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Bernie: Belichick & Brady — no better duo
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_c522b7f5-9485-556d-9936-904c95e1a6fe.html
PHOENIX • You don’t have to like them. You can call them cheaters. You can pretend that their profound success is the result of evil ethics and espionage. You can work up a belly full of hatred for the grim-faced coach in the hooded sweatshirt. You can ridicule the fashion-conscious quarterback with the stylish hair and the supermodel wife.
If you live outside of New England, you probably despise them.
It’s OK to be jealous and bitter.
Really, it is.
But New England’s Bill Belichick and Tom Brady form the greatest coach-quarterback combination in NFL history.
You can talk about Bill Walsh and Joe Montana, but San Francisco’s Super Bowls were won before the advent of the NFL salary cap, which greatly increased the difficulty of maintaining a winning roster.
The same applies to other esteemed coach-quarterback combos: Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw (Pittsburgh), Tom Landry and Roger Staubach (Dallas), Vince Lombardi and Bart Starr (Green Bay), Paul Brown and Otto Graham (Cleveland), Weeb Ewbank and Johnny Unitas (Baltimore), Don Shula and Dan Marino (Miami) or George Halas and Sid Luckman (Chicago.) Just to name a few.
Belichick has cobbled together new roster after new roster, constantly churning personnel because of the salary cap, and he’s kept the Patriots on top.
Brady keeps slinging the ball and winning no matter how many times Belichick makes a flurry of roster changes at wide receiver, tight end, running back and the offensive line.
You can insist that the Belichick-Brady record was tainted by the “Spygate” scandal, and I wouldn’t disagree with you.
I didn’t say they were perfect. But even with the whiff of scandal, their record is overwhelmingly good. And they’re still the best coach-QB combo in league history.
(I don’t care about the latest imbroglio, about the slightly deflated footballs, because all NFL teams have messed with footballs. The difference? No team is more hated or envied than the Patriots, and so the ensuing pile-on job has turned a minor rules violation into the crime of the century.)
Since Brady became the starter in 2001, the Patriots have a regular-season record of 170-54, for a .759 winning percentage. That’s 20 more wins than any NFL team since ‘01. Over that time the B-and-B Patriots also have the most postseason victories, with 20. No other NFL team has more than 12.
Over the last 14 seasons the Belichick-Brady Patriots have posted 14 consecutive winning records, won 12 AFC East titles and have triumphed in three Super Bowls. On Sunday the Patriots will compete in the sixth Super Bowl in the last 14 years, going against the fierce Seattle Seahawks.
And keep in mind that Brady missed the final 15 games of the 2008 season with a knee injury. The Patriots failed to make the playoffs that year.
Brady will become the first quarterback to start six Super Bowls. Belichick will join Shula as the second coach to take his teams to six Super Bowls. The six Super Bowl appearances for Belichick-Brady are two more than any other coach-quarterback tandem.
What’s that?
You say that the Patriots haven’t won a Super Bowl since the NFL shut down Belichick’s system of videotaping opponent’s hand signals from the sideline during games?
That’s true. But this will be New England’s third Super Bowl since the NFL busted the Patriots — the most Super Bowl appearances by an NFL team since 2007, post-Spygate. The Patriots also have the most regular-season wins (100) since ‘07.
So if the previous success was based on spying and cheating, then why are the Patriots still winning more games than anyone?
Moreover, anything can happen in one Super Bowl game — such as Wes Welker dropping a third-down pass that likely would have clinched a Super Bowl victory for the 2011 Patriots. Just navigating the playoffs to reach the Super Bowl is a substantial accomplishment.
Yes, the Patriots have lost their last two Super Bowls, each time to the New York Giants, with both games going down to the wire. Winning three Super Bowls is great. Winning four is better. But I don’t think winning “only” three Super Bowls should reduce the magnitude of Brady or Belichick’s career in a dramatic way.
