No Player Is Bigger Than The Team

[oceansizer]

IMO it is a matter of your own point of view what is entertaining in sport - following a particular player's career or being a Team's fan. I belong to the second group however I like some players' style of playing because simply observing them gives me a pleasure.
Speaking of Tom. I am grateful for his devotion, passion and 6 rings but my priority is NE Patriots. It doesn't t bother me to support Tom as a Tampa player but in one condition. If he meets Pats my choice is obvious - NE. That is my point of view.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

That's what I am scared of. The Pats will become.............. the Pats without Brady. That wasn't that pretty.

I've seen it before and I thank God I've lived to see it again. If I were 20 years older I might think "than God I don't have to live so long watching Brady-less Pats..."

HOWSOMEVER...

Don't forget these are still the Kraft/Belichick Pats. There's an aspect of what we've seen the last 20 years that was the irreplaceable field leader TFB... there's another aspect that has been the GOAT coach.

There's a "face of the franchise" then there's the franchise. There have been times in the past couple of years when TFB was bringing little more than the intangibles. I would still take him over anybody else come game time. He's been without weapons and good protection. I trust he'll be worth every penny Tampa is paying him. AND, he's been that one-man veteran core of the team they've built around. If you were coming to play in NE, you were coming to play alongside the GOAT, whether offense or defense.

Right now that continuity/culture dropoff is more endangered than the quality of pure skill on the field.

So that's the challenge for BB right now -- how much of the formula really was you? Time to find out. If the answer is "a lot," the NE aura can prevail, not as presumptive perrenniel favorites, but as perrenniel contenders.

 

[scott99]

Brady transcends any “no player is bigger than the team”mantra. That being said, true Pat’s fans will stick with this team no matter what. Brady is my all time favorite, and it hurts to see him go. I think seeing his diminished skills last season takes away some of the pain. It’s still a shock, but it sounds like he wanted to leave anyway. Pats will probably be competitive even with Brady gone. We will never see another Brady, but we may see a QB just good enough that Belichick can win with. May take some time.

 

[Triumph]

BB is a disciple of Tuna Parcells.

The show must go on and does not stop if 1 player cannot go. Even a player like Brady. The Pats won 11 games without Brady in 2005. We did not know then, but we know now that Matt Cassel was a mediocre QB. You have depth for a reason. The Steelers went through a carousel of QBs last season and nearly made the postseason.

Tuna Parcells teams won ugly and they won World Championships. Tuna Parcells never had a Brady so he had to eek out every ounce of talent from the QBs on his roster. Bill Belichick teams are built a lot like Tuna Parcell teams. Lots of no name guys making plays when their number is called. Not household name guys like Gronk and Brady either.

The Pats can win another World Championship. Stayed tuned.

 

[IllegalContact]

I agree that no player is bigger than the team but you still need good players to win. This is not the mighty ducks. There’s no Flying V.

having tom brady and having good players are not mutually exclusive

 

[IllegalContact]

IMO it is a matter of your own point of view what is entertaining in sport - following a particular player's career or being a Team's fan. I belong to the second group however I like some players' style of playing because simply observing them gives me a pleasure.
Speaking of Tom. I am grateful for his devotion, passion and 6 rings but my priority is NE Patriots. It doesn't t bother me to support Tom as a Tampa player but in one condition. If he meets Pats my choice is obvious - NE. That is my point of view.

back in the day (30+ years ago), the pats even winning a game against another winless team was so satisfying. collectively, we had gotten to the point here where there were actual criticisms of the manner in which they won playoff games.......get used to changes, folks

 

[sean10mm]

The Pats won 11 games without Brady in 2005.

Brady started all 16 games in 2005.

 

[nabwong]

having tom brady and having good players are not mutually exclusive

we’re saying the same thing. Tom Brady is a good player.

