Brady is as good as he has ever been in my opinion. You can make a case for Belichick either way; he does not seem as involved or as aware of the happenings on his team as he once did, either that or he does not have the support system he once had.
Clearly, Matt Patricia is not a very good coach, I cannot think of another coordinator that worked under Belichick as long as Patricia has without being mentioned as a head-coaching candidate. He is the first defensive coordinator I have ever seen that does not have a ****ing scheme. McDaniels may have been damaged beyond repair in his time away from Belichick and the Patriots, the decision he makes with personnel, and his game plans are consistently questionable since he returned in 2012.
The personnel decision has hurt us, this year’s draft class produced 1 tackle total yesterday, no yards, not turnovers, nothing, not even a rushing attempt or a good block. This follows up years of failed early draft picks like Wilson, Bequette, Dowling, etc. Then look at UFA decisions, Lloyd, Amendola, Fells, Hooman, Salas, Larsen, all the former Rams and Broncos that McDaniels wanted have contributed very little if anything. Tommy Kelly, Adrian Wilson, Shaun Ellis, Chad Johnson, Jonathan Fanene, Haynesworth, and others did very little and were out of New England within 18 months of their signings.
I think what concerns me most is not the mistakes in personnel, or even giving a murderer $40M and being so removed from your team that you do not even know whom you are really paying. I could get past all of that, but the fact that are young players often regress more than they progress is the thing that I cannot get past. Harmon is what Wilson was in 2013; Ryan is behind Arrington and an UDFA. Ridley went from having one of the best seasons by a Patriots runner ever to me holding my breath every time he has the ball. Solder has gone backwards every year since 2012. Donta Hightower’s best season was his rookie season. McCourty after an all-pro rookie season at cornerback had to convert to safety. These happenings they are unbearable for me to watch, they make me question a coach who I for the past 14 years have seen as a personal idol of mine, and the greatest to ever do it.
Belichick has had arguable the best player in the NFL for the past decade, a player who has won 2 MVPs and he has been unable to put him the position to win a Super Bowl. When we had the offense to do it, the defense could not do it and let us down, now we have the defense (supposedly) and we do not have the offensive players to do it. It is simple things, such as when you know that the OL was very poor last season, so the goal should be to improve it, instead you trade away the best player on the unit to save a few bucks. Alternatively, drafting a QB in the second round when you have obvious and immediate needs especially on the OL to protect your current GOAT QB who is signed for 4 more seasons and gives you the best shot at winning a Super Bowl. If the Texans, Rams, Bucs, and other teams did not feel the need to draft a QB in the second round I cannot understand why the hell Belichick thought that should be a priority for the Patriots.
Now I fully expect some of the homers to take issue with what I have said here, and maybe you will make some valid points, but there is not an excuse for each and every thing I said in my post. I am being honest, I am disappointed in what I have seen in recent years, and not because it has been bad play or we are a losing team, but because it has been, mistakes that a coach of Belichick’s level should not be making. Belichick wants to walk away the greatest coach in history, so the standard and expectation for him is higher; mistakes every other coach make are not acceptable for the best ever.
