Patriots: Skip Bayless takes shot at Bill Belichick for Tom Brady departure

Tom Brady picked up yet another pulse-pounding Super Bowl win Sunday night, but it was his first one in which he didn’t wear New England Patriots colors and teamed up with Bill Belichick. Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers unloaded on the Kansas City Chiefs, giving the 43-year-old Brady his seventh Super Bowl ring.

Belichick, meanwhile, was twiddling his thumbs at home and looking over scouting reports, as the Patriots finished the season at 7-9 following some poor play from Cam Newton at quarterback. That disparity in success is catnip for all the Brady homers out there, and Skip Bayless, their de facto leader, decided to go all-in on Belichick.

Bayless claimed that Belichick was the main reason that Brady won his seventh ring, as pushing him out of the door in New England landed him in a much better situation on the field under two-time Coach of the Year Bruce Arians in Tampa Bay. Not only did it land Tampa with a better quarterback, but it gave Brady, who threw 40 touchdowns in 2020, all the motivation he needed.

Tom Brady stuck it to Patriots HC Bill Belichick in the Super Bowl.

Brady was surgical against a Kansas City defense that couldn’t get through Tampa Bay’s fantastic offensive line. With enough time to let Arians’ downfield routes develop, Brady picked apart the Chiefs and started to pull away thanks to a fantastic second quarter. Belichick had to be fuming watching Brady excel in such an aggressive offense.

Belichick, meanwhile, saw his passing game completely neutered without Brady. While Tampa Bay’s defense deserves as much, if not more, credit for the win, New England might’ve ended up in the postseason and Super Bowl hunt if Belichick wasn’t so insistent on letting Tom walk and building for the future.

Belichick was impacted by COVID-19 opt-outs, but the drop-off in quality from Brady to a quarterback in Cam Newton who was clearly struggling to return to his MVP form after several serious injuries was startling. Brady spent most of 2020 humming in an offense that was playing to his strengths, while Belichick and Josh McDaniels struggled to complete passes beyond 15 yards in some games.

Brady and Belichick are both the best at what they do, but TB12 clearly was on a mission to prove he wasn’t just a product of Belichick and could win on his own. Thanks to Tampa’s epic demolition of Patrick Mahomes and a very deep Chiefs team, the hype video king proved all the doubters and haters wrong, adding yet another ring onto his crowded hands.