While Tom Brady recently entered his 21st season wearing a different uniform, New England Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick entered his 21st season on the same sideline.
And even after Brady bailed for sunnier pastures in good old Tampa, Florida, it will always be a foolish bet to believe the New England Patriots would miss the playoffs so long as Belichick stalks the New England sideline.
Sure, it’s sometimes wise to bet the Patriots won’t win the AFC East, given the fact any of the 4 teams in the division can come on strong in any given season.
But with 7 seeds now in play that consists of 3 wildcards, betting against Belichick is even more far fetched.
This article outlines 5 reasons you should consider wagering at the top NFL betting sites that the New England Patriots will be in the playoffs even without quarterback Tom Brady.
1. History of Turning Around Careers
Well, we can start this thing with Tom Brady, given the fact he was a sixth-round draft pick and a fourth quarterback on the New England depth chart in 2000. But we can’t forget about Randy Moss, Darrelle Revis, Wes Welker, and other big names.
Reason number one why it’s unwise to bet against a Bill Belichick-led team is just that. Belichick has taken arguably a couple-dozen NFL washouts and turned around their careers.
Most of us thought Cam Newton was done after he suffered injuries in 2019 that kept him out the rest of 2019. And it’s also easy to believe Newton was finished after he suffered nothing but regression since his legendary 2015 campaign in which he won NFL MVP.
But Newton isn’t the only name on the Patriots’ roster.
Corner Jason McCourty received a career renaissance the season after a season with the 0-16 Browns in 2017.
While McCourty had a good year in 2017, he was also playing in his ninth season at the time. Most corners heading into Year 10 are often on the back nine of their career.
The perfect player for Belichick to trade for and insert into the starting lineup.
And here’s McCourty, continuing to put up solid numbers as the number two corner on the New England defense. At age 33. Up there for a corner.
Newton and McCourty are recent examples. We already mentioned guys like Revis, Welker, and so many others who’ve passed through Belichick. Corey Dillon is another big name that stands out.
2. Castoffs into Stars
Like big-name players who’ve seemingly gone to the wayside, Belichick is also a stud at turning no-names into football players. Guys like Chris Hogan, Brandon Bolden, and Rob Ninkovich are just a few names here throughout the last 2 decades.
If you grab every New England Patriots media guide dating back to the year 2000, you’ll find dozens of names that fit this list.
Starting perhaps with Tom Brady. In Brady’s camp, you’ll find some quarterbacks who fit the mold. Like a man named Matt Cassel, who led the Patriots to an 11-5 season in Brady’s absence back in 2008.
Cassel jumps out because the guy served as a backup to Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart while at USC. Word has it the Tennessee Titans planned on signing Cassel as an undrafted free agent and everyone in the organization was surprised when Belichick snagged him in the seventh round.
You could write a book on how many backs and receivers Belichick took in that no one else wanted and turned them into stars. Former seventh-round pick Julian Edelman is one of those players and he has been a mainstay as New England’s number one receiver.
Draft Engine, a popular fantasy football magazine, stated in their annual issue that the Patriots have an underwhelming receiving corps for 2020.
Other than the era when Randy Moss paired up with Wes Welker with at the time was the league’s best receiving unit when haven’t the Patriots’ receiving unit not been underwhelming?
More often than not.
It’s Belichick’s system. It’s why guys like Chris Hogan succeeded in it. It’s why Julian Edelman became a star. Go back to the early 2000s and David Givens had success in the system.
Look at the running backs. Even today.
- Sony Michel was a first-round pick but if you think about it, he’s a system guy. He’s a runner and not much of a receiver. Not even an every-down back.
- Before he opted out, Brandon Bolden established himself as a special-team and fill-in back.
- Rex Burkhead isn’t a back you want starting for your team. But hey, he can run and catch when called upon.
- James White catches more passes than he gets rushing attempts. He ran the ball 67 times in 2019 as opposed to logging 72 receptions.
None of these players are likely to have made much of a dent anywhere else. Some were in other places and either didn’t do well when they migrated, like Bolden, or were cast-offs everywhere else until Belichick picked them up.
They fit his system. They don’t necessarily have to impress anywhere else.
3. Playing to Opponents’ Weaknesses
The Patriots Way uses committee-based approaches to play to the weaknesses of opponents. This basically means, coupled with the above headings, that every player Belichick comes across will serve as a strength. Belichick finds those strengths and it’s why his teams win.