At least not in Kurt Warner’s opinion. And I agree with the retired Rams and Cardinals quarterback and 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist. He grew animated when asked about Brady on Tuesday.
“It doesn’t change it for me,” said Warner, an analyst for the NFL Network. “It’s more about getting your team to the Super Bowl. Because when you get there, it’s one and done, and there are a lot of factors and great players on the other side that make big plays.
“You look at Tom’s Super Bowls and all have been decided by four points or less. He could be 5-0, he could be 0-5. I look at my (three) Super Bowls the same. All were decided by one possession. I could have been 3-0, I could be 0-3, and I’m right in the middle (at 1-2). Tom has brought his team to the Super Bowl six times. No quarterback’s ever done that. Six times in 14 years? That’s unbelievable.”
Brady, 37, ranks third among NFL quarterbacks for most regular-season career victories, with 160. Only Brett Favre (186) and Peyton Manning (179) have more. But Brady’s regular-season winning percentage as a starter (.773) is No. 1 in NFL history. He also has the most postseason victories, 20, among all-time NFL quarterbacks.
Brady ranks fifth in NFL career passing yards and touchdown passes. And Brady has put together this prolific set of numbers with only three New England wide receivers, one tight end and one running back being voted to the Pro Bowl over 14 seasons.
It’s preposterous to attribute all of this achievement to breaking the rules. But the Patriots’ so-called legacy has been dinged. The degree of damage depends on where you live, or whom you root for. But the damage is there.
Again, I agree with Saint Kurt on this.
“I don’t know how you can’t (factor it in),” Warner said. “Just because you know that it’s there. It’s the most unfortunate part of this whole thing, I don’t think that (SpyGate) in and of itself made these two guys a great coach and a great quarterback. I don’t think that should define their legacy as a whole.
“But I’m sorry, when you play outside the rules and people know it, it’s always going to define at least a part of you.”
That’s fair. But it also makes their careers even more extraordinary. Belichick and Brady aren’t saints. But even with the taint they’re the best coach-QB alliance in NFL history.
ME? I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. . .
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_c522b7f5-9485-556d-9936-904c95e1a6fe.html
PHOENIX • You don’t have to like them. You can call them cheaters. You can pretend that their profound success is the result of evil ethics and espionage. You can work up a belly full of hatred for the grim-faced coach in the hooded sweatshirt. You can ridicule the fashion-conscious quarterback with the stylish hair and the supermodel wife.
If you live outside of New England, you probably despise them.
It’s OK to be jealous and bitter.
Really, it is.
But New England’s Bill Belichick and Tom Brady form the greatest coach-quarterback combination in NFL history.
You can talk about Bill Walsh and Joe Montana, but San Francisco’s Super Bowls were won before the advent of the NFL salary cap, which greatly increased the difficulty of maintaining a winning roster.
The same applies to other esteemed coach-quarterback combos: Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw (Pittsburgh), Tom Landry and Roger Staubach (Dallas), Vince Lombardi and Bart Starr (Green Bay), Paul Brown and Otto Graham (Cleveland), Weeb Ewbank and Johnny Unitas (Baltimore), Don Shula and Dan Marino (Miami) or George Halas and Sid Luckman (Chicago.) Just to name a few.
Belichick has cobbled together new roster after new roster, constantly churning personnel because of the salary cap, and he’s kept the Patriots on top.
Brady keeps slinging the ball and winning no matter how many times Belichick makes a flurry of roster changes at wide receiver, tight end, running back and the offensive line.
You can insist that the Belichick-Brady record was tainted by the “Spygate” scandal, and I wouldn’t disagree with you.
I didn’t say they were perfect. But even with the whiff of scandal, their record is overwhelmingly good. And they’re still the best coach-QB combo in league history.
(I don’t care about the latest imbroglio, about the slightly deflated footballs, because all NFL teams have messed with footballs. The difference? No team is more hated or envied than the Patriots, and so the ensuing pile-on job has turned a minor rules violation into the crime of the century.)
