The Cliché debate that’s been bantered around football for
the last decade may soon be answered: Who made the New England tandem so
effective – The quarterback or the coach?
After 20 years of dominance in the AFC division in the NFL,
the quarterback-coach tandem being considered the greatest of all time are
going their separate ways. The New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick and
quarterback Tom Brady have split up.
Tom Brady was the 199th pick in the 2000 draft. After
an injury to starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe in late 2001, Tom Brady stepped in to take the team all the way to their first Super Bowl Championship on February
3rd, 2002. The Bill-Brady tandem showered with confetti, champagne
and a trip to Disney World never looked back! Between 2002 and 2020, New
England has made appearances in 9 Super Bowls, winning 6. Tom Brady has past
two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana taking
the summit solo with six Super Bowl titles and enough sparkling championship
rings for two hands. Passing up on the partisan argument of who truly is the
GOAT of quarterbacks (Boomers and Gen-Xers siding with Montana, and Millennials
and Gen Z boasting Brady- the game was drastically different), as well as the
whines of cheating from fans across the NFL (The Blizzard Game ‘Tuck’ Controversy,
Video-gate, deflate-gate), we land upon a debate that has cropped up since New
England’s almost-perfect season, defeated only by the New York Giants in the 2008
Super Bowl: Who is the ‘X’ factor that makes New England unbeatable? The
quarterback or the coach?
Well, my fellow sports enthusiasts (professional and amateur),
we will finally have resolution and a viable answer after a decade of back-and-forth
bickering. Following Brady’s announcement to leave New England, Vegas odds
significantly shifted relating to odds of Tampa Bay winning the NFC East, as
well as New England making it back to the Super Bowl. Obviously, Tampa Bay went
from +6000 to +1200, where New England went from +600 down to +1200. Of course,
every football specialist, paid sports analyst, and every type of sports bar
patron, and football fanatic trolls has a side they support, dropping their theory
on why they support the coach or the quarterback. Of course, I have my analysis
to add to the already over-saturated published opinions splayed across the world-wide-web
of streaming shows, podcasts, articles, vlogs, blogs and every posted material
in-between! It may be redundant, or may give you added information to consider,
possibly influencing a potential change in sides? If anything, I will add my 5
cents into the pot, and see how it turns out (BTW, $.05 bet on Tampa Bay to win
NFC East pays out $60).
Many strategists and analysts that have roamed the halls of
stadiums and press boxes have sided with the head play caller and the staff he’s
built to create a complete juggernaut, Bill Belichick. There are sports
analysts as well supporting the other side of the argument, advising Belichick
may not have the wins and success, if it weren’t for a head-strong highly motivated
and disciplined in-the-game play caller in quarterback, Tom Brady.
To begin my analysis, let’s breakdown both coaches and their
backgrounds. Bill Belichick became head coach of the New England Patriots in
2000, coming off one of the greatest coaching trees, being a defensive coordinator
(or an assistant) under Bill Parcells, at New York Giants, New England
Patriots, and New York Jets. Belichick had a brief stint as head coach of the
Cleveland Browns, taking them to the playoffs once during his short time there,
before Cleveland’s owner made the decision to move the franchise to Baltimore,
becoming the Ravens in 1996. Bill is a defense-minded coach. Being an assistant
to Coach Parcells, he knows the significance of having an effective offensive
coordinator, as well as quarterback coach that could successfully execute his
philosophy of a balanced offensive scheme, based on existing roster strengths. One
aspect I felt was always underrated about every Patriot Super Bowl winning
season, was their defense.
While Tom Brady was the starting quarterback in New England,
Belichick had only three offensive coordinators, and five quarterback coaches. OC
Charlie Weis, Bill O’Brien and Josh McDaniels shared the quarterback coaching
responsibilities along with being the Patriots’ offensive coordinator. The two
other quarterback coaches during this time were John Hufnagel and Dick Rehbein,
who shared the quarterback coaching duties under Charlie Weis during the early
2000’s. The offense coordinators shared and executed the philosophy of spread
offense for a strong from-the-pocket passer, and sprinkling in a shared-running
game, that became progressively stronger and more effective in postseason campaigns.
The strengths of the New England coaching staff were their consistency
year-in-and-year-out; effective scouting and implementation of underrated offensive
talent; and an incredibly strong offensive line to protect a less-mobile,
preferred pocket passing quarterback. Although considered as coming off the
Bill Parcells coaching tree, Belichick has quite a bountiful tree himself. Some
highlights would be Mike Vrabel currently coaching the Tennessee Titans, Kliff
Kingsbury of the Arizona Cardinals and Bill O’Brien of the Houston Texans. The
question remains, did the staff build an effective playbook around Brady? Or,
did Brady effectively execute with precision and accuracy, what seemed to be an
unchanging predictable playbook?