And he’s done it for over 2 decades with the same franchise.
Belichick and his Patriots Way are so popular there’s actually a Wikipedia page dedicated to it, entitled the New England Patriots strategy.
If the defense can’t stop the run, then you know Sony Michel’s leading the running back committee for that week. If the opposite is the case and the opponent plays the run well but not the pass, then expect James White to get the bulk of the touches.
If the game plan calls for a balanced approach, then it’s Burkhead who will get the call.
Ditto for the receivers.
But he also favored specific players as they pertained to their opponents.
Were the opposing team’s opponents smaller and faster in the defensive backfield? If so, you knew Mohamed Sanu was having a big day in 2019. Did they need speed to counteract physical play? Then you’re looking at Julian Edelman and Phillip Dorsett in 2019.
Belichick has an answer for everything. To the point he even considered using a two-platoon system at quarterback if he needed to over the summer.
4. It Never Mattered Who Played Quarterback
It was Belichick, not Brady, who won the Super Bowls. If that were the case, the Pats would’ve plummeted when Brady was injured or suspended.
The second 11-5 team in NFL history to do so (1985 Denver Broncos).
But really, it never mattered who lined up under center and it still doesn’t matter. The Patriots were and will continue to win football games.
Who cares if the receiving unit is underwhelming? Or if there’s hardly a back on the roster who will earn a Pro Bowl berth?
Really, it shouldn’t matter.
And in New England, it doesn’t matter who’s at quarterback. Jimmy Garoppolo played and succeeded in the system.
We already discussed Matt Cassel and what he did in 2008.
Is it any wonder the 2 guys received opportunities to play elsewhere?
And neither either were or are great. Yeah, Garoppolo led the Niners to the Super Bowl. But he did it in a run-first system that relied on a stellar defense. He’s a system quarterback. A game manager.
Ditto for Cassel during that magical season he put together in Kansas City. When the system broke down and the team had to rely on Cassel, he tailed off. Ditto for Jacoby Brissett.
And ditto for Cam Newton. In the season opener, Newton rushed for 2 touchdowns.
Put Brian Hoyer or Jarrett Stidham back there if Newton goes down. Watch the Patriots win more games than they lose. Watch them threaten to at least secure a wildcard. The game plan will change.
Belichick will adjust the system to fit his quarterback and committees.
Nothing else is changing here.
And you won’t see the Pats sacrifice much in the win column.
5. The NFL’s Strangest Dynasty
Dynasties are often known for keeping an identical core of players. Look to the greatest dynasties of every era and you’ll find a common denominator:
You can for the players for each dynasty.
- The 1950s Cleveland Browns
- 1960s Green Bay Packers
- 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers
- 1980s San Francisco 49ers
- 1990s Dallas Cowboys
In the 2000s and 2010s New England Patriots, you can name key players from each dynasty like the above players. However, unlike the dynasties of years’ past, the Pats’ core is far smaller, with only Tom Brady serving as the key player for both dynasties.
This is why many of us betting on whether the Pats will continue to find themselves in the playoffs are asking the question whether it’s Belichick or Brady.
But really, Brady missed 15 and a half games in 2008.
No, the Pats didn’t go to the playoffs. But yeah, they finished 11-5 that season. You should’ve known the answer to this question 12 seasons ago. Or 13 seasons ago.
Brady missed the first few games of 2016 because of a suspension for Deflategate. Jimmy G and Jacoby Brissett came in and still won.
All Belichick had to do was make adjustments to fit his quarterbacks’ strengths.
Perhaps longer, if a disciple, uh, Josh McDaniels, takes over as head coach.
The Patriots’ dynasty, or dynasties, were unlike any other the NFL has seen before or since.
And for good reason.
Belichick’s system and his approach allowed cast-offs, washed-up vets, and similar players to come in and excel in the system.
Conclusion
This article highlights why it’s unwise to bet against the NFL’s Sith Lord in Bill Belichick. The guy has proven time and again he can win. And over the past 2 decades, he did so with 4 different quarterbacks.
Now he’s in the post-Brady era and, predictably from early returns as of the 2020 season, he’s tweaked his system to highlight Cam Newton’s strengths. And of course, he’ll highlight everyone else’s strengths on both offense and defense.
No Brady? No problem. The Patriots make a viable bet at those online sportsbooks!
What are your thoughts? Do you agree?