing that kind of coaching? Or Peyton Manning? Not only was Brady an unreal talent, he had the work ethic and mindset that matched the Belichick system. It’s hard to get full team buy-in if the team leader doesn’t do the same.
I could go on for hours on why Bill and Tom are the best at what they do. Tom worked his way up to become the best football player to ever play. He doesn’t have the raw skills of a Rodgers or a Patrick Mahomes, but he’s improved nonetheless. The fourth quarter Super Bowl numbers and records speak for themselves. Belichick’s decision making, attention to detail and courage are some of the things that make him so great. The end of Super Bowl XLIX offers some of the best workouts in NFL history. Not calling the time out when everyone was expecting it and essentially forcing Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll to throw the ball was a genius, but waiting for the call to play and correcting the players in practice so they would know how to stop it was legendary. This streak alone deserves non-stop praise.
Let’s also not forget that Belichick stopped two of the best offensives in NFL history between January and February, the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Rams. I also think of Dan Connolly’s comeback against the Green Bay Packers in 2010. It wasn’t the fact that they blocked him, but the fact that they actually practiced that comeback earlier in the season. Belichick is prepared for a ton of different results and tries to put his players in a position to be successful.
I’m not going to talk about General Manager Bill, and maybe people will be upset about it, but I don’t feel like I have to defend him on this. I always hear people say that the Patriots would have been so much better and won more championships if they had had more talented players. My response to that is simply to say that they can’t play the Super Bowl every year. In the 20 years between Belichick’s departure and Brady’s departure, the Patriots have won six Super Bowls and played nine. They have played 13 AFC title games and won the AFC East 17 times. What more could they have done? Outside of the Boston Celtics in the ’60s and Chicago Bulls in the’ 90s, the Patriots had, by far, the greatest race in team sports history.
In the end, both Bill and Tom are the best at doing it at their posts. Many coaches have already won and some have done it with less skill, but no one has done it as consistently as Belichick. Some quarterbacks have won as well, some even with different coaches like Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Aikman and Manning, but no one has done it as consistently as Brady. They are both without a doubt the best in their field.
Here is the last point I will make. They are both very humble about what they have done. We’ve heard countless things about Brady and Belichick’s ego, but they never publicly take credit for anything. Belichick is always the first to tell anyone who listens that it is about the players. Let the players play and they are the ones who make all the games. Just take his quote from 2019 after scoring his 300th career victory.
“It’s a great privilege to coach this team and coach the guys I’ve coached throughout my career,” said Belichick. “Fortunately, I haven’t played any of those games. It’s a good thing for us, but I had a lot of good players, a lot of great players and they are the ones who win the games. I had a lot of great assistant coaches on my team during the wins in Cleveland and certainly here. I was a part of it but honestly the players win games in this league and I was lucky to have coached a lot of greats.
Brady has also always deflected praise. He constantly talks about football as a team sport and always tries to congratulate as many teammates as possible for him. He may not have done so much in the past few years, but the point is that Bill and Tom both know that there are many people responsible for the success of the teams they’ve been on, and they are. happy to send it their way instead.
Is that going to keep you from debating who was more important with your family, friends, or random strangers on the internet? No, and that’s okay, because sometimes it can be fun. Just make sure that whenever someone tells you that one of them has nothing to do with it, and was just there for the ride, that you pick them up and explain to them that without the other, they may never have achieved their goal. full potential.
Pat is a host of The Patriot Nation Podcast. Interact with him on Twitter @plane_pats.
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