The seemingly frigid relationship between Bill Belichick and Tom Brady has been stealing headlines in the football world for over a year. While the fracture in their relationship may be overstated, the events of the last three and a half years has definitely left it in a weakened state. The Deflategate saga, the Jimmy Garoppolo saga, four lengthy playoff runs (including three Super Bowl trips), the Alex Guerrero saga, the birth of “The TB12 Method”, Brady’s enhanced age and the invisible elephant of who is more responsible for the team’s success (lingering like 4th of July smoke) have all taken their toll.
Of course, many of these events are related, which adds a layer of historical tension. But Belichick, Brady and Robert Kraft have all made difficult decisions that have transformed the most stable franchise in sports into a house of cards. The coach and quarterback will ultimately be fine—their legacies and bags secured. But there has always been an underlying feeling that Belichick (who doubles as the Patriots’ GM) has undeserved his quarterback in the name of roster depth and balance (particularly on defense), with 2007 being the lone exception. And now, just a few short days away from their 19th season together, it seems Belichick has done it again, only the depth and balance doesn’t appear to have improved.
Always the penny-pincher, Belichick has seen a slew of players that helped him reached the Super Bowl three of the last four years exit New England: Nate Solder, Dion Lewis, Danny Amendola, Malcolm Butler, Brandin Cooks, Malcolm Mitchell and Cameron Fleming. If that weren’t enough, Martellus Bennett, James Harrison and Shea McClellin all retired. And Belichick has replaced them with…basically OT Isaiah Wynn (out for the season) and RB Sony Michel (who hasn’t played in a month due to injury). That’s it. Belichick attempted to bring in some receivers with cachet, but Jordan Matthews, Eric Decker and Kenny Britt all flamed out before Week 1.
The lack of significant activity over New England’s offseason is puzzling. Michel and Wynn could develop into good players, but they likely won’t help the Patriots much during the early part of this season (definitely not Wynn), which is compounded by Julian Edelman’s four game suspension to begin the year. The offense barely has any recognizable faces, other than Chris Hogan and Rob Gronkowski, aka the walking worker’s comp case file. Not to mention the defense was a sieve last year (that’s Belichick’s account), ranking 29th in yards allowed and ceding 41 points to the Eagles’ backup quarterback in the Super Bowl. Yet no significant personnel upgrades were made.
Sidebar: Seriously, examine the depth chart. Sans Brady & Gronk, are you blown away by the talent here?
So how has it come to this? Why wasn’t the cap space saved on the players they let walk invested back into the roster?
Here’s one theory: Belichick is still fuming over losing the Jimmy G battle—the succession plan to Brady, which would have afforded Belichick the chance to stake his claim as the primary agent for the New England dynasty. Therefore, he refuses to break the bank to supply Brady with adequate skill position weaponry to let Tom shine any further. Besides, Tom has won titles throwing touchdowns to linebackers—how necessary is it to pay Danny Amendola?
That’s all it is—a theory. It’s easy to shoot down, right? Why would Belichick, in essence, sabotage his own offense? Well, he’s petty and hyper-competitive, a combination which makes this theory plausible, especially considering he failed to acquire any of the major free agents this year, (Jarvis Landry, Jordy Nelson, Michael Crabtree, Sammy Watkins…even Dez Bryant is still out there) and in fact, gave up one instead (Cooks). Ultimately, he wants the power and the lion’s share of the credit.
Part of the genius of Belichick is he’s just about the the only guy who understands the value of keeping players broke and motivated. He pays almost no one. But at what point does that “no one player is bigger than the operation” mantra boomerang back in his face? He tried it with Brady, but Guerrero is back on the team plane. Kraft reportedly forced Bill’s hand to move his prized pupil on TB12’s behalf.
Another theory: Belichick is losing these power struggles because Kraft still feels guilty about how he sold Brady down the river during DeflateGate. This theory is shared by Casey Sherman, co-author of the book 12: The Inside Story of Tom Brady’s Season of Redemption, who chronicled Brady’s “devastation” and the news that his owner no longer had his back.
Bob Kraft views “The Golden Boy” as the son he never had (along with Quavo and Meek Mill). And he has since realized if there were ever a player that is bigger than the operation, the four-time Super Bowl MVP would be the guy. Belichick isn’t there yet.
So here stands a man named Brady—forced to move mountains with the help of Gronk and little else to start the 2018 season. An astonishing ninth Belichick/Brady Super Bowl appearance is still very much in the cards for New England, but it will take a colossal effort from 41-year-old reigning league MVP, who apparently is no longer just battling time.