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.
Every legendary coach that sticks around long enough will see the game pass them by. As a Steelers fan, I immediately think of Chuck Noll, whose 80s teams were a shadow of their 70s dominance.
I think we’re addicted to responding to bullshit, so more sports heads are shoveling it for “engagement”. Anyone acting like players and coaches don’t have a symbiotic relationship isn’t acting in good faith and should be ignored, imo.
This is the take for me. Whenever some kind of GOAT debate comes around, the impossibility of comparing eras inevitably gets brought up.
I feel like BB coached at a level few ever have during his era, but we are now in an era of more superstar-driven football that just isn’t what he excelled at.
The crazy part is Bill has been around since Super Bowl IX
Chuck Noll was still a good gameday coach up until 1989, he just had his favorites that would get way more starts/playing time than they deserved. Mark Malone at QB and Harvey Clayton at CB were two that I remember clearly. Malone smiling and shaking his head after every interception and Clayton getting burned repeatedly gave me PTSD in the 80s.
Tom Laundry had a similar rise and fall. Five losing seasons to start with, then 21 straight winning seasons, and finished with three losing ones. The end comes for everyone.
the Noll/Bradshaw WOWY records are actually incredibly similar to the Belichick/Brady ones, 107-51 vs. 86-97-1. No one is calling Noll a fraud and Bradshaw indispensable, although maybe they would have on a 24/7 internet cycle
You’re not wrong and as a Cowboys fan we watched it with Bill Parcells but I see NOTHING to indicate the game has passed Bill Belichick by. He just doesn’t have a lot of talent to work with right now. He’s got some injuries to key players too.