Brady gone

Actual Pats Fan said:

True, but do you think it's been as bad as with the other teams?

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Lately?

Absolutely, at least in big games and moments. Regular season example #1: Gronk playing defense on the last play of the Miami game.


Or, to put it another way:

Given that BB has been the highest paid coach in the NFL, and has been producing gaffes at an increasing rate, BB the owner would have brought BB the coach in for a downward adjustment to his contract.

BaconGrundleCandy said:

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Very insightful article. Deserves a thread of its own.

This is especially insightful to me:

But Belichick had always kept his professional relationships separate from his personal ones, and the list of aging players with big contracts that the coach has let go is long. Brady might have figured out a long time ago it could happen to him. That’s probably why he designed it so he could leave on his own terms.

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No wonder he insisted on no franchising, and no trade, in his last contract.

Reiss just said essentially the same thing:

2. Thoughts on Brady's departure: What are the primary factors that led Brady to this outcome? My thoughts:

• One of the things Brady relayed to some close to him was that he felt he had squeezed everything out of his partnership with Belichick after 20 years. So from his standpoint, it was time, unless there was a fundamental shift after two challenging contract negotiations in 2018 and 2019.
  
  
• That shift never came. Had Belichick decisively approached Brady with the clear-cut thought of, "I'd like to make this work so you can finish your career here; let's try to hammer this out," I believe there was a chance it could have continued. But I don't think Brady expected that was ever going to happen -- that's not Belichick's way -- which is why Brady had mentally prepared himself to play elsewhere in 2020.
  
  
• Why wouldn't Belichick do that? Only he has the answer, which is the way many things are with his close-to-the-vest management approach. Perhaps he ultimately thought that he, too, had squeezed everything possible out of his partnership with Brady. Or maybe he thought Brady would never leave, or at the least give the Patriots a chance to "compete" with what teams were offering him on the market.
  
  
• Part of it is the strategy with which the Patriots generally negotiate in which they withhold any offers as players are allowed to test the market while still keeping an open dialogue with them. That is one way the Patriots avoid insulting a player with a contract offer. It also protects them from the player taking an offer to another team as a leverage play. So, my understanding is that Belichick and Brady never had meaningful contracts talks since last August; instead it was like a dance to see who would make the first move.
  
  
• That highlights the overall dynamic of the situation to me, ever since the Patriots agreed not to place the franchise tag on Brady last August: For this to work for a 21st season, Brady and Belichick had to want each other, and owner Robert Kraft wasn't going to force the marriage. I thought Brady and Belichick would eventually get to that point, ultimately coming to the realization that being together was best for both of them. But, it never unfolded that way.

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Bill Belichick set to lead a reboot, not a rebuild, with Patriots

Deus Irae said:

Lately?

Absolutely, at least in big games and moments. Regular season example #1: Gronk playing defense on the last play of the Miami game.


Or, to put it another way:

Given that BB has been the highest paid coach in the NFL, and has been producing gaffes at an increasing rate, BB the owner would have brought BB the coach in for a downward adjustment to his contract.

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There are blunders - passing up FG's down the stretch in Denver, Malcolm Butler

And there are gambles, like 4th and 2. Letting the clock run against the Seahawks.

Most of the time, they do things right.

I saw a pretty good Houston team commit more coaching and strategy blunders within ten minutes of building a 24-0 lead at KC than I saw the Pats do in an entire season.

Sfpat said:

In one sense, Brady made a deal with the devil, in return for championships and the glory that comes with it.

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Kind of. Though I'd modify it a bit to say he did whatever had to be done to win, much like team management.

I just read the Wickersham piece on ESPN. He talks about Brady tiring of Belichick's way, of wanting to feel more appreciated and enjoy his "employment" more.

The tenet that had made the Patriots so hated and successful over the years -- the emotionless pursuit of victory -- seemed to finally touch the untouchable quarterback.

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I can understand that. We all want to be appreciated.

At the same time, I don't think we can forget what has been said so often over the last 20 years: In many ways, BB and TB are two of a kind. Belichick could be cold about cutting ties with the likes of Milloy, McGinest, Seymour etc. But Brady, too, has that competitive coldness in him. We've all seen him "ghost" receivers who don't interpret situations exactly as he does and don't always end up exactly where he wants them to. For both BB and TB, it came down to doing what was needed to win, and win often.