Now that Brady has decided to move on, there’s now an
opening for starting quarterback in New England. Brady’s backup when he left
was Brian Hoyer, who is a journeyman back up in the NFL. The few opportunities
he’s had to step in a game and make a difference, has been lackluster to say
the least. Rookie Jarrett Stidham out of Auburn University may have potential
to fill a crater-sized hole. Bill Belichick has a close relationship with Alabama
head coach, Nick Saban, and I am sure received a thorough scouting report
regarding Stidham’s skills and effectiveness when at Auburn, Alabama’s SEC
Conference archrival. I cannot see New England drafting a quarterback in hopes
of them becoming the starter. I see Stidham as projected starter and piecing tools
and protection surrounding him. The signing of WR Damiere Byrd from Arizona
Cardinals, and FB Dan Vitale from Green Bay Packers is a boost for target
options and opening up the running option for the incoming play-caller. We will
see how much Stidham has gleaned from his outgoing predecessor. Will Bill be
able to repeat the tandem magic with a bright-eyed inexperienced Field Marshall
anxious to confirm that the franchise made the best pick to continue New
England’s two-decade dynasty?
Bruce Ariens (coincidently, the same age as Belichick)
bounced around for years in various offense assistant coaching roles between
college and professional teams, until he was hired to be the wide receivers
coach by Bill Cowher for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004. Ariens became the
Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator under Cowher’s successor, Mike Tomlin.
He was part of the OC staff when the Steelers won Super Bowl titles in 2005 and
2008. Before being hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year, Ariens did see
some success as head coach for the Arizona Cardinals. Ariens is known as a risk
taker, as well as a quarterback whisperer. He himself was a quarterback for the
Virginia Tech Hokies under a wishbone-run offense in the 1970’s. Some of the
qualities he has listed as his ‘perfect’ quarterback, is one with heart, grit,
and trustworthy under the Ariens system. Part of the description Ariens has
written of what counts as ‘heart’ and ‘grit’ would be a quarterback willing to
dive in to a defensive line to get that extra yard, or if he were to throw a
pick, have no hesitation in running down the field forty yards to tackle the receiver
who intercepted the ball. His philosophy
line is, “No risk it, no biscuit”. Ariens states he is not fond “Playing to not
lose” when ahead in a game and would have no hesitation in calling a deep
target passing play. Considering New England has more of an offense management
system, it will be interesting to see the meshing between the supposed ‘quarterback
whisperer’ and an aging, less mobile game management quarterback.
Now, let’s move over to the other side of the Isle and take
a look at Tom Brady. Brady was drafted out of University of Michigan, where he
was the starting quarterback his junior and senior years, amassing a 21-5
record, and impressive wins over Arkansas in the Citrus Bowl, and an incredible
overtime win over Alabama in the Orange Bowl. The first two years at Michigan
were incredibly challenging for Brady as a second/third string option
quarterback, and at one point so discouraged, he thought of transferring to Cal.
His outlook, confidence, work ethic and philosophy turned around when he worked
with sports psychologist, Greg Harden, and stated in a 2014 interview, "He will always be somebody I rely on for sound
advice and mentorship. He has helped me with my own personal struggles in both
athletics and in life. Greg really pushed me in a direction that I wasn't sure
I could go.” Brady performed well on the wonderlic test, with a 33 score,
and was projected to go late in the second round or early in the third round. He
was considered a ‘steal’ dropping all the way to the sixth round in the 2000 NFL
Draft. When Brady first met Patriots owner Robert Kraft, he disclosed with a
handshake, “You will not regret your decision”.
Obviously playing with a chip on his shoulder, Brady lived
up to his promise to the owner of the New England Patriots. Through twenty seasons
under the Patriots, Brady has amassed the second most passing yards in the NFL (74,571)
averaging 4,138 per year. He’s averaged 30 touchdowns, and one of an elite
group to throw 50 touchdowns in one year. He has averaged only 9.9
interceptions in a year, with a 1.1% interception rating versus completions. He
has incredible intelligence in reading defenses, and scanning the field for
second, third, or pitch out options. Regardless of the receivers, tight ends,
or running backs on the field, he will throw at the best option, most open
receiver. Although you wouldn’t consider Brady as ‘elusive’, he is keen on
getting rid of the ball quickly, avoiding many sack opportunities. He is quite fiery
and will constructively chat up his teammates to improve outcomes to win a game.
I am not sure I would ever qualify Brady as a ‘risk taker’ when it comes to
execution of an effective and winning offense. I would tend to qualify Brady as
a metrics quarterback. Based on the weapons and system he has available, versus
the opposing defense, he will work with his given playbook to expose an opponent’s
known weaknesses. There’s only been a handful of times (minus the controversies)
where Brady and the New England system were trumped. The New York Giants under
former head coach Tom Coughlin, and free-slinging quarterback Eli Manning were
New England’s kryptonite.
