Inside the most dysfunctional Pats season under BB

[TheRainMaker]

Good post but Bill's 70 and he doesn't have enough time to rebuild with another quarterback. He either has to try to make it work with Mac or trade for Rodgers or Jackson. Trading for a 'plug and contend' quarterback is Bill's best bet. Mac isn't going to be good enough to make it through the AFC gauntlet of Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, and Herbert.

Bill has 1 of 3 options. 1. Surround Mac with better talent which includes at least one elite playmaker. 2. Trade for Rodgers or Jackson. 3. Do what he usually does - bypassing talent in favor of players he likes and hopes for the best. Bill will not win anything with any of these options if he doesn't have better talent on the defensive side of the ball as well.

Kurt Warner is on 98.5 and he is basically trashing Patricia. He is saying the concepts the Pats were trying to run are sound, but he doesn't believe Patricia understood the concepts and how to implement them. He said the receiver spacing was awful which made it impossible to know where to throw to. It is basically everything he said in the video later in the year, but a little more definitive towards blaming the coaching.

He did add that the only way to have a successful offense is to build the offense around the QB and his strengths and wants. He believes the Patriots built the offense around concepts they liked and didn't really take Mac Jones and his strengths into consideration.

Many analysts said this during the year. The play designs were amateur hour. How many times did we see guys running side by side, in the same area or bumping into each other? There were many debates on here including that Colts game where Mac didn't throw it to Bourne on a hitch route I believe, but you can clearly see the hesitation because Shaq Leonard was in the area guarding what do you know...a player close to Bourne. This was a common theme throughout the year. I saw plays were it would've worked like the Bourne play, but the Pats own teammates would be running in the same area which brought an unnecessary defender with them.

 

[Rob0729]

It's not about me. It's about Belichick, who's 70 and nearing the end of his coaching career. How does he maximize the few seasons he has left? Try to (re)build (again) around a QB with a limited ceiling? You tell me, what kind of offense are the Patriots building around Mac to maximize his strengths? Or perhaps Bill can go after a known elite QB and swing for the fences for 2-3 seasons? This seems to be NYJ's plan so we may have an interesting comparison of approaches.

I don't have answers for how the team can get back to being consistent contenders again but I know they'll give themselves a needed advantage with an elite quarterback. The conference is full of them.

First of all, we do not even know what Mac Jones' ceiling is yet. You have your opinion, but that is just your opinion.

Second, I didn't take into effect Belichick's age. They are definitely going to draft an elite QB in April since Belichick is 70.

Third, I am sure if the Chiefs win Sunday, they will trade Mahomes since they will be tired of winning Super Bowls. I am sure the Pats can trade Jones and a seventh rounder for him. What elite QBs are out there to be traded or gotten? Aaron Rodgers, maybe, and that is only if he waives his no trade clause to come to the Patriots.

Face facts. The Pats may never have another elite QB in our lifetime. It took the Bills over 30 years from Jim Kelly's retirement to them drafting Josh Allen. Similar timeframe for the Bengals between Easiason (who was never elite) to Burrow. It was like forty years between Len Dawson retiring and the Chiefs drafting Mahomes. Elite QBs don't grow on trees and most teams wait decades to get one.

And I don't know how you can say the conference is full of elite QBs. If there are a dozen elite QBs in the league, they are no longer elite. And some of the supposed elite QBs in this conference (Russell Wilson, DeShaun Watson) were not so elite this year. And some "elite" QB like Herber have yet to show they can win anything.

 

[crawhammer]

First of all, we do not even know what Mac Jones' ceiling is yet. You have your opinion, but that is just your opinion.

Second, I didn't take into effect Belichick's age. They are definitely going to draft an elite QB in April since Belichick is 70.

Third, I am sure if the Chiefs win Sunday, they will trade Mahomes since they will be tired of winning Super Bowls. I am sure the Pats can trade Jones and a seventh rounder for him. What elite QBs are out there to be traded or gotten? Aaron Rodgers, maybe, and that is only if he waives his no trade clause to come to the Patriots.

Face facts. The Pats may never have another elite QB in our lifetime. It took the Bills over 30 years from Jim Kelly's retirement to them drafting Josh Allen. Similar timeframe for the Bengals between Easiason (who was never elite) to Burrow. It was like forty years between Len Dawson retiring and the Chiefs drafting Mahomes. Elite QBs don't grow on trees and most teams wait decades to get one.

