Bill Belichick

[Bubba]

How much of Bill Belichick’s alleged greatness as a coach is simply his having had Tom Brady for 20 years? I will grant that he’s a great defensive coach but head coach?

[Stormchaser]

A smart franchise quarterback can offset numerous offensive shortcomings and help overcome defensive shortfalls, but I think the bigger problem for the Pats right now is their horrendous offensive line and lack of offensive leadership. Without Dante Scarnecchia at the helm, the Pats have been unable to field a line that adequately protects their quarterback(s).

Why haven't the Pats been able to find a good offensive line coach? I believe Bill just hasn't been willing to pay for good talent on the coaching staff. The fact that he has had his son running the defense the past couple of seasons, and no offensive coordinator with experience last year, suggests Bill may think too highly of himself and his abilities. He finally broke down and hired Bill O'Brien, but the team needs better positional coaches (and maybe a real GM) before the offense can break through. Major defensive losses to injury this year don't help with success when your offense can't help overcome defensive shortcomings.

Has Belichick lost his edge? It kinda feels that way. Back when Brady was young, Belichick used to 'scheme up' game plans and creative plays that gave the young quarterback an advantage in games with difficult opponents, but you rarely see that anymore. Bill did it for the Buffalo game when he didn't let Mac Jones throw a pass the entire game, but that's the only one I remember, and that was due to weather more than the opponents.

[Bubba]

My take on this is that Bill was not successful as a head coach in Cleveland and has not been very successful as a head coach without Tom Brady. I'll leave the "why" to others who've followed the Pats closely for years.

[Stormchaser]

Patriots Have A Significant Absence No One's Really Talking About


The Patriots have several players out or playing through injuries, but one former executive says there's an even bigger absence that no one is paying attention to.

“When you look at it a bit deeper, I see the absence of Dante Scarnecchia really impacting that offensive line and the players really developing. But the other person we don’t really hear enough about is the absence of Ernie Adams," said former Patriots executive Scott Pioli on the NFL Network's Good Morning Football.

"Ernie Adams was everything. Ernie Adams was the guy who developed quarterbacks. You go back and look at the quarterbacks and how they developed whether it was (Tom) Brady, (Jimmy) Garoppolo, (Matt) Cassel, all the young quarterbacks."

Pioli explained that Adams studied film together and compiled tape with tendencies and tells for the players to focus on, calling him "one of the most important people" during the Patriots' most successful period.

Adams retired in the summer of 2021, shortly before the start of training camp - and the start of quarterback Mac Jones' rookie season.

[brownman]

Game has changed and BB has not adjusted.
Clearly, Brady helped cover up BB's deficiencies.
Kraft keeping BB around in quest of Shula record is getting old as we watch, at best, consistent mediocrity.

Jones got lucky last week. He just sux.

[volklopposition]

Too many cheating accusations. The integrity of the great is unshakable and that's just not his call sign.

[volklopposition]

Will also provide this argument in his favor...

Sports where coaches are considered the most worthless to the team: English football
Sports where coaches are considered to be most valuable to the team: American football

[Bubba]

Let’s revisit this issue after today’s loss in Frankfurt. Was taking Jones out with less than 2 minutes to go the right decision? And what about that fake spike ending up in an interception to close things out? Did either call by Bill make sense?

[Stormchaser]

Bill and the Patriots part ways today...presser at noon.

[XtremeJibber2001]

My favorite Belichick memory.

[easyrider16]

I think Bill was a great coach for a long time, but when any person gets stuck in the same position at any organization for a long time, stagnation happens. You can say the game changed and he didn't, or perhaps you can say he became complacent. But in the end, he stopped being effective. I think Tom knew it during his last few years there and it chafed him, which is why he wanted out. But for almost 20 years, they really had an amazing run.

I think the evidence demonstrates that for about 15-20 years, Belichick was one of the best coaches in football. While I'd agree that Brady probably contributed more to the success of the team than Belichick ever did, I think something similar could be said for any successful team. The coaching contribution in the NFL is overrated. Not to say it's not important, but the players are always going to matter more than the coaching, and that goes for any sport. But I also think Brady benefitted from Belichick's coaching and he took that discipline with him to the Bucks and it helped him win there, too.