The Patriots haven’t always been the best team over the past two decades, but they’ve routinely been able to find solace in two areas ahead of playoffs runs.
What largely has separated New England from the rest of the pack over the course of its dynastic run has been an elite head coach-quarterback combination. They don’t come much better than Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, and the duo has helped lift the Patriots to unprecedented success. But if you ask Jason Whitlock, there will be no such luxury for New England this time around.
Belichick, of course, still is a football mastermind, but Whitlock seems to believe Brady has become more of a burden than a leading force. In fact, the “Speak For Yourself” believes the 42-year-old QB is New England’s biggest problem as the playoffs near.
“We can talk about what’s not there,” Whitlock said Wednesday on FOX Sports 1. “No Gronk (Rob Gronkowski), Antonio Brown vanished as quickly as he appeared, Josh Gordon smoked himself into oblivion again. New England’s offensive line isn’t as strong as it used to be. Would a younger, in-his-prime franchise quarterback mask some of New England’s deficiencies? Brady would say no. Belichick, I think, wants to find out. Coaches believe if you can’t prepare you can’t play at a high level. Players believe if you don’t have the proper support, you can’t play at a high level. There’s truth on both sides.”
Whitlock continued: “…Brady can legitimately say, ‘Look at the toys (Lamar) Jackson, (Patrick) Mahomes and (Deshaun) Watson get to play with.’ Jackson works behind the AFC’s best offensive line, hands the football to Mark Ingram and throws to a terrific group of tight ends in an offensive specifically designed for Jackson’s skill set. Mahomes? He has Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins, Mecole Hardman. Watson? He has DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller, Kenny Stills and Laremy Tunsil. Brady’s lack of weapons might be a bigger problem than Brady’s lack of preparation, but you can’t fix the weapons. Not this year, which in my mind makes Brady the Patriots’ biggest problem heading into the postseason. There’s no denying Tom Brady is New England’s biggest problem in defending their Super Bowl title.”
Today’s #Whitlogue: Weapons? Blocking? Play-calling? Sorry New England, the biggest issue on your offense is Tom Brady. @WhitlockJason pic.twitter.com/lOEjTMuSXf
— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) December 18, 2019
While Whitlock would disagree, the Patriots’ offensive line probably is their biggest issue. Brady has proven he’s still capable of making the necessary throws when he has time, but clean pockets have been a rarity for New England over the past handful of weeks. You only can ask so much of your quarterback when he’s consistently being put on the ground.
Sure, Brady probably is past the point in his career where he’s able to carry a team on his back, and not being 100 percent healthy surely isn’t helping his case either. But in terms of their Super Bowl pursuit, the Patriots really don’t need Brady to perform at an otherworldly level. With an elite defense and a play-making special teams unit, New England conceivably should be able to chug along even with fair production from its offense. Brady certainly needs to step up in order to achieve this, but so does his supporting cast.