And I don't know how you can say the conference is full of elite QBs. If there are a dozen elite QBs in the league, they are no longer elite. And some of the supposed elite QBs in this conference (Russell Wilson, DeShaun Watson) were not so elite this year. And some "elite" QB like Herber have yet to show they can win anything.

Good post (minus the sarcasm).

Seems like you've settled on (and are content with) Belichick continuing to build around Mac. I think it's hard to have confidence in Belichick, considering what he did to the offense last season. But we'll see.

I personally can't stand Rodgers but I think he could boost the Patriots chances of contending for a couple of seasons. I love the idea of going after Jackson. I hate the idea of him playing for the Jets because if healthy he'll be a perfect fit there and that team will be contending immediately (aside from the QB, the Jets have a better roster than the Ravens right now).

AFC has 4 reliably elite QBs: Mahomes, Allen, Burrow & Herbert
AFC second tier elite QBs (w/ concerns or questions): Jackson (injuries), Watson (affect of layoff), Lawrence (ascending?), Tua (concussions)

I fully expect the top 4 to dominate the AFC playoffs for the next decade. One or more from the second tier could join them as well.

 

[patfanken]

It's not about me. It's about Belichick, who's 70 and nearing the end of his coaching career. How does he maximize the few seasons he has left? Try to (re)build (again) around a QB with a limited ceiling? You tell me, what kind of offense are the Patriots building around Mac to maximize his strengths? Or perhaps Bill can go after a known elite QB and swing for the fences for 2-3 seasons? This seems to be NYJ's plan so we may have an interesting comparison of approaches.

I don't have answers for how the team can get back to being consistent contenders again but I know they'll give themselves a needed advantage with an elite quarterback. The conference is full of them.

Your slavish adherence to this topic is starting to become concerning. The word obsessive comes immediately to mind, but psychologists would have others. But here's the thing. You CONSTANTLY ignore any and ALL facts that tears you away from your "Johnny one note" tirade.

I'll just give you one. You CONSTANTLY ignore that Tom Brady did NOT come out of the box to be the GOAT. I think he and Joe Montana are examples of QB's that were the creation of their HC's. They were put into PERFECT systems that accentuated their specific skills and surrounded them with talent. I think Brady IS the GOAT because into his 2nd decade in the league he MADE himself into the QB who defied any system and definitions that try and determine was is good and what is great. This is one of the reasons for the impasse between Brady and Bill at the end. Bill was still trying to coach him hard, and Brady felt he was beyond that. Maybe he was. But that's another topic.

Bellichick was a MASSIVE influence in Brady's development. Christ, for the first 3 years of Brady's career, it was Bellichick who was his QB coach. I never hear you mention that nugget. You said something about trying to build another contender with a top 15 or so QB. Well for at least his first 3 superbowl wins, that's how he was viewed by many. It really wasn't until 2007 when phrase "game manager" was no longer was associated with him Until then he wasn't ever considered a "top 5 QB". Even with 3 rings he was mostly in the lower half of the top 10. But Brady was that EXTREMELY rare guy who WILLED himself to get better WELL into his long career. He worked as hard to improve himself in his 15th year as he did his 2nd. No one is saying he wasn't great.

You just need to admit to yourself that Bellichick played a legitimate LONG TERM critical role in his development and played a BIGGER long term role in building TEAM after TEAM after TEAM that was good enough to compete for titles for 20 freakin' years. No other "GM" comes even close to that kind of consistency. No one. So while there is a MYRIAD of bad picks and FA signings over the years, there were also some very good ones. NO QB, no matter how good can get into contention WITHOUT a contending roster. Contending in both talent AND depth. Yet YOU seem to contend that Bill has been a disaster of a GM, despite all the evidence that proves you wrong..

BTW- I agree with you that we would probably have a better shot at being a contender if Aaron Rodgers was brought in. But that would be going "all" in other areas and would end in a crash in 2 years and another LONGER rebuild. While I think winning is important to Bill, I believe he is trying to build a contending team the right way, which is over time. That means spending to the cap without mortgaging the future long term gains for short term success. And passing a quality roster over to his successor rather than a dumpster fire.

