Walker (ESPN): Patriots will struggle in Post-Brady Era

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Patriots will struggle in post-Tom Brady era - AFC East Blog - ESPN

I usually think Walker is a decent writer for ESPN and he mainly writes about the Pats but I think its a ridiculous guess of his that he claims for sure that the Pats will immediately struggle without Brady in 4 or 5 years from now.

I can't say we will ever see a QB like Tom again but...

Who says the defense won't become a top ranked one by then who may cover deficiencies on offense like it is in reverse now?

Who says we won't have a all-star RB who carries much of the burden by then?

Who says the Patriots won't go spending in FA and pick up a Drew Brees or a Cam Newton type QB by then instead of assuming that Mallett or Hoyer will be the heir apparent?

Brady has been a HUGE part of this teams success over the years, but life will go on when he hangs it up and I don't think its a guarantee that the Pats reverse to the horrid records of the early 90s when he is gone so all this guessing is just pure speculation on anyone's part right now.

Doug Williams,Trent Dilfer are a few examples of SB champions with average QBs....and they didn't have Belichick at the HC position.

 

[UK_Pat37]

I was waiting for someone to bite on this article.

I RT'd it on twitter as 'the most pointless off season article so far'. That best describes it. You'd think, given the amount they pay these guys, they could use the ridiculous amount of resources they have at their disposal to write something more interesting and worth while.

 

[JackBauer]

I was going to write something, but then I realized I have nothing to say other than that's the dumbest article I have read in some time.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I was going to write something, but then I realized I have nothing to say other than that's the dumbest article I have read in some time.

I agree but not as dumb as the ESPN article a few days ago which has NFL Power Rankings for 2015.......Yes,I said 2015

 

[Jackson 2]

Must be a real slow day for Walker.

 

[Ivan]

How ironic, I was just writing an article about how the Packers will struggle when Aaron Rodgers retires. It's strange how things have changed so much, it used to be that teams in every sport were just as good when their greatest players ever retired, and now Brady is going to set this new and disturbing trend. It's no wonder these writers make the big money, they see things we could never see, although I did spot it with GB, but that was just luck.

 

[patchick]

How can you not be concerned about the 2017 Patriots, given that they currently have NOBODY under contract!


:bricks:

 

[Big-T]

When he tweeted earlier in the day that his next article "isn't going to make Patriots fans happy" I knew it'd be a pointless article that would try to buy cheap website hits.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Picture of Walker just seconds before he wrote the article

 

[mayoclinic]

ESPN: The Pats Will Struggle in the Post Brady Era

News flash from ESPN! All good things must someday come to an end. ESPN's James Walker "predicts" that someday - after Tom Brady retires - the Pats actually have a losing season and won't dominate the AFC. :bricks:

Patriots will struggle in post-Tom Brady era - AFC East Blog - ESPN

The article seems to be a combination of stating the obvious (the Pats won't likely have a QB as good as Brady after Brady is done; BB won't coach forever) and the ridiculous ("the offense is old" - who knows what it will look like in 3-5 years?).

We've been the lucky beneficiaries of a rare trifecta: the best owner/management, the best coach, and the best QB in the NFL. How often does that happen? Maybe the 49ers in the 1980s. Of course it won't last foreover. Then again, ESPN has been depicting the "demise" of the Patriots for 5+ years now.

:yawn2:

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Re: ESPN: The Pats Will Struggle in the Post Brady Era

I posted this 5 minutes ago...check the forum

 

[mayoclinic]

Re: ESPN: The Pats Will Struggle in the Post Brady Era

My bad, didn't see the other thread. Mods, please merge or delete.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

I thought it was the article forwarded to Brady in 2000 that stated the Patriots were the franchise least likely to have success.

 

[Sciz]

What a garbage article. While we're on the topic of struggling, I think the Jets and Dolphins will both struggle mightily this coming season, and that's a hell of a lot more relevant.

First of all, his premise contradicts itself:
"Brady, who turns 35 in August, says he wants to play in New England until he's 40."
"On Wednesday, ESPN.com examined potentially dominant teams in 2015. At that point, New England's easy run over the AFC East will be a thing of the past."

