Tom Brady no longer is a New England Patriot, meaning he and Bill Belichick will be in the NFL at the same time without being together.
The NFL world always has wondered who deserves more praise for the Patriots’ near two decades of success that saw them win six Super Bowls in that time. Brady or Belichick? ESPN’s Mike Greenberg believes there is a clear answer to that question.
“Is it Brady or is it Bill?,” Greenberg said on “Get Up!” Monday. “Who is most responsible for the unprecedented run of success that the Patriots have enjoyed over 20 years? Maybe this year, we will finally find out. Meanwhile, it seems worth reminding you that there is no way to evaluate Brady without Bill because it has never happened. There is plenty of data to evaluate Bill without Brady. For whatever it’s worth, it’s not a pretty picture. Bill Belichick coached exactly 100 games before Tom Brady’s first start. He was 42-58. Most of that was in Cleveland where he took over a Browns team that had made the playoffs five out of six years. Coached them five seasons, he had losing records in four. By the way, Nick Saban was his defensive coordinator four of those five seasons. And yes, the ending was a terrible situation — the team planning to relocate to Baltimore — factor that in however you’d like. Then he went to New England. Belichick was 5-13 with Drew Bledsoe, No. 1 overall draft pick, at quarterback. Then Brady took over.”
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And Greenberg wasn’t done.
“In his (Brady’s) first start, he beat Peyton Manning and the Colts by 31 points as a double-digit underdog. He then went 13-3 the rest of the way and won the Super Bowl. Brady went on to average 28 points a game as a starter over his Patriots career. That is the most by any quarterback ever. In games started by anyone else, Belichick’s teams have averaged 19 points. Brady also won six playoff games in which his team allowed 28 or more points. No other quarterback has ever won more than two. And Brady made himself a salary cap bargain. In none of his championship seasons was Brady a top 10 cap hit in the league. So, what does all of this mean? Certainly doesn’t necessarily take away from Belichick as a coach. I believe he is the greatest in the history of American team sports. But, the facts are the facts. So, if he is ever going to accomplish anything without Tom Brady, he’s going to have to start doing it now.”
Greenberg certainly held no punches when discussing these two. Both will be under a microscope now that they are separated and competing for the NFL’s top prize.