I believe with the draft capital they have and the FA space the team will be more talented than last years team and have more depth. They will get younger and faster too. But AGAIN, so will 31 other teams. The Conference is stacked and only getting better. EVERY win will be hard fought against good competition. There will be NO sure wins we can count on in the preseason, but there will be NO sure losses either,

That is the nature of the game TO's, good bounces, a non-call here, or a good call there can often swing games. It makes EVERY game exciting and a joy to watch. I'm afraid that your mania will rob you of this pleasure. Time to relax a bit and let the off season evolve. There will be PLENTY of occasions to rail against this hire or that pick up, and of course there is the draft. You'll get PLENTY of shots to take before they suit up for game one of the 2023 season.

 

[Rob0729]

Good post (minus the sarcasm).

Seems like you've settled on (and are content with) Belichick continuing to build around Mac. I think it's hard to have confidence in Belichick, considering what he did to the offense last season. But we'll see.

I personally can't stand Rodgers but I think he could boost the Patriots chances of contending for a couple of seasons. I love the idea of going after Jackson. I hate the idea of him playing for the Jets because if healthy he'll be a perfect fit there and that team will be contending immediately (aside from the QB, the Jets have a better roster than the Ravens right now).

AFC has 4 reliably elite QBs: Mahomes, Allen, Burrow & Herbert
AFC second tier elite QBs (w/ concerns or questions): Jackson (injuries), Watson (affect of layoff), Lawrence (ascending?), Tua (concussions)

I fully expect the top 4 to dominate the AFC playoffs for the next decade. One or more from the second tier could join them as well.

If you consider Tua as second tier elite, you think Jones has the potential to become second tier elite. The biggest difference between Tua and Mac isn't any skills either one of them have, but the players around them.

I wouldn't call Herbert elite until he proves he can win a playoff game.

As for the other players, most of these QBs were drafted really high by teams that really sucked (as high as #1 for several of them). And do you want to venture how many QBs were drafted in the first rounds and failed (or far from elite) between when Mahomes and Watson (the players drafted the longest time ago you listed) were drafted and when Lawrence (the most recently draft) was drafted? I will list them all:

Baker Mayfield
Sam Darnold
Josh Rosen
Kyler Murray
Daniel Jones
Dwayne Haskins
Jordan Love
I would include Tua myself

That doesn't include the 2020 draft where Zach Wilson, Mac Jones, Trey Lance, nor Justin Fields have yet to show they may be elite. Or Mitchell Trubisky who was drafted before Mahomes and Watson in the 2017 draft.

If you look at the five years before the 2017 draft, the first round QBs are even worse.

Jared Goff
Carson Wentz
Paxton Lynch
Jameis Winston
Marcus Mariotta
Blake Bortles
Johnny Manziel
Teddy Bridgewater
EJ Manuel
Andrew Luck
RGIII
Ryan Tannehill
Brandon Weeden

In five years prior to a draft that produced to "elite" QB, the first round produced only one elite QB (Luck) and a small handful of other QBs who even starter quality.

Elite QBs do not grow on trees. You can't just say "We need to dump the QB we have and draft an elite QB".

Sorry to be sarcastic, but one of my biggest pet peeves is people saying all the Pats have to do is get an elite QB to build the offense around as if it something you can easily do.

 

[crawhammer]

I think he and Joe Montana are examples of QB's that were the creation of the HC's.

You lose me here, which is pretty quick. Belichick and Walsh are great head coaches but neither one of them have ever won even a division without their HOF QB. Brady and Montana are uniquely talented QBs who also played their best in the biggest moments.

Walsh literally only played with two QBs: Montana and DeBerg. His only success came with Montana.
Belichick has had many different starting quarterbacks over his head coaching career. His only success came with Brady. Brady won with another head coach, which further puts a dent in your argument. Were these QBs merely creations of their HCs? Zero evidence for it.

I read the rest of your post. I appreciate how you thoughtfully present your arguments, even though we disagree on some points.

 

[Wozzy]

Bill has 1 of 3 options. 1. Surround Mac with better talent which includes at least one elite playmaker. 2. Trade for Rodgers or Jackson. 3. Do what he usually does - bypassing talent in favor of players he likes and hopes for the best. Bill will not win anything with any of these options if he doesn't have better talent on the defensive side of the ball as well.

Bill has already started to surrounded Mac/Zappe with exactly what they need. A new coordinator and new O-Line Coach along with new position coaches as well. The 2022 Patriots had a really good collection of weapons, unfortunately they had Bozo the clown calling the offense. They have Mac, they have Zappe... they have two chances to score a solid starting QB.

