Tom Brady and Bill Belichick won six Super Bowl titles together. This season will they will be on different sidelines for the first time in Brady’s career, and many are wondering who will have more success and who was most responsible for all those wins in New England. David J. Phillip/Associated Press
With Tom Brady in Tampa Bay, and Bill Belichick still directing the forces in Foxborough, it’s made for an interesting dilemma for New England Patriots fans. Do they declare their allegiance to one or the other, or split it down the middle, sticking by both?
Judging by Twitter and other outlets, plenty of lines have already been drawn in the sand.
Outside of New England, there might not be the same kind of mental see-saw currently going on with Patriots fans, but there’s certainly a curiosity about Brady and Belichick being apart, and how each will fare.
Can either win a championship without the other? Will one continue to flourish while the other flops?
That kind of soap opera dynamic not only has the fans locked in, but also has another unique group hooked – former Patriot players, who were coached by Belichick, played with Brady, and in many cases, won Super Bowls together.
In fact, that group might be the most eager to find out the end game. And not because they want to see and assess who deserves more credit for the Patriots’ past success.
It’s more about watching the two continue to demonstrate their greatness under new circumstances.
The challenge this season for Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is to design a game plan around a quarterback other than Tom Brady. Elise Amendola/Associated Press
“A lot of people are trying to separate Tom and Bill, and who’s going to do better. To me, it’s not fair to compare those two,” said Patriots Hall of Fame member Rodney Harrison, who won two championships with Belichick and Brady.
“For me, from a pure football standpoint, I’m excited to see how Bill adapts to not having the superstar quarterback and the adjustments he makes. I’m excited to see the different schemes and game plans, and the different things he has to do because he doesn’t have the superstar quarterback.
“And for Tom,” Harrison continued, “seeing him last year, and wanting to see him with all the weapons and all the hype around him, I’m excited to see that, as well.”
Patriots Hall of Fame left tackle Matt Light also offered a similar view. He said having Belichick and Brady now apart has recharged his football batteries when it comes to viewing games. It’s boosted his desire to tune in to see the former best coach-quarterback duo as they operate in opposing corners.
“Quite honestly, for myself, it’s kind of reinvigorating,” said Light. “I got a little burned out with football, did it for a long time, watched a lot of film, and don’t ever feel the need to watch football. But at this point, this is like a case study in real time with Bill and Tommy.
“This is as good as it gets,” he went on. “We’re going to be able to see the moves. We’re going to get to see the genius of Belichick, and what he comes up with, in response to all these changes, and all the stuff he has to deal with. I’m really looking forward to seeing the season, and also seeing how Tommy responds down in Tampa.”
Light seemed a bit more captivated by the Belichick storyline in Foxborough, than Brady’s deal in Tampa reunited with Rob Gronkowski. Light believes the Hoodie will quiet all the naysayers. He’s just dying to see how he accomplishes the mission.
“Everybody who’s not a fan of what we’ve been able to do here, wants to see Bill & Co. fail,” said Light. “I just think there’s never been anybody that’s more capable of meeting a challenge like this. But this is as big of a challenge as any coach would ever want. Whether you’re the best coach in the history of the game, or not, this is a huge challenge for him. And there’s no doubt he’s putting a lot of thought and energy into it. I can tell you that much. And I’m looking forward to seeing how he does.”
Former Patriots fullback Heath Evans agreed. While he’s aware of the legion of pundits who have already flipped the page on the Patriots, and consider Belichick in rebuilding mode with a has-been team, Evans isn’t ready to dismiss the Patriots.
In his mind, he believes both Belichick and Brady will survive just fine on their own, and like Light, is excited to watch how it all plays out.
“I can’t wait,” Evans said, when reached at his West Coast home. “And what I really can’t wait for, is in a season where everything is so restricted because of COVID-19, coaching is going to be at a premium. So we’re going to see Bill at his best, we’re going to get to see Tommy at his best, and what I suspect is, there will be this massive, massive gap between excellence, and crappy football with the rest of the league.”
Tom Brady is now in Tampa Bay and has some dynamic weapons to work with, something the excites former teammate Heath Evans. “Tommy’s going to have a different type of weaponry than he’s ever had before,” Evans said. Gary Landers/Associated Press
Evans said he was expecting the Buccaneers to be in the upper echelon largely because of the pairing of Bruce Arians and Brady, and the type of weaponry No. 12 now has at his disposal. It’s a unit Evans is anxious to see on the playing field.
“Tommy is going to have a different type of weaponry than he’s ever had before, with combined talent,” said Evans. “There is no Randy Moss on that team. There is no Wes Welker on that team. There is no Julian Edelman on that team. That being said, there’s a lot of really good skill-position players on that team … and along with Gronk, they really have some pieces.”
Evans, who is also a fan of Tampa Bay’s head coach, suspects if the players are receptive to what Brady offers from a knowledge standpoint, and follow Arians’ lead, “that’s going to be something really special to watch.”
Mostly, though, when it comes to TB12, Evans is anxious to see his old friend continue to stuff the critics who believe the soon-to-be 43-year-old is washed up.
“People might have questions, but I have no doubt Tommy is going to be brilliant without Bill,” said Evans. “Will it be like it was for him in New England? I don’t know. But Tommy is a freakin’ machine. His brain didn’t go anywhere. His game-planning strategies didn’t go anywhere. He’s going to be great for the Bucs.”
The Patriots?
Evans, who was with the team from 2005-08, has no doubt about the man in charge, and where the Patriots are headed even if there are naysayers who believe Belichick won’t succeed without Brady.
“Bill is Bill. He’s going to have his team locked and loaded. He’s going to know what they’re capable of, and what they’re not capable of, he’ll keep them in the box. He’ll have them grow every week,” said Evans. “He’ll take (Jarrett) Stidham, and develop a game plan that puts them in the best position to win, and we’ll see if there’s still enough defensive talent on the roster to play the complementary style of football that will be demanded. It’s having a bend-but-don’t break defense, a ball-control offense, and win games when it matters in the fourth.”
Damien Woody was part of the early championship teams, winning two rings. He believes some members of the media are trying to create a divide, and test and see who former players are loyal to, Belichick or Brady.
Why can’t it be both?
Woody said while the players aren’t going to pay attention to see who proves most responsible for all the banners, he suspects that might be a motivating factor for the two individuals involved.
“You really can’t separate them. They were both integral to the Patriots dynasty,” said Woody. “When I look at this whole situation, I think both of them are on a mission. They’ve heard all the talk about who’s most responsible for the dynasty.
“And when you talk about two alpha males like Tom and Bill are, they both have egos … so you don’t think, in their mind, that they want to prove who’s more responsible? … I think in their mind, they’re saying to themselves, ‘You know, I can do it without that guy. I know I can do it without that guy.’ And we’re going to watch it play itself out.”
Woody doesn’t feel it’s necessary for either to succeed from this point on. The legacies for both men are set and etched in stone. But that won’t stop him from tuning in to watch both every week.
“Whatever they do from this point is icing on the top,” said Woody. “If Tom goes and somehow wins another Super Bowl, it’ll take his legacy to another level … and Bill is Bill. With his collective body of work, there’s no denying to me that Bill’s the greatest head coach in NFL history. Can he do it with somebody else? To me, that’s exciting.”
Is anyone betting on a Bucs-Patriots Super Bowl? Let’s just say they’d all be pretty pumped if that happened.
“I would love it,” said Evans. “I would so love it.”
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