Game 2: Patriots vs. Chiefs

[Praxit]

...Reid is stuck where cowboys are stuck. Playoffs one and done. Though he gets one game further..lol.

 

[Melonfeud]

...Reid is stuck where cowboys are stuck. Playoffs one and done. Though he gets one game further..lol.

Well, it's obvious he ain't gonna just "go away" (aka, Mike Holgrem style)
So, as long as he consistently shoulders the load & builds the inner works of a LEAGUE wide COMPETITIVE TEAM& compiles those wins that come along with it? Those hot coals being heaped upon his head are of an undue nature & ill formed intellect of footballish appreciation

 

[JoeyBoy718]

It does help them gain positioning for the playoffs. The Pats still have to beat the other AFC teams after that, but it's also not like they've played in a competitive division that fielded perennial playoff contenders either, except for the Sanchize years....lol. I would love if we played the equivalent of the Commanders 6 times a year for 15 years.

I agree the Pats had an easy route to the playoffs in almost all of the past 18 years. But they did make 9 straight Conference championships and 3 straight Super Bowls. That requires winning in the playoffs. We haven't made a conference championship in 24 years.

 

[TheCoolFan]

No competition for Brady once Peyton retired. Yeah the Pats have more championships than Peyton's teams but Peyton owns the 3-2 playoff head to head matchup. Both QBs could only win when they played at home

 

[khiladi]

The only way to beat Brady in a super bowl is to pressure him in the face consistently.

Aaron Donald gives me hope.

People never give Bellichek and his connections the real credit. Dante Scarnecchia, their OL, has been with Bellichek in NE since 1999 as OL coach. When he retired at the end of the 2013 season, Bill had to get him to come back after the second season. Brady was sacked 38 times and they were the 30th ranked rushing team in attempts in 2015.

Can you imagine that? Brady has played with arguably the greatest HC and OL coach in the history of the game for close to two decades. This is without talking about Ernie Adams, Bill’s right hand man, Brady consistently operates under a clean pocket and when the Patriots stall, Bellichek and Adams are basically the greatest half-time adjustment coaches in the history of the game.

Brady will never leave Bellichek, he knows what is best for his legacy, and this idea there was a split is just bogus PR. I do think Bellichek is the type of guy that will coach without Brady to prove to the world, he was that dude.

 

[atlantacowboy]

I don't understand why some folks can't give both Bill and Tom their due credit without making it a competition for who makes who great. Its a team sport and neither would have achieved what they have without the other. Its a true team effort. Brady only takes a 15 million per year salary so that the Pats can go out and get what they need in free agency. That is a sacrifice no other QB is making. The whole organization is just dedicated to winning.

They are both the GOAT at what they do and its astonishing that they have done it in an era of salary caps and free agency.

 

[sean10mm]

Yeah, great coaches have great QBs and vice versa. Neither one can realize their potential without the other, especially in the modern era. It's no coincidence that hall of fame coaches are almost always paired with hall of fame QBs.

I would argue Belichick is more important only because he's also the de facto GM and DC as well as head coach. He's like Napoleon in his prime as a general - everything runs through him, and his staff are mostly clerks and secretaries executing his plans. It's why his coordinators tank everywhere outside of New England.

But he doesn't go on that run of utter dominance without Brady. You can't overstate the value of having an elite QB play almost every dang game for 17 seasons. People talk about "the system" but somehow nobody else can actually DO IT like Brady.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Yeah, great coaches have great QBs and vice versa. Neither one can realize their potential without the other, especially in the modern era. It's no coincidence that hall of fame coaches are almost always paired with hall of fame QBs.

I would argue Belichick is more important only because he's also the de facto GM and DC as well as head coach. He's like Napoleon in his prime as a general - everything runs through him, and his staff are mostly clerks and secretaries executing his plans. It's why his coordinators tank everywhere outside of New England.

But he doesn't go on that run of utter dominance without Brady. You can't overstate the value of having an elite QB play almost every dang game for 17 seasons. People talk about "the system" but somehow nobody else can actually DO IT like Brady.

And there's some luck there - Brady missed basically one season with the knee injury, otherwise he's quarterbacked every game of significance. Kraft leaves Belichick alone. Kraft and Belichick have been healthy and there all this time. How many SBs would Landry and Staubach have won if Roger hadn't had the concussion problems? What if Murchison had a son or sons or daughter(s) to take over when he fell into ill health? Did the Steelers fail to run their prime running back in a goal line situation instead of making an ill-advised pass into the middle of a mass of defensive players? What if Scott Norwood hadn't missed that 47 yard field goal? Winning a SB might have propelled the Bills to another couple of SB wins. What if Clark hadn't made "the catch"? What if Danny White hadn't broken is wrist on the next series of plays after "the catch"? Lots of luck involved in consistent winning.

Only one "perfect" season ever. Probably never be another, took a wildly improbable series of events for the Dolphins to do that - weak schedule, no key injuries, lucky bounces of the football, all in one season. Usually there's good and bad.

Being able to have Brady and Belichick and Kraft and the consistently weak division year after year is "one of those things", and we may never see another run like theirs again, just like we may never see another "perfect" season...

 

[nightrain]

Was a little surprised to see Eric Berry play such a prominent role on D yesterday, especially tasked with covering Gronk in man coverage. He is a great player, but what did he play, 2 games this season?

 

[jsb357]

What if Danny White hadn't broken is wrist on the next series of plays after "the catch"?

I'm not entirely sure this happened...

Carl Banks broke Danny's wrist in the middle 80's.

Had he broken it earlier?

 

[LACowboysFan1]

I'm not entirely sure this happened...

Carl Banks broke Danny's wrist in the middle 80's.

Had he broken it earlier?

He fumbled the ball on a sack after "the catch", not the broken wrist. Sorry, quoted too quickly..