Bring back the same weapons, minus Agholor who fumbled every other play, and they'll be fine assuming they have a good offseason in free agency and the draft. Shore up the offensive tackle position opposite Trent Brown, find a slot WR or re-sign Meyers, add some depth. Talent was the least of their issues. Thornton and Marcus Jones are hyper talented.

Many analysts said this during the year. The play designs were amateur hour. How many times did we see guys running side by side, in the same area or bumping into each other? There were many debates on here including that Colts game where Mac didn't throw it to Bourne on a hitch route I believe, but you can clearly see the hesitation because Shaq Leonard was in the area guarding what do you know...a player close to Bourne. This was a common theme throughout the year. I saw plays were it would've worked like the Bourne play, but the Pats own teammates would be running in the same area which brought an unnecessary defender with them.

Yeah... I don't understand how anyone could watch that offense and not see the incompetence. They led the league in pre-snap penalties for cripessakes... they couldn't even line players up correctly snap the ball without screwing up.

 

[Wozzy]

You lose me here, which is pretty quick. Belichick and Walsh are great head coaches but neither one of them have ever won even a division without their HOF QB. Brady and Montana are uniquely talented QBs who also played their best in the biggest moments.

Walsh literally only played with two QBs: Montana and DeBerg. His only success came with Montana.
Belichick has had many different starting quarterbacks over his head coaching career. His only success came with Brady. Brady won with another head coach, which further puts a dent in your argument. Were these QBs merely creations of their HCs? Zero evidence for it.

I read the rest of your post. I appreciate how you thoughtfully present your arguments, even though we disagree on some points.

In three postseason games in 2001 Tom threw one TD pass... one.

They won the Super Bowl.

I suspect you were about twelve when that happened, and probably aged in the single digits when Montana won.

Don't try to rewrite history...

Tom was a project QB. That's why he got drafted in the 6th and was a game manager.

 

[crawhammer]

If you consider Tua as second tier elite, you think Jones has the potential to become second tier elite. The biggest difference between Tua and Mac isn't any skills either one of them have, but the players around them.

This is a reasonable point. However I was hesitant to include Tua, and I really think his career is screwed due to the concussions, so in hindsight I shouldn't have included him.

I wouldn't call Herbert elite until he proves he can win a playoff game.

I fully agree regarding the postseason. But overall Herbert has had an outstanding start to his career. I think he'll clearly be a mainstay in the elite QB picture.

That doesn't include the 2020 draft where Zach Wilson, Mac Jones, Trey Lance, nor Justin Fields have yet to show they may be elite.

I envision an excellent career for Fields. He's got mad skills and athleticism. The team around him has been horribly bad. I'm excited to see what he can do with a better supporting cast.

Andrew Luck

Should been an all-time great. He flat out quit on his NFL career.

Elite QBs do not grow on trees. You can't just say "We need to dump the QB we have and draft an elite QB".

I was in the draft Lamar Jackson camp and it didn't happen. We missed out on an elite QB there. But I totally agree with you that elite QBs for the most part are rare and difficult to secure on your roster. That's why teams (like the Patriots for two decades) have such an advantage when they have one.

Specific to Belichick's remaining career window, I think drafting another 1st round quarterback is off the table now. He needs to build around Mac, hope BOB gets the offense clicking, and find a way to compete with Buffalo. Because they have a lot of obstacles to being legitimate contenders but getting past Buffalo is priority one.

The only other option I see for Belichick is trading for an elite QB. I think Rodgers could help for a couple of seasons. Jackson, if healthy, could get the team back to being long term contenders.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Bill seemed wedded to Bledsoe being his franchise quarterback. A 10-year contract is a pretty strong indication.

He wasn't. Look at the contract structure.

He said that when? After Brady was wearing a SB ring. Let's assume Brady outplayed Drew in camp... was there even a known competition there? For all we know Drew coasted through camp because he had just signed a mega deal with the team and he naturally assumed his starting job was guaranteed.

The Brady 6.

You are creating circumstances.

If you want to debate then stick to the subject. And I wish you would stop bringing up this 8-8 record because it was really 8-9 and I don't want to correct you.

He was 8-8. I'm not counting game 17 when he was pulled in the 1st 1/2 and they lost.