Time after time as Brady aged, we were all waiting for a slip
of performance, a diminishing of skills, thinking in the back of our minds, the
Bill-Brady dynasty is over. Yet, year after year, they kept showing up, and
winning! We all came to a conclusion the Patriots would be Super Bowl
contenders until one of them decides to retire. All of sports media and fans
alike scoffed at Tom Brady’s response of a desire to play as long as he felt
competitive. Brady aspires and hopes he can continue playing, being effective
and relevant until he is 45, which would be unprecedented. Football is so hard
on an athlete’s body; most players have a career of ten years, or less. Brady credits
Alex Guerrero and his alternative and holistic approach to nutrition, recovery,
and training. Brady has worked with Guerrero for many years and assisted in the
creation of the ‘TB12’ system of wellness. Brady feels Guerrero is an integral reason
he’s able to play at such a highly competitive level over the age of 40.
I believe the rift between head coach Bill Belichick and Tom
Brady began to pop up when the head coach/general manager revoked access for Guerrero
to have an office at the team facilities, fly with the players to games, and side
line presence during games in 2017. Of course, Brady and Belichick never
addressed any of the reporters’ inquiries to the change and situation. Then
there was the controversial trade of Brady’s backup, Jimmy Garropolo to the San
Francisco Forty-Niners. There are still rumors milling around on who requested
that move. It appeared that Jimmy G was poised to be Brady’s successor, and
patiently waiting to step in, when he retires. Brady had no intention of retiring
anytime soon. As Brady is going in to his 21st season, turning 43, there
were rumblings if he would remain in New England versus becoming a free agent,
as rumors began cropping up again that the relationship between Brady and
Belichick was becoming sour at the end of last season. After New England gave a
lackluster offer for Brady to stay, the writing was on the wall. New England
was ready to cut loose their most successful and aging front man. Brady, for the
first time in his career, became a free agent.
With all live sports suspended under a global pandemic, everyone
in the sports world tuned in to see where Brady would go! Would it be San Diego?
Denver? Would he live out his childhood dream and return to play in San
Francisco? Would Gruden woo him to Vegas, with Raider fans forgiving him for the
‘Tuck’ fiasco? Would Tennessee be tempting enough? The experts were grasping to
give their ‘locked-in’ choices of where Brady would end up. I cannot name one
person who murmured or thought ‘Tampa Bay’ would be the ultimate destination,
especially with a head coach like Bruce Ariens. With incredible contrast of
risk-taker versus risk-manager, how will both parties merge to create a
competitive and winning system? For the first time in his career, Brady will
have an elite receiving core, with the likes of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin,
Jordan Leggett and OJ Howard to name a few. The outlying question is the
strength of the offensive line, which Brady will significantly depend on for
success, being a prominent pocket-passing quarterback without speedy feet.
Brady has been effective for many years in quickly getting rid of the ball to an
open receiver. As he ages, will this statistic remain the same, or will it take
Brady slightly longer to scan an find a target down-field? Attributes we firmly
know diminishes with age, are eye and hand motor-skill reaction times. Looking
at the history of the last few seasons of Tampa Bay, the offensive line was ranked
one of the lowest in the NFL (31st allowing yards per carry, and 29th
in quarterback hits allowed). That would have to be a concern for Brady, and an
area where Tampa Bay must shore up to gain success. Will Tom Brady be effective
as a motivational leader bringing his confidence, leadership, and ‘TB12’
mentality to convert a young potential team into a contender? Will Ariens
risk-taking mantra along with Brady’s risk-management ways come together to
create a refreshed and effective playbook to win in the trenches of the NFC
East?
You would think a man that has reached the pinnacle of
success in personal and career aspirations would have nothing else to prove. That
he could gracefully ride off into the sunset and live a tranquil content existence.
Brady is not done completing career goals. There’s an underlying burn at the
pit of his stomach to prove excellence without being tied to Bill Belichick. The
chip on Tom’s shoulder never diminished or retracted since being drafted in the
6th round 20 years ago. If anything, he may have gained another one,
always being tied to Coach Belichick. He’s internally driven to join rare status.
Everyone commenting that he’s ‘too old to be effective with another team’, or he
was ‘only effective under the New England system’ has added fuel to his motivation
to prove all the trolls wrong. Not only to win a historic 7th Super Bowl as a
starting quarterback, but to be one of potentially two starting quarterbacks to
win a Super Bowl title with two different teams. The only starting quarterback in
NFL history to win a super bowl with two teams, is Peyton Manning (Indianapolis
Colts, Denver Broncos). If Brady were to win a Super Bowl with a Tampa Bay team
with +1600 odds to even make the Super Bowl, would definitely etch Brady as the
greatest, and support his side of the argument, that he was the ‘X’ Factor,
that brought championships to New England. To all the Brady haters- I’m sorry
to report, Brady won’t be going anywhere for at least a couple more years.
