Might that be due to 1) Matt Cassell actually being better than he’s given credit for, 2) the overall team being quite stacked, just coming off an undefeated season, and 3) having a weak schedule?
Either Matt Cassel is terrible and exemplifies that Belichick's system of filling the team with low-cost acquisitions works well enough to hide that, or Cassel is better than we give him credit for and Belichick's ability to draft well is proof that we should be focusing on building from within.
Yes the team was stacked, maybe so stacked that we could've gone 11-5 with Blaine Gabbert. Again, I'm not sure that argues in your favor. Our teams have been stacked enough to go to the AFC Championship
eight times since Belichick came on board, including the past three years in a row.
I'll concede the easy schedule point, but will point out that Football Outsiders still had us ranked as the
ninth-best team in the NFL that year even though Matt Cassel was
no better than run-of-the-mill.
I just think you're wrong. If we keep following the Belichick system then we're primed for success after Brady as long as we don't bring someone in who is Brandon Weedon-level bad as the starter - and even if we did, we may still be able to elevate him to average, like we did with Cassel - he actually played
worse in his first year with the Chiefs than
Weeden did this year... I'd rather have sustained success for the rest of Belichick's coaching career than only try for a couple more years and then give up, as the Broncos seem to be planning to do.
Who knows. Maybe the Broncos' plan will work too. Maybe they'll somehow be able to retain one or both Thomases with their massive contract obligations, Osweiler will turn out great when Manning is gone despite ranking only
41st in completion percentage during his only starting season in college, and they'll have sustained success once Manning leaves. I just don't see how having their $10 million dollar corner on the bench during every AFC Championship game is going to help.