Brady will turn 38 just before the 2015 season. If he's going to play until he's 40, then why mention the 2015 season at all? If he's going to be gone before the 2015 season, why mention that he wants to play until he's 40?

Anyway, on to his points:

1. The Pats will not be able to replace Brady with a QB that is as good as Brady? I would have never guessed.

2. If the offense is really old, then all those guys will have to be replaced before Brady retires. I see Brady being on the team longer than Welker, Lloyd, Waters, Koppen, and quite possibly even Connolly and Mankins. Well, between now and when Brady retires, Belichick is bound to make approximately 5 first round picks and probably around 8 second round picks. At least half of those will become good players.

And we should see guys that are 23 or under (Gronk, Hernandez, Ridley, Vereen) account for more than half of the receiving and rushing yards this season. Nate Solder is 24. Sebastian Vollmer is 27. Marcus Cannon is 24. Nick McDonald (who I still say is the future starting center for the Pats) turns 25 in a month.

"But consider this: One tight end probably will bolt in free agency. Both Gronkowski and Hernandez -- two of the top five players at their position -- have rookie contracts set to expire in two years. Both will be looking for huge paydays, and New England can't do that with two players at the same position."
First of all, Hernandez and Gronkowski play the same position in name only. They are two completely different players with completely different skill sets. That's almost as bad as the Saints fan that didn't think Gronk and Hernandez could play at the same time since they play the same position. And they're tight ends. Gronk is coming off the best tight end season in NFL history. He's still not getting more than $10M a year. If he were a WR of the equivalent talent level, he'd be making $16M a year. And besides, who is all the money going to go to once all the old guys are gone? This article makes it seem like they're going to let all the old guys retire and then resign none of the young guys.

3. Belichick is like Brady. He's going to put his entire life into football as long as he's physically able. What else is he going to do, go fishing and watch lacrosse?

4. This might be my favorite line of the whole thing:
"Who will be the top quarterback in the AFC East when Brady retires? Ryan Tannehill? Mark Sanchez? Tim Tebow? Someone else?"
Hold on a second. This guy is fast forwarding to 2015 and see Brady retiring, but still has Sanchez or Tebow as the Jets' starting QB? Maybe he needs to do an article on the future of the Jets QB position. It'd be hard to make that article any worse than this one.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

While you have to be ******ed not to think that the Patriots down the road years from now,maybe in less than a decade from now won't one time or another have a subpar record and be third or fourth in the division,it still doesn't mean that its going to happen immediately the year after Brady retires.

The 70s Steelers,80s 49ers,90s Cowboys all had off years eventually so one has to realize it WILL happen,but saying it the year after Brady retires is just dumb...its a 53 Man game and it always will be.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Bold prediction.

 

[Deus Irae]

That's an article that screams "We need filler, and we need it now!"

 

[BSR]

He is absolutely right! It is impossible to follow up one hall of fame quarterback with another. Just following along his analogy, look at the no talent hack who followed Montana. I'm sure most don't even remember the guy's name. It just proves how impossible to have continued success after losing a quality quarterback with another despite how strong your program is.

I think the key factor that Walker is missing in his equation is ownership. The past decade plays out much differently without Belichick and Brady but the success starts with the Kraft family. They are the one reason that Patriots fans can hope for continued success even after Belichick and Brady are gone. Maybe not to the same extent but they aren't going to likely fall to the dregs of the NFL either.

 

[Gronkandez]

Wel Brady and Belichick will both retire at approximately the same time, so yeah, if you take away the GOAT coach and one of the GOAT QB's then one could deduct the franchise won't be as good.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

His problem is he acts as if they won't have any kind of transitional plans in place, won't have the draft or FA to facilitate those, and all the other teams will suddenly start succeeding as a result.

I think the larger ESPN group analysis done along these lines came to a very different conclusion - particularly as to timing. They have us still in the top 3 in 2015...in part because all things being equal they assume both Brady and Belichick will still be here and continuing to functioning at an above average level.

The initial comments on his article were priceless...