How Tom Brady, Bill Belichick Dominated Current NFL Mistake With Patriots

Every once in a while, trends come up in the NFL that make the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick-led Patriots dynasty that much more impressive for New England.

The latest example came in recent weeks and was highlighted in Week 17 when the Atlanta Falcons dropped a crucial matchup to the Washington Commanders when head coach Raheem Morris left multiple timeouts on the board.

Belichick shared how puzzled he’s been from watching the collective struggles around the league during his weekly appearance on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” Monday.

“It’s mystifying what’s been going on with some of this clock management,” Belichick shared.

Belichick went on to admit that the New England offensive staff changed late-game management with timeouts in 2013 and 2014, with Brady and then offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

“I had always wanted to save it until the end, especially if you needed a field goal so you didn’t have to run the no-huddle field goal team on,” Belichick explained. “You could just take a timeout, go in there and kick it. But Brady said, ‘Look, I’d rather have more time and less timeouts because it gives me more options than less time and a timeout. So let me handle it and if I screw it up, that’s my fault and you can take it away from me.'”

Belichick also credited Patriots legendary staffer Ernie Adams for contributing to game management decisions such as these that allowed for success in the back half of the New England dynasty.

“It puts a lot of responsibility on the quarterback but Tom wanted that and I felt very confident giving it to him,” Belichick added. “So basically, fundamentally we made that switch. … I think some of that depends on just how you want to set it up between the head coach, the quarterback, the offensive coordinator.”

You can watch the full clip of Belichick’s Patriots explanation here.