Your version keeps Brady's .500 or above record intact for all 22 seasons. Which sounds better.

And?

The Bucs won their division this season. They made the playoffs all three seasons with Brady and won their division back to back for the first time in franchise history. The Bucs were successful with Brady and had he got there sooner, perhaps prior to the 2017 season, then they probably would have won multiple Super Bowls.

Doubtful because their roster was bad and their coach sucked.

But only Brady reaches the Super Bowl 48% of the time. No other quarterback in the history of the NFL comes close to that percentage. Elway reached the Super Bowl 31% of the time. Montana was 30% of the time. Most all-time elite quarterbacks are much lower than those two.

It's 43% 10 appearances over 23 seasons.

I think it matters what Belichick thought of the team's success. It's flawed thinking to believe you can win with any top 15 quarterback. Mainly because you were winning with the top 1 quarterback and the rest of your career shows you haven't won with anything less than that.

Who is saying the Patriots would have won 6 SBs with the middling QB? You keep bringing this up and I have no idea WTF you are talking about?

 

[crawhammer]

In three postseason games in 2001 Tom threw one TD pass... one.

They won the Super Bowl.

I suspect you were about twelve when that happened, and probably aged in the single digits when Montana won.

Don't try to rewrite history...

Tom was a project QB. That's why he got drafted in the 6th and was a game manager.

You seem to be an ageist.

I hope you're young and healthy, but really your age is irrelevant. Unless you're like 6, which is unlikely.

I'm not rewriting anything. From 2001 to 2005, Brady had led the NFL in TDs and passing yards, and he was receiving NFL MVP votes. He was a 3x Super Bowl champion with 2 SB MVPs and 3 game-winning drives. If he retired right then, he would have been inducted into the HOF. That's not representative of a QB who started his NFL career as a "project QB."

 

[Wozzy]

You seem to be an ageist.

I hope you're young and healthy, but really your age is irrelevant. Unless you're like 6, which is unlikely.

I'm not rewriting anything. From 2001 to 2005, Brady had led the NFL in TDs and passing yards, and he was receiving NFL MVP votes. He was a 3x Super Bowl champion with 2 SB MVPs and 3 game-winning drives. If he retired right then, he would have been inducted into the HOF. That's not representative of a QB who started his NFL career as a "project QB."

Immature is believing history is rewritten because of the nostalgia you have for one player.

He didn’t start as a rookie… start there.

In 2001 he was a game manager, Charlie Weis was doing everything in his power to protect Tom from himself. He threw almost as many INT’s as he did TD’s in the regular season (18/12) and again… threw one TD and one INT in three postseason games. They won a Super Bowl because the team around him and so was the extraordinary mentorship from Bill and Charlie.

In 2002 when he led the league in passing TD’s the Pats were 12th in passing yards… oh yeah, he also threw 14 interceptions. Basically they were taking the restrictor plate off Tom and letting him grow as a passer.

In your estimation he exited college slinging it for 300 yards a game and 3 TD’s for every INT… he didn’t. Geezus… at 6’4” the kid weighed 211 pounds exiting college.

He was developed into the goat, he wasn’t Andrew Luck or Peyton Manning and both of those guys dealt with growing pains starting as true rookies.

Like I said… stop trying to rewrite history. It’s childish hero worship.

 

[crawhammer]

He wasn't. Look at the contract structure.

I'll take your word for it. But I stand by my original point.

The Brady 6.

You are creating circumstances.

No, I just think it's reasonable to think a guy like Bledsoe, at that stage of his career, would coast through camp thinking he's the QB1 no matter what. Which he was until Mo Lewis redirected his career path.

He was 8-8. I'm not counting game 17 when he was pulled in the 1st 1/2 and they lost.

Doubtful because their roster was bad and their coach sucked.

Ultimately it's a hypothetical situation. I think Brady in 6 seasons with virtually any team in the NFL would have won at least 1 Super Bowl (and probably 2).

It's 43% 10 appearances over 23 seasons.

It's a stat for starting seasons only. 2000 and 2008 don't count. So it's 10 in 21 = 48%.

Who is saying the Patriots would have won 6 SBs with the middling QB? You keep bringing this up and I have no idea WTF you are talking about?

Not middling. Top 15.