Since Brady became the starter in 2001, the Patriots have a regular-season record of 170-54, for a .759 winning percentage. That’s 20 more wins than any NFL team since ‘01. Over that time the B-and-B Patriots also have the most postseason victories, with 20. No other NFL team has more than 12.
Over the last 14 seasons the Belichick-Brady Patriots have posted 14 consecutive winning records, won 12 AFC East titles and have triumphed in three Super Bowls. On Sunday the Patriots will compete in the sixth Super Bowl in the last 14 years, going against the fierce Seattle Seahawks.
And keep in mind that Brady missed the final 15 games of the 2008 season with a knee injury. The Patriots failed to make the playoffs that year.
Brady will become the first quarterback to start six Super Bowls. Belichick will join Shula as the second coach to take his teams to six Super Bowls. The six Super Bowl appearances for Belichick-Brady are two more than any other coach-quarterback tandem.
What’s that?
You say that the Patriots haven’t won a Super Bowl since the NFL shut down Belichick’s system of videotaping opponent’s hand signals from the sideline during games?
That’s true. But this will be New England’s third Super Bowl since the NFL busted the Patriots — the most Super Bowl appearances by an NFL team since 2007, post-Spygate. The Patriots also have the most regular-season wins (100) since ‘07.
So if the previous success was based on spying and cheating, then why are the Patriots still winning more games than anyone?
Moreover, anything can happen in one Super Bowl game — such as Wes Welker dropping a third-down pass that likely would have clinched a Super Bowl victory for the 2011 Patriots. Just navigating the playoffs to reach the Super Bowl is a substantial accomplishment.
Yes, the Patriots have lost their last two Super Bowls, each time to the New York Giants, with both games going down to the wire. Winning three Super Bowls is great. Winning four is better. But I don’t think winning “only” three Super Bowls should reduce the magnitude of Brady or Belichick’s career in a dramatic way.
At least not in Kurt Warner’s opinion. And I agree with the retired Rams and Cardinals quarterback and 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist. He grew animated when asked about Brady on Tuesday.
“It doesn’t change it for me,” said Warner, an analyst for the NFL Network. “It’s more about getting your team to the Super Bowl. Because when you get there, it’s one and done, and there are a lot of factors and great players on the other side that make big plays.
“You look at Tom’s Super Bowls and all have been decided by four points or less. He could be 5-0, he could be 0-5. I look at my (three) Super Bowls the same. All were decided by one possession. I could have been 3-0, I could be 0-3, and I’m right in the middle (at 1-2). Tom has brought his team to the Super Bowl six times. No quarterback’s ever done that. Six times in 14 years? That’s unbelievable.”
Brady, 37, ranks third among NFL quarterbacks for most regular-season career victories, with 160. Only Brett Favre (186) and Peyton Manning (179) have more. But Brady’s regular-season winning percentage as a starter (.773) is No. 1 in NFL history. He also has the most postseason victories, 20, among all-time NFL quarterbacks.
Brady ranks fifth in NFL career passing yards and touchdown passes. And Brady has put together this prolific set of numbers with only three New England wide receivers, one tight end and one running back being voted to the Pro Bowl over 14 seasons.
It’s preposterous to attribute all of this achievement to breaking the rules. But the Patriots’ so-called legacy has been dinged. The degree of damage depends on where you live, or whom you root for. But the damage is there.
Again, I agree with Saint Kurt on this.
“I don’t know how you can’t (factor it in),” Warner said. “Just because you know that it’s there. It’s the most unfortunate part of this whole thing, I don’t think that (SpyGate) in and of itself made these two guys a great coach and a great quarterback. I don’t think that should define their legacy as a whole.
“But I’m sorry, when you play outside the rules and people know it, it’s always going to define at least a part of you.”
That’s fair. But it also makes their careers even more extraordinary. Belichick and Brady aren’t saints. But even with the taint they’re the best coach-QB alliance in NFL history.
ME? I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. . .
