Time to put a big target on my chest for people to shoot at.
From 2001-2006 the Pats under Brady compiled a regular season record of 70-25. During those years they made the playoffs 5 times, compiling a playoff record of 12-2, with 4 AFCCG appears and 3 SB appearances, all victories. The most yards Brady ever passed for in those seasons was 4110; he never attempted more than 530 passes except in the 2002 season (601), which (coincidentally or not) was the one season out of those 6 in which the Pats failed to make the playoffs. He never passed for more than 28 TDs. Brady never won an MVP in those 6 seasons, though he won 2 SB MVPs. He didn't put up the glitzy numbers of Peyton Manning, who won several MVPs during that time. And some called him a "game manager", though others considered him the best QB in the NFL in the clutch.
After the Pats lost the 2006 AFCCG to the Colts 38-34, they opened up the offense and put the team squarley on Bradey's right shoulder. Except for the 2008 season, which he essentially missed, Brady has passed for 565 or more attempts in 4 out of the 5 seasons he has played since 2007, has passed for 4398 yards or more and 34 TDs or more in 4 out of the 5 seasons (and 4800 or more in 3 of the 5), has won 2 MVPs, and has eclipsed previous season records for TDs (50, 2007) and yards (5235, 2011, though Drew Brees passed for even more yards). During those years the Pats have gone 65-15 during the regular season and earned the #1 seed three times and the #2 seed once, but have gone only 5-5 during the playoffs over those 5 years, losing twice in the divisional round (2009, 2010), once in the AFCCG (2012), and twice in the SB (2007, 2011).
Clearly the Pats lost a lot of talent after the 2004 Super Bowl, and again after 2007 when key players got old. The team was rebuilt around Brady, and he has produced historic numbers. But perhaps the team has been asking him to do too much, rather than building a more complete team around him. Certainly at times over the past 3 seasons in the playoffs, it seems as though Brady has been pressing too hard and trying to do too much.
It reminds me a bit of John Elway's early vs. late SB history with the Broncos. Like Brady, Elway started in 5 SBs. However, Elway lost his first 3, all fairly convincingly (losses of 39-20, 42-10 and 55-10 to the Giants, Redskins and 49ers). Those Denver teams were not particularly strong teams, and Elway was basically the "super man" who got them to the Super Bowl in the first place. But it wasn't enough against better teams from the NFC. It wasn't until Elway was past his "prime" and in "decline", and until Denver had built a more complete team around him, that the Broncos found Super Bowl success in back to back years in 1997 and 1998.
The Pats have been asking Brady to carry them for a long time. But they've also been methodically building the team up, piece by piece. Perhaps we need to get to the point where others guys step up and carry more of the burden, and where the team doesn't have to rely on Brady to carry them so much. That may be hard for Brady to do, and the team certainly hasn't reached that point yet. But the talent level is pretty close to being where it needs to be.
My guess is that Brady can carry this team only so far, and it's probably not quite far enough to win the Super Bowl. He's certainly among the GOAT. But maybe the route to more trophies is by asking him to do less, and others to do more.
OK, fire away.