Listen, i’m not saying his time isn’t coming to an end at the elite level. But one poor season in 23 years does not call for some of the revisionism occurring here lately. Arguably, the defences he’s still producing (2022, 2021, 2020) have kept the Patriots from rebuilding properly. It isn’t easy in this league to escape from 8-8 hell without a franchise QB.
“Brady made him”. You can use whatever stat you want here, but let’s use the most basic one. Points allowed per game. Of course there are influences here. Time of possession, special teams, ability to generate turnovers. But at its most basic level this is what determines the result of a game.
Brady had 20 seasons as a Patriot. He had a top 10 defence in 17 of them. In 3 super bowl victories, the Patriots played 3 of the top 15 offences in NFL history. 01 Rams, 16 Falcons and 18 Rams. 17 points, 22 points(pick six), 3 points. Even throw the record breaking 04 Colts in there, 3 pts. If we change to PTS per drive, he still has 15 top 10 defences!
Manning had 4, Rodgers had 3, Brees had 2. All three had great ball security and time of possession.
Is Brady the GOAT, yes. His consistency in clutch moments puts him ahead of the likes of Peyton and Rodgers. Did he make Bill the greatest defensive mind in history, no!
Brady record when scoring 20+in the playoffs: 32-4. Rodgers is 12-9 in this statistic for a direct comparison.
Average finish in points per drive among notable QBs
Brady: 9th
Rivers: 15th
Peyton: 18th
Rodgers: 18th
Brees: 20th
Mahomes: 20th
And we are trying to pretend Bill didn’t give Brady a significant advantage over his peers? Another 2 super bowls as a DC.
All the belichek hate you see now is absurd. And honestly it’s for entertainment to stir up drama and ratings. Belichek doesn’t “need” Brady. What he needs is what all coaches need. A very very very very good quarterback. And what every quarterback needs to win Super Bowl. Avery good coach, offensive line, and defense. The patriots were put together from top to bottom almost perfectly for 20 years. During the patriot dynasty. If beleichik had. Manning, rivers, Rodgers, Big Ben. Brees. Msybe a few others. They would have been the best dynasty of all time. 6 super bowls. Msybe. Maybe not. But they would have been great. When you look at all the super bowls they won, they could have swapped qbs, and the patriots would have most likely won.
If Warner played on NE. Probably If delhome played on NE. Maybe If Mcnabb played on NE. Maybe If Matt Ryan played on NE. Probably Goff. Maybe. Russel Wilson. Probably If you swapped manning and Brady in those afc championships. I’d take the patriots. Big Ben lost to Brady twice in afc championships. Those might have been switched.
All in all. The patriots dynasty, the stars and planets aligned for 2 decades straight. If Brady went somewhere else would he have 7? Doubtful. People tend to forget how great those early patriots defenses were. It’s not some black and white topic. They are a team who had great and the right players at all positions, and coaches who drew up plays and schemes that made them the best