I think you and others are missing the point of many of the posters on this thread. I'm not sure there is anyone (maybe 1 or 2) that doesn't consider Bill the GOAT coach. Rather, he's a man that's made quite a few mistakes, so he's open to criticism. He's not the deity that Team Bill makes him out to be. As such:
1. Who was more influential for the 20 yr dynasty: Bill or Brady?
2. Did Brady help Bill's career since Bill's record w/o Brady is below average.
3. Was Bill's decision to bench Malcolm a monumental mistake that cost the Pats a SB?
4. Has Bill's drafting decisions been unfavorable to helping Brady maintain offensive weapons.
5. Does Brady winning a SB in his 1st yr in Tampa show the monumental GM mistake Bill made in not doing whatever was needed to extend Brady.
Team Bill has employed a strategy of attacking Brady's record and minimize his accomplishments and influence on the team to prop up Bill's coaching acumen.
Team Bill has also reverted to whitewashing Bill's record with CLE to dispell any notion he's an avg coach w/o the GOAT. They have no problem taking the wins at CLE for his win record but want to discount the losses with minutiae.
Team Bill has also started to blame Brady for several SB losses.
The biggest weapon used by Team Bill is to accuse anyone that hasn't taken a loyalty oath to Bill (IBWT) as trolls, fans of other teams, pink hats, etc. because critics of Bill aren't part of the group think coven and are therefore traitors to the cause.
It's all quite amusing. That said, there are definitely some attacks on Bill that are a bit over the top.
Thanks for laying that out...
I'll try to put my outlook on it.
1) Who cares? Really. Not in a smart-ass way, but in a it was a symbiotic relationship and it worked well for 20 years. The record speaks for itself, they did it together with the help of the rest of the team and coaching staff and scouts and training staff, etc. I'm all about the team. I love what Brady did for the Pats, but he is gone, it doesn't matter why he left to me, the drama soap opera stuff bores me. 20 freaking years together! That is amazing.
2) Of course Brady helped BB's career, but Brady's career was helped by BB. How many behind the scenes looks and accounts do we need to hear of BB staying late working on game plans and Brady watching film right after a tough loss. These guys are dedicated to their craft and we were lucky they both were able to co-exist for so long. This was not by accident. I'm sure they worked on their relationship to make it work because they respected each other.
3) Malcolm Butler? Not again. If a gun was at my head and I had to choose, I would say yes. But, I feel like there is way more to it than any of us will ever know (although i hope to hear about it from BB some day). My respect for BB gives me lots of doubt to my "yes" answer because he more than anyone in pro sports (that I have followed closely) really knows his team. When he cut Malloy heads were spinning. When he chose Brady over Bledsoe heads were spinning. Seymour cut, same etc.. This was different because of the back up plan, but I feel that his long view of coaching the Pats was the deciding factor in that choice and if he lets players get away with something once, who is to say if others would have taken advantage of his relaxing of the rules? I am just guessing, but maybe if he let's Butler play, they end up losing control of the locker room and not win in 2018. I don't know, nobody does. II do know that he makes way more great decisions that bad ones.
4) First of all, I don't think BB thinks that way. Or at least it sure doesn't seem that way. Which might be the problem you and others have with him. BB seems to think about what is best for the team based on the wealth of knowledge he has at any given moment, not how can I get Brady more weapons. Maybe it was a mistake, but I trust that he will learn from this transition and get the Pats back on track. we will see.
5) No. I don't think it was a monumental mistake. It was a miscalculation in some ways, but to expect Brady to win the SB with NE this year is wishful thinking. They had no cap room and then with the opt outs, etc... The receiving core was nowhere near to what the Bucs have/had and it was a good thing for Brady for him to move on, becvause there was no way any of us want to see Tom go out with a couple mediocre seasons. It was good to transition out of brady when he could win in TB for a year or two while the Pats re-tool. I am content with the decision. It wasn't gonna last forever, why sweat it. I just don't care as much about the drama and assigning blame to either party involved. I just am excited to see the Pats re-tool and see what the next chapter in Pats history will bring. No guarantees of championships or division titles. Just good hard-hosed football is what I want and we will see if they have more points at the end of each game and if they win enough games to make the playoff and hopefully win their last game of the NFL playoffs and hang another banner.
Re Cleveland. BB learned a lot from his experience their and as a failed HC he got to apply what he learned while an assistant and now as a head coach as NE. Sometimes failure is the best teacher. Also, the Cleveland situation was bad and taught BB to not work for a sihtty owner, probably why he resigned as HC of the Jets after one day.
Re: Brady blame for SB's. People believe what they want. I believe the Pats lost as a team and win as a team. Sometime McGinest makes a big play that fires up the D. Sometimes Players make key blocks to allow Brady to throw a TD pass. Sometimes BB designs a scheme to shut down Manning. Sometimes Brady manages a drive to wear down a defense to allow them to mount a comeback later. Sometimes Edelman makes a circus catch off a ball that could have been intercepted. It's a team game and to assign Brady or BB too much credit or blame is not my cup of tea.
Re: Trolls. Trolls are sometimes here, but putting longtime posters in that category is silly. I think it is a lazy argument and i personally don't care if someone calls me a BB lover or whatever. I support the Pats and have moved on from Brady. I am happy for his continued success, but watching him play is not as exciting as i thought it would be. I am a BB supporter (despite his flaws) because he coaches the Pats. Period. I do appreciate hearing people's legit criticism's of him because I tend to see the team in a positive light as much as possible (it is just how I enjoy the team), so it gives me new insights on what to see when things are not going well for the Pats.
Re: Over the top attacks on BB. I think that is the problem on both sides. overreactions to overreactions. It gets a little too personal at times too, which is weird to me. But whatever, I am just happy that we had football last year and it looks like we are back on track for this year with fans in Gillette.
Thanks for your post, it was fun to respond to.
