The narrative is apparently that Tom Brady’s ride to yet another Super Bowl is proves that he, not Bill Belichick, was the reason that Patriots dynasty existed. And by extension, Belichick must regret ushering him out the door since the Patriots were 7-9 this season.
And also, this is the definitive proof that Steelers fans should be careful what they wish for and they better learn from the Patriots.
Stop trying to move on from Ben Roethlisberger because the Steelers might meet a similar fate in 2021 without him. Belichick and the Patriots are nothing without Brady, and the Steelers and Tomlin without Roethlisberger might never win another game!
That’s how we are supposed to assess this Patriots/Brady situation and then relate it to the Steelers, correct?
I hope not.
If that’s how you see what went on with the Patriots and Brady — that somehow Brady won and Belichick and the Patriots lost — then you aren’t looking at the situation correctly. And if you are a Steelers fan trying to relate it to Roethlisberger and the Steelers, you couldn’t be more wrong.
The Steelers absolutely need to learn from the Patriots, but not the way you think. The Steelers need to look at the Patriots’ situation and also move on from their aging, overpriced all-time quarterback if they want to be on their quickest path back to the Super Bowl.
First, anybody who really believes that if Brady was still with the Patriots then they, not the Chiefs, would be in the Super Bowl is smoking something fierce. That’s lunacy. The best thing Brady could do was leave the Patriots and find a team that might be a quarterback away from the Super Bowl, which he did.
The Patriots did not have a Super Bowl roster, and that was before they had something like eight players opt out of this season. Their skill position players on offense and the offensive line were mostly mud. Brady made them better, but if he, not Cam Newton, were the quarterback, they still would have been lucky to get to 10-6 and one and done in the playoffs.
Remember, Brady’s greatest strength this year is his supporting case of star receivers and tight ends and a veteran running back like Leonard Fournette who can still get it done. He would have had none of that in New England and would have been frustrated trying to make that junk on offense functional.
And yes, the Patriots may have made the playoffs, but they would have been done quickly, and what would be the point of that? As I say to Steelers fans, what is the standard? In New England, the standard is fielding a team capable of winning the Super Bowl. And since they weren’t going to be able to do that, especially given their cap situation, why not move on from a 43-year-old, expensive quarterback whose skills have clearly diminished?
The Patriots are like the Steelers. The standard isn’t (or least shouldn’t be) just making the playoffs. This isn’t the Lions, Bengals, Jets or many other teams who’d throw parades if they made the playoffs. The Steelers and Patriots are two teams whose standards and expectations are higher than that.
And the Patriots’ absolute best and quickest path back to being a Super Bowl team was moving on from Brady and getting a head start on reloading. They are now one year closer to getting back to the Super Bowl than they would have been had they held on to Brady and tried to slop together a playoff run.
They now have better draft position and likely more picks than they would have had they kept Brady. They have the 15th pick, seven total draft picks and likely will earn at least two, if not three, more compensatory picks (including one for losing Brady). The Patriots also have about $60 million in salary cap room to spend (thanks in part to the fact that they don’t have $30 million tied up in an aging quarterback). Their quarterback position will cost them about $1.7 million total between Jarrett Stidham and Jake Dolegala, so there is money to spend on that position — a lot of money.
I guarantee you the Steelers, who did make the playoffs with their old quarterback, would love to trade places with New England right now given their cap woes.
The Patriots have a chance to be right back in the Super Bowl mix next season because they moved on from Brady. The Steelers, if they move on from Roethlisberger now, could be in a similar position next year but probably won’t be because they are going to let Roethlisberger call his shot and he seemingly wants to play one more year.
The Patriots are free and clear of Brady’s contract demands and can move forward.
Belichick did an excellent job getting that outfit to 7-9 this year, and now he and the Patriots are in great position to get back to the Super Bowl. And Brady is on a team that might win the Super Bowl now. It was absolutely a win-win and a case of both the franchise and player doing what was best for its future and both coming out ahead.
Anyone who is writing the obituary of Belichick and the Patriots is just not paying attention and is likely going to look silly and sooner rather than later.
