Tom Brady has had a heck of a career. He’s a six time Super Bowl Champion, four time Super Bowl MVP, and three time league MVP. Tom still has something left to prove, his ability to create success without Bill Belichek. One of the most common things Tom has to hear from the media and fans is that he is a system QB, and if it were not for Belichick he would be just another guy, perhaps even a nobody. Here’s why that’s false.
Going into the 2000 NFL Draft no one believed in Tom, but with the 199th selection the Patriots gambled on him. All these successful years later, people make the claim that his greatness is only the result of having a great coach, but a quick scan down the list of great NFL Quarterbacks reveals most had great coaches. Joe Montana had Bill Walsh, Terry Bradshaw had Chuck Noll, Dan Marino had Don Shula.
You never will hear this argument brought up against any of these other quarterbacks. Sure Bill is the best coach ever, but before Brady he had a losing record as a head coach and now with Tom under his wing for the past two decades he has the third most wins ever. Coincidence? Bill hadn’t proven himself before Brady and vice versa. The difference is Brady never had a shot to prove his worthiness without his counterpart… Belichick did.
Football “experts” also claim that Brady can only win under one system as well as one coach, which again is false. Brady had three offensive coordinators in his career in New England; Charlie Weis, Bill O’brien, and Josh McDaniels… he went to a Super Bowl with all three of them, and O’brien was the coordinator for just one season in 2011.
Some say Belichick is not an offensive minded coach, as he was a defensive coordinator with the Giants. It is also well noted that Bill spends much more time with the defense instead of the offense. Meanwhile, Joe Montana had Bill Walsh who was brilliant when it came to offensive coaching. Tom has actually had less of a system than Joe Montana ever did.
Tom Brady built his own success. Just because he has only played for one team does not mean he can’t be good somewhere else. For 20 years he has been the face of the NFL, consistently winning and staying on top. The constant for his success has been himself, not Bill Belichick.
Photo credit: Patriots Wire