You're unfamiliar with this quote from an unnamed Patriots assistant coach?:

"If you gave us any of the top 15 quarterbacks in the NFL, we could do it. I don't think the coaches view Tom as special as everyone else in football does. Kraft thinks Tom is the greatest gift ever, but the coaches don't."

 

[RobertWeathers]

"If you gave us any of the top 15 quarterbacks in the NFL, we could do it. I don't think the coaches view Tom as special as everyone else in football does. Kraft thinks Tom is the greatest gift ever, but the coaches don't."

It was probably that dumb ass Fat Matt who said that.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

I envision an excellent career for Fields. He's got mad skills and athleticism. The team around him has been horribly bad. I'm excited to see what he can do with a better supporting cast.

Doesn't this show you that BB was as big a part of 6 championships as Tom was? Fields has a bad team around him, is that because of the GM or coach or both? And BB is the GM/Coach here. Just not sure what your point is.

 

[h0c2000]

Joe Theismann was an MVP and Doug Williams was a first round draft pick. Let's not pretend his QBs sucked, k?

Can Newton MVP and #1 overall pick
Drew Bledsoe #1 overall pick
Vinnie Testaverde #1 overall pick

0 Super Bowls.

 

[Rob0729]

Here is the Warner interview.

 

[crawhammer]

In your estimation he exited college slinging it for 300 yards a game and 3 TD’s for every INT… he didn’t. Geezus… at 6’4” the kid weighed 211 pounds exiting college.

You're not familiar with Brady's Michigan accomplishments. Some pretty impressive things there.

In 2001 he was a game manager, Charlie Weis was doing everything in his power to protect Tom from himself. He threw almost as many INT’s as he did TD’s in the regular season (18/12) and again… threw one TD and one INT in three postseason games. They won a Super Bowl because the team around him and so was the extraordinary mentorship from Bill and Charlie.

Funny how Bill or Charlie haven't been able to spread their pixie dust on any other quarterbacks.

You should rewatch the divisional game vs the Raiders. Seems like you couldn't see Brady's great play through the snowflakes. And you shut SB 36 off when Madden said the Patriots should kneel down for OT. Past your bedtime.

He was developed into the goat, he wasn’t Andrew Luck or Peyton Manning and both of those guys dealt with growing pains starting as true rookies.

Right, he wasn't the number one overall pick, which made his early accomplishments all the more impressive. Brady has way more heart than Andrew Luck and way more nerve than Peyton Manning. Things that you overlook. As for being called the GOAT, that of course takes time for justification. He earned the title after SB 49 (age 37).

 

[RodThePat]

Immature is believing history is rewritten because of the nostalgia you have for one player.

He didn’t start as a rookie… start there.

In 2001 he was a game manager, Charlie Weis was doing everything in his power to protect Tom from himself. He threw almost as many INT’s as he did TD’s in the regular season (18/12) and again… threw one TD and one INT in three postseason games. They won a Super Bowl because the team around him and so was the extraordinary mentorship from Bill and Charlie.

In 2002 when he led the league in passing TD’s the Pats were 12th in passing yards… oh yeah, he also threw 14 interceptions. Basically they were taking the restrictor plate off Tom and letting him grow as a passer.

In your estimation he exited college slinging it for 300 yards a game and 3 TD’s for every INT… he didn’t. Geezus… at 6’4” the kid weighed 211 pounds exiting college.

He was developed into the goat, he wasn’t Andrew Luck or Peyton Manning and both of those guys dealt with growing pains starting as true rookies.

Like I said… stop trying to rewrite history. It’s childish hero worship.

I love how we just throw out stats without accounting for context or passing environment. Brady was 6th in the league in passer rating in 2001, and the Patriots offense (and passing offense) ranked higher than their defense by DVOA. 18 TDs and 12 INTs is pretty ****ty these days (though still better than what Mac Jones put up last year), but it was good for 2001. Brady made the Pro Bowl that year and not as an alternate.

 

[DaBruinz]

I love how we just throw out stats without accounting for context or passing environment. Brady was 6th in the league in passer rating in 2001, and the Patriots offense (and passing offense) ranked higher than their defense by DVOA. 18 TDs and 12 INTs is pretty ****ty these days (though still better than what Mac Jones put up last year), but it was good for 2001. Brady made the Pro Bowl that year and not as an alternate.

You talk about context yet you take a swipe at MAC for his stats last season. Friggin hypocrite.