Shannon Sharpe makes bold statement about Bill Belichick and Tom Brady
Is it true that Tom Brady was a bigger reason for the Patriots' success than Bill Belichick?
On Monday, Shannon Sharpe made a bold statement about the New England Patriots' success with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, saying that Brady was more responsible for all of that. I mean, this is a valid argument that gains steam each day. The Patriots have largely been irrelevant ever since Tom Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2019 NFL season.
Ever since the start of the 2020 NFL season, the Patriots have gone just 26-28 in the regular season. They've had just one winning season since then, one playoff appearance, no playoff wins, and are currently on pace to have their third losing season in four years. Belichick has his hands all over this mess, and there really doesn't seem to be an easy way out for the veteran coach, who might be on his last legs in New England.
Shannon Sharpe made a bold statement about the success of the New England Patriots in the Brady/Belichick era:
.@ShannonSharpe believes Bill Belichick's legacy "deserves to take a hit" 😳
— First Take (@FirstTake) October 2, 2023
"It's becoming more and more apparent to me that Tom Brady was largely the reason why the Patriots won." pic.twitter.com/d2Gakm5Gdw
I mean, is he wrong? What exactly has Bill Belichick done since Brady left the team? In his fourth year removed from losing Brady, he has no franchise QB, lackluster weapons on offense, and an offensive line that has not been able to stay healthy thus far in 2023.
The defense has been fine, but both Matthew Judon and Christian Gonzalez are set to miss a ton of time, so that unit, which might be the only thing that can keep this team afloat, could take a huge hit with its two best players not in the lineup. Honestly, where do the New England Patriots go from here? What do they do?
I think it's clear that even during the years that the Patriots won their most recent Super Bowls, Tom Brady's greatness was covering up a ton of roster and organizational issues, and I think Belichick either didn't realize those issues or didn't feel a need to fix them.
Brady was holding the house together, and now that he's done, the paint is chipping, the HVAC doesn't work, and the electrical has gone bad. It's really a huge mess that stops with Belichick. The veteran coach is a Hall of Famer and arguably the best NFL head coach of all-time, but he's currently created a mess that Tom Brady kept clean for years.
The New England Patriots are a mess and are not the "Evil Empire" that they were for years.