Waiting On The Great Debate
May 16th, 2020
Bill Currie Ford general manager Sean Sullivan personally will guide you and give you a special Ira/JoeBucsFan discount. Historic 0%/84-month financing offers won’t last long.
BY IRA KAUFMAN
The subject has been bandied about for years on New England sports talk stations and in every bar from Cambridge to Chestnut Hill. Now the Bucs will play a key role in providing some clarity.
Go figure.
The question in question is a simple one: who is more responsible for the unprecedented success of the Patriots for the past two decades — Tom Brady or Bill Belichick?
By the end of the 2020 season, we may have an answer.
That’s because Brady has never taken an NFL snap for any head coach except Belichick. Those glory days are over. This summer, he’ll be reporting for work at One Buc Place with Bruce Arians scripting the plays and Byron Leftwich calling ’em.
And 1,338 miles away, up in Foxborough, the hooded maestro is expected to go to the mattresses with Jarrett Stidham under center. Jarrett who?
Exactly.
Tom Brady won’t be the only ones screaming if the Bucs don’t make the playoffs
Belichick is 13-8 since 2001 without Brady, but this is different.
This time, Brady isn’t sidelined by an injury or a suspension. This time, he’s sidelined because of indifference on the part of Belichick, who has given every indication he is eager to move on from No. 12.
Brady’s case in the great debate is a powerful one.
The Numbers
Belichick went 36-44 during his 5-year stint in Cleveland, marked by only one playoff berth. He received a second chance with New England in 2000 and promptly went 5-11 during Brady’s rookie season.
Brady served as a backup to Drew Bledsoe that year, which began with a 21-16 loss to Tampa Bay as Mike Alstott ran for two touchdowns and the Bucs registered six sacks.
Together, Belichick and Brady have combined for six Super Bowl wins, 30 playoff victories and nine AFC titles during the most accomplished coach-quarterback partnership this sport has ever seen — or will see.
So who’s the lead dog in this Iditarod race toward Canton?
“I think Bill Belichick needed Tom to be successful,” says former Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel. “Do you think Tom needs Bill? My answer is no.”
Not so fast, says another ex-Patriots corner, Hall of Famer Ty Law.
“I would say coach Bill is the glue that has kept the team in place,” Law said.
This is the year Brady can break free from Belichick’s immense shadow and go off on his own. If the Bucs end the NFC’s longest playoff drought under Brady’s leadership, his legacy goes up a notch.
Win-Win Potential
Should Brady, at the age of 43, lead a second franchise out of the NFL wilderness, he will show he doesn’t need Belichick to win, and win big. The eyes of the league have been transfixed on Tampa for two months, in large part because no one is quite sure how this grand experiment will work.
Bill Belichick and Bucs GM Jason Licht during his Patriots days.
When Brady was a recent guest on Howard Stern’s SIRIUSXM radio show, it was inevitable that Belichick and the great debate would come up.
“I think it’s a pretty s—ty argument that people would say that because I can’t do his job and he can’t do mine,” said Brady. “Would I be successful without him, the same level of success? I don’t believe I would have been. But I feel the same, visa versa as well.”
Fair enough.
As long as Brady holds up his end of this $30 million bargain, Buc fans won’t care how the Patriots fare without him. If both teams make the playoffs, it will be considered a win-win for both Brady and Belichick.
But until the results of the 2020 season are in, the great debate remains alive and well.
Ira with his good friend Sean Sullivan, general manager of Bill Currie Ford, Tampa’s first family of ford. Sean will help you personally in any way he can.
May 16th, 2020 at 9:51 am
If the Bucs make the playoffs and the Pats don’t, I think we’ll have our answer.
It seems to me that you can have both……Brady a great QB & Bill a great coach…..can they be winners without each other?…..probably, but not as much.
May 16th, 2020 at 10:01 am
Brady has two more years…perhaps a third if he goes crazy. His NFL record is largely written and there’s not much more he can add. If he gets the Bucs to the SB it’s just another amazing notch in his belt.
BB OTOH is not finished although he is obviously getting old. BB has won ONE year without Brady…he NE 13-8 record was largely Matt Cassell…Brissett and Jimmy G only played in a few games.
UNLESS BB wins in the next few years a FACT will be stuck in his crawl. BB has never won in NE without starting the season with Brady as his QB.
He is a GREAT defensive coach. Let’s see how he does this year.
May 16th, 2020 at 10:11 am
In a mildly related note.
IRA is correct that the “great debate” about BB versus TB12’s contribution to those six rings is one of the major reasons we’re getting so much run right now.
Adding Gronk just made it a buddy movie…Butch and Sundance ride off to one more SB….that get’s major attention.
The Buc’s are literally sorriest franchise record wise in ALL of professional sports…at least the big four. If TB12 turns that…the SB IF IT’S PLAYED..will be in Tampa…will the Bucs be the first franchise to host their own SB appearance.
Lots of possible magic there…and so I’m listening to the Rodgers/Jordan Love controversy. Imagine TB 12 wins the SB with Gronk…has made his point and retires on top with lucky #7..a season for the ages…and then…Aaron Rodgers comes in and TB becomes famous as the franchise that is led by vets!
May 16th, 2020 at 10:30 am
No doubt Belichick is a great coach but he resides in the easiest division in pro football. Any well run team can win that division and get home games in the playoffs. The Bucs don’t have that luxury.
Brady no doubt, is one of the most accurate passers to ever play. We are catching our division at a good time. I think New Orleans is beatable. I like our chances. Both Brady and Belichick will be successful unless Stidham is really not good but Belichick is smarter than letting Brady go if he did not feel Stidham could do the job.
May 16th, 2020 at 10:44 am
@SPBF:
Nice posts!
But, but, but……… even if we then get Aaron Rodgers, the Bucs are doomed for at least the next ten years, because Jameis Winston and the Saints will be kicking our butt. LMAO.
tickrdr
May 16th, 2020 at 12:14 pm
Brady is right; they both matter. However, players on the field always impact the game more than those on the sidelines.
“As long as Brady holds up his end of this $30 million bargain…”. I thought Brady is earning $25M per year. Did I misunderstand?
May 16th, 2020 at 5:28 pm
tickrdr- LOL!
Would a SMART gambler bet that Brady wins in TB or, Winston becomes a SB winning QB for years to come?
I know where I’d put my money.