Bill Belichick will prove he is the “system” for the New England Patriots
This season will prove that Bill Belichick is in fact the system for the New England Patriots — and that the team’s success is primarily because of him.
The New England Patriots are a product of the Bill Belichick system.
Although Belichick didn’t have the greatest start to his head coaching career in Cleveland, it’s ludicrous to judge his coaching abilities based on those first five years as a head coach.
In five seasons as the Browns’ rookie, unsuccessful head coach, Belichick finished with a 36-44 record (.450 winning percentage) and only one playoff win — that coincidentally was over the New England Patriots in 1994.
It’s fair to say that Belichick was a novice during his tenure in Cleveland. He learned the ropes of being a head coach, learned what not to do, and rewrote the new blueprints to his coaching scheme when he arrived in New England as the head coach in 2000.
There are only a select few people in the entire football world who will agree with me in saying that Belichick is more of the system than the six-time Super Bowl champion quarterback, Tom Brady.
I’m not discrediting Brady’s abilities and success in New England by saying this, but Belichick is the one who designed, built, and coached all nine of those Super Bowl teams while earning six victories in the process.
Taking this logic one step further, there’s an argument that could be made that the first three Super Bowls of the double-dynasty (2001, 2003, 2004) were primarily designed and won by Belichick’s genius defensive mind and stellar defensive units.
At that point in time, Brady was only a young and capable quarterback that was able to do just enough to get the job done while the team rode on the backs of the defense. It wasn’t really until 2005 that Brady started becoming elite and carrying the team himself.
I understand I’m saying this after he’s already won three Super Bowls as a starting quarterback by ‘05, but just like Belichick, Brady needed the experience early on in his career to be able to “know all the answers to the test,” as Brady expressed in his first docuseries Tom vs Time.
Jarrett Stidham and Tom Brady share similarities in their career beginnings
The problem is that people are reluctant to realize that despite being drafted in different rounds 19 years apart from each other, Jarrett Stidham’s career is starting very similar to the way Brady’s did, which was one year on the bench before having to become an NFL starter.
If you seriously think about it, how thrilled were Patriots fans when Drew Bledsoe went down in 2001 and Brady had to step in? From what I remember, we weren’t too excited about it … at first. But in time, Brady eventually evolved into the makings of the greatest quarterback of all time.
Who was the person overlooking this transition and ultimately making the decision to cut ties with Bledsoe (who had signed a $100 million contract) and move forward with Brady for what turned out to be the next 19 years?
Bill Belichick. Belichick is the only correct answer to the question.
I’m not saying that Stidham is equivalent to Brady at this very moment, but who’s to say that Belichick doesn’t see the same potential in Stidham that he did in Brady 19 years ago? In fact, Stidham even had a similar rookie season to Brady in terms of production:
Brady: 1-3, six yards, zero touchdowns
Stidham: 2-4, 14 yards, zero touchdowns
Taking it one step further, you could make an argument that the Patriots were even more fond of drafting Stidham in the fourth round (133rd overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft than they were of drafting Brady in the sixth round (199th overall) of the 2000 draft.
To further push the Belichick system theory, it was rewarding for Belichick to see the success Brady — the player he drafted and took a risk on — had in leading the Patriots to a Super Bowl in his first season as a full-time NFL starter.
In doing so, he was completely fine in parting ways with Bledsoe to further groom the quarterback he preferred for his system for the long haul — a long haul that turned out to be 20 years and include nine Super Bowl appearances.
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Belichick was able to make his system in New England once he realized that Brady was capable of doing everything he expected.
Belichick wants to be conservative and run the ball, Brady did it.
Belichick wants to utilize slot receivers, Brady did it.
Belichick wants to throw the ball down field and spread out tight ends, Brady did it.
I believe Belichick is poised to do the same with Stidham and when he does so, everyone will finally realize that Bill Belichick is in fact the “system” for the New England Patriots.