 

[IllegalContact]

we’re saying the same thing. Tom Brady is a good player.

but not having him doesn't mean you won't have good players

 

[Hammer of Thor]

back in the day (30+ years ago), the pats even winning a game against another winless team was so satisfying. collectively, we had gotten to the point here where there were actual criticisms of the manner in which they won playoff games.......get used to changes, folks

You aren’t kidding. I remember being a teenager at a buddy’s house watching this game and screaming at the TV for the upset, which wound up happening.
New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts - November 15th, 1992 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Never did I imagine the Patriots turning into the 49ers. Better than them, in fact. Brady was a huge reason for that. We need to adjust our expectations at this point.

 

[1960Pats]

when bb is gone the run is over.

Without Brady there's a better than average chance that this is the end of the run.

 

[Satchboogie3]

The Pats won 11 games without Brady in 2005. We did not know then, but we know now that Matt Cassel was a mediocre QB. You have depth for a reason.

That was 2008, not 2005, and it drives me insane when people try to use that season as a knock on Brady. The Patriots went from a 18-1 team (1 play from only ever 19-0 team...) that set the scoring record, the point differential record, and beat 5 playoff teams (regular season) to a 11-5 team that missed the playoffs, with the same roster sans Brady. The only playoff teams they beat in '08 was Dolphins (once) and the 9-7 Cardinals, who literally never showed up to the cold, snow December game in Foxboro. It was a massive drop off. 1 play from 19-0 to missing the playoffs... it doesn't get any steeper short of a team going into tank mode...

 

[captain insano]

Without Brady there's a better than average chance that this is the end of the run.

theres a better than average chance that bb will get this team turned around quickly. they will have a sh!t ton of cap space next year.

 

[Boston Boxer]

You have to wonder how certain Bucs fans feel now - The same fans who hated on Brady,called him a cheater and loser and now have to root for the guy they once loathed ..... I wish I knew one Bucs fan to get their reaction,but I don't

it happens. look at Rodney Harrison.

 

[wizwor]

Belichick himself would laugh so hard at this that he would **** his pants.

On top of everything else, the man is humble -- unlike his sixth round draft pick.

 

[Kontradiction]

On top of everything else, the man is humble -- unlike his sixth round draft pick.

You may want to read what he said about players winning games and coaches only losing them. But okay.

 

[PatsWSB47]

We're not going to have Brady anymore. We're not going have Belichick for that much longer. No team has been as successful and consistant for so long in the history of the game. They may still be a good team. They may go deep in the playoffs again. They may get another Lombardi, but we have to get use to Patriots lite. Be glad we had this run but it's not ever going to be the same or repeated.

 

[Wingy]

We're not going to have Brady anymore. We're not going have Belichick for that much longer. No team has been as successful and consistant for so long in the history of the game. They may still be a good team. They may go deep in the playoffs again. They may get another Lombardi, but we have to get use to Patriots lite. Be glad we had this run but it's not ever going to be the same or repeated.

I’ve been hammering away on this point for awhile now, and it must not compute.

People act like we’re good...we got Bill! How much longer is a 68 year old guy gonna grind at a high stress job, at his intensity level? Oldest ever was 72.

This roster has massive holes on offense, much of those due to Bill’s drafting decisions.

Everything won’t break right for the defense like it did last year.

Bill can’t fix the present state in ~4 years, so it’s a shame to me to flush away even a lesser shot at #7 losing Brady.

I’ll love eating up the crow if it happens, and he turns it around almost immediately - but what’s more likely is that we’re gonna have a hard time trusting in Bill when he’s retired, and the Pats are just another franchise.

 

[wizwor]

You may want to read what he said about players winning games and coaches only losing them. But okay.

Because he did not build a defense and hire a kicker to carry this team while TB12 developed? LOL. I am very excited to see what comes next for this team. I STRONGLY prefer the Patriots prior to the GOAT era...and I have been watching them since before many of you were born.

 

[nabwong]

but not having him doesn't mean you won't have good players

Absolutely. But some posters think they can win just with BB creating some magic scheme.