(As an aside: we've all read that Tampa has these excellent receivers. I'll be curious to see how they "click" with Brady as far as timing and reading defenses.)

Uncle Rico said:

Kind of. Though I'd modify it a bit to say he did whatever had to be done to win, much like team management.

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I'd even go a step farther and say that when he accepted the "team friendly" contracts in the mid 2010s he did that not only to have more resources available to stock up on talent on the team but also to make sure he himself wouldn't end up on the wrong side of BB's value equation.

In the end it is a pure question of value with BB. And now in 2020 we got to the point where the variance and uncertainty with Brady's performance vs. his age plus roster turnover got to a point where Tom would have had to make more concessions (i.e. in years or guarantees) to stay on the plus side of that equation. For obvious reasons he didn't feel like doing that and rather bet on another better equipped horse.

luuked said:

...And now in 2020 we got to the point where the variance and uncertainty with Brady's performance vs. his age plus roster turnover got to a point where Tom would have had to make more concessions (i.e. in years or guarantees) to stay on the plus side of that equation. For obvious reasons he didn't feel like doing that and rather bet on another better equipped horse.

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"...with Brady's performance..."?

Brady's?

How about the "performance" of so many of Bill's horrible draft picks?

sb1 said:

11-5 with Cassel.

3-1 with a raw JG and Jacoby Brissett.

Not to mention 2 rings won as a DC. Bill has a track record without Brady. Not the case vice versa.

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Interesting seeing the disagrees on this. They didn’t go 11-5 with Cassel in 08 and 3-1 when Brady was suspended?

And what exactly has Brady done in the NFL as of right now on a team not coached by Bill Belichick? Must have missed it.

Deus Irae said:

Lately?

Absolutely, at least in big games and moments. Regular season example #1: Gronk playing defense on the last play of the Miami game.


Or, to put it another way:

Given that BB has been the highest paid coach in the NFL, and has been producing gaffes at an increasing rate, BB the owner would have brought BB the coach in for a downward adjustment to his contract.

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Apparently, Brady had enough of his blunders.

NFL Rumors: Tom Brady Told People He Was Done After SBLII Loss To Eagles

TheRainMaker said:

Apparently, Brady had enough of his blunders.

NFL Rumors: Tom Brady Told People He Was Done After SBLII Loss To Eagles

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Can’t blame him after the offense puts up over 600 yards and 0 punts

Actual Pats Fan said:

I saw a pretty good Houston team commit more coaching and strategy blunders within ten minutes of building a 24-0 lead at KC than I saw the Pats do in an entire season.

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That’s the Bill O’Brien special for you.

sb1 said:

And what exactly has Brady done in the NFL as of right now on a team not coached by Bill Belichick? Must have missed it.

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You missed it because of his 20 years of excellence.

TheRainMaker said:

Apparently, Brady had enough of his blunders.

NFL Rumors: Tom Brady Told People He Was Done After SBLII Loss To Eagles

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Bleedthrough said:

Can’t blame him after the offense puts up over 600 yards and 0 punts

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Don't be disingenuous; we all know the blunders to which the article refers...

Bleedthrough said:

Can’t blame him after the offense puts up over 600 yards and 0 punts

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I think the defense made up for it the next year when Brady put up a 77 passer rating in the AFCCG and 71 passer rating in the Super Bowl

Actual Pats Fan said:

There are blunders - passing up FG's down the stretch in Denver, Malcolm Butler

And there are gambles, like 4th and 2. Letting the clock run against the Seahawks.

Most of the time, they do things right.

I saw a pretty good Houston team commit more coaching and strategy blunders within ten minutes of building a 24-0 lead at KC than I saw the Pats do in an entire season.

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Most of the time, every coach does things right. It's been obvious that BB's impactful errors have been more frequent in recent seasons. There's no sense pretending otherwise.

captain stone said:

Don't be disingenuous; we all know the blunders to which the article refers...

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Yep, still a terrible decision.

TheRainMaker said:

You missed it because of his 20 years of excellence.

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0 of those without Belichick.

sb1 said:

I think the defense made up for it the next year when Brady put up a 77 passer rating in the AFCCG and 71 passer rating in the Super Bowl

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Super Bowl yes, AFCCG no. They lost the lead and Brady did his usual game winning drives.

sb1 said:

0 of those without Belichick.

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Kind of hard to do otherwise when you were drafted by him.