The story dates back to 2001 when the New England Patriots were not a big playing team, so was not their No. 199 draft pick Tom Brady. The head coach Bill Belichick saw something in Brady and shouldered him the reins of their starter room. Tom Terrific adorned his trust by glorifying the Patriots’ name in the league’s history.
However, soon after Brady left his job in New England, the team again found themselves in their previous infamous form. Tom’s gracious two decades of support for the Patriots and Belichick recently got recognition from NFL analyst Shannon Sharpe.
Shannon Sharpe issues apology to Patriots legend Brady
Since Brady left the Patriots in 2020, there has been discussion on whether Belichick or Brady deserves more credit for the New England Patriots’ dynasty. Many analysts closed the door by crediting Bill’s dominance and coaching prowess, as he had a distinguished coaching background before taking charge of the New England squad.
In the meantime, Patriots’ recent struggles have fueled rumors once more, prompting Sharpe to apologize to the seven-time Super Bowl champion on Monday’s “First Take” program. Sharpe detailed that the reason behind the apology was nothing but his failure to give a proper nod to Brady for saving the grace of Bill Belichick’s team for two decades.
Throughout his coaching career with the Patriots, Belichick’s decisions garnered criticism many times like once he was found taking a game plan from a janitor. But, he enjoyed an accolades-filled career there and Sharpe felt it was