This is the chicken and the egg argument. Is Brady a great quarterback because of Belichick or is Belichick a great coach because of Brady?
Last year, everyone jumped on the "Patriots Success Tied to Cheating" line, before the team ran roughshod over the NFL while under a microscope. The rest of the fans reveled in the final loss, now you will see the "kick 'em when they're down" line given the team's past success and the need for the fans of other teams to hear the Patriots' success was just an illusion. (ESPN isn't the only media outlet throwing this line around, here is another recent example from Chicago
Now we'll see just how much of a genius Belichick is).
Belichick has never been personable and the media hates him for it. He made the same type of decisions he now makes in New England in Cleveland (kicking the beloved Bernie Kozar to the curb for the good of the franchise), rebuilt a declining team and got it back to the playoffs, then suffered the devastating effects of Art Model's franchise move and never was able to reap the benefits of his efforts in Cleveland. Or that is one version of the story.
In 2003, his defense shut down the Colts offensive attack and it was because the secondary was mugging the receivers. In 2004, the NFL emphasizes contact and Belichick uses a no name secondary and does the same thing to the Colts, but that could have been the genius of his supporting staff. His coordinators leave and the team continues to compile league leading records, but now the media is pointing to big game wins in recent years. That's not Brady's fault, that's Belichick's fault despite all the players' statements that they were well-prepared.
The argument will never be finally answered because there will always be alternative theories. Brady is a great quarterback, and a quarterback who may never have been a household name but for his impressing Belichick. Belichick may never be mentioned with the likes of Lombardi but for having a quarterback like Brady who could stay cool in the greatest of pressure games (nobody ranks consistent big game loser coaches with Lombardi, despite being the 2nd best in the NFL).
The question of why the Pats are great is great for ticking off Pats fans and giving all the other fans hope that their team will find lightning in a bottle despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary over the past 7 years. As for Pats fans, why does it matter which came first, the chicken or the egg, when your team has both the chicken and the egg? The organization is successful and we as fans reap the benefits, so the only relevant question is has this organization, with the remainder of its offensive personnel, taken such a blow that no amount of planning can offset the damage? I am hoping not, and the other NFL fans and media get to once again fall back on cheating claims or Belichick's unfair mind reading abilities or ability to control the cosmos or some other theory to explain why their teams are second rate to the Patriots.
