I think you’re onto something a out the lack of understanding about the league landscape.
I don’t think that Bill ever de-valued Brady because he was jealous or it was some kind of alpha dog battle, but I think if you look at some past decisions by Belichick and Parcells, it reflects what you’re saying. Parcells, for one, outright said he didn’t want a celebrity quarterback and seemed to resent the QB being a superstar, and I think it’s clear the Patriots highly value QBs who are coachable and would steer towards the solid, unspectacular guy over the gunslinger, which is fine...but...
- I think the Cleveland Browns had a championship roster in 1994, but Vinny Testaverde sucked...as he pretty much always did. He was the veteran QB who could provide leadership and manage a game. That was the narrative. Reality: he wasn’t good. They won in spite of him. A pro bowl QB probably wins a championship there. Vinny put up a pathetic 70 QB rating with 16 TDs and 18 INTs. On my QB era comparison ratings, he’s well below an average QB. There’s a lot of talk about how he replaced Kosar, but Testaverde was barely an upgrade.
- But then Vinny reappeared with the Jets in 1998 with Parcells and Belichick. Probably his best season as a pro, but one wonders what an actually great QB would have done with Keyshawn Johnson, Wayne Chrenet, Curtis Martin, etc. Team got whitewashed in the AFCCG by Elway and the Broncos. Testaverde type players almost never win SBs, and he was half the player Simms was. Belichick’s 1994 Browns and Parcells 1998 Jets are championship teams if they have a better quarterback.
- Bledsoe is another guy to mention here. All the advanced stats say he was well below average. I understand why Bill wouldn’t dump the franchise savior, but I think the sudden onset of Brady was also very much about Bledsoe being one of these “sabermetric” nightmare guys. Glad Bill dumped him. Good move.
- But then, just to kind if illustrate this thinking further, guess who picks up the wonderfully overrated, mediocre-at-best, Bledsoe? Parcells...brings him on with the Cowboys, and of course, Bledsoe is still Bledsoe and fails to take the Cowboys to the next level.
- What is my point? I think these situations show that the Parcells philosophy is rooted in the 1980s game manager myth. And I call it a myth because in another thread I went though it in depth: 80s had some outliers but football history - back to 1931 - shows the best quarterbacks are often the champions, so the 1980s game managers was kind of a freak thing and also because of high spenders and imbalanced payrolls. I also think it’s important to note the 1990 Giants were carried to the end by Simms before he got injured.
- All that said, Belichick is a brilliant guy. He doesn’t follow Parcells on everything...but I hope this Cam thing isn’t what it appears to be.
Parcells also had Quincy Carter in Dallas. Lol.
But yes, this is what I was getting at exactly. Bill comes from the Parcells tree and the Qb is almost always in the mode of a manager. Parcells hated divas. He didn't like them at WR either which is also something that has carried over to Bill.
One other thing in terms of Brady. I really believe Bill saw him as the ultimate game manager right until the end. This is not to say Bill did not see his greatness but he also saw and groomed a 6th round pick who makes good decisions and does not turn over the ball.
I truly believe during contract negotiations, Bill used that against Brady telling him you are just a cog in this master wheel I have built. Brady bought in to that and the winning and was amicable to the less than market value contracts. It is an unbelievable conflation of factors that came together with both of them to create 20 years of excellence.
Now when 2014 came, Bill took his first shot at the heir and who does he choose? A Qb from a small school who does not run a pro style offense in the second round. Now it looked like he might have hit on Jimmy but he can't stay healthy and won't play through injury. Something Bill never worried about with Brady. So you already have a bee in the honey so to speak.
Then he tries Stidham. Another game manager type who seems to have Brady esque tools but lacks leadership. Another bee in the honey.
You can see the trend. It is monumentally hard to try to find the type of Qb Bill wants without a major factor getting in the way. The talent is not good enough to make up for the deficiencies which are only magnified in today's NFL where the Qb determines so much on the field. This is why I think Brady may have ruined Bill in some ways for ever thinking he needed a superstar Qb.
When Mahomes signed that half billion deal, I think Bill scoffed under his breath. He would never do anything like that at Qb. And he knows like everyone else if he does trade up in the top 10, he will have to pay that Qb eventually. This is why I think we are getting a Qb in the second round at the earliest. Also Bill does not want those expectations either that the #7 ,or #8 pick should start this season and also be good. Bill hates that hence why Newton is back. Zero expectations and anything good Cam does will be attributed to Bill for making the reclamation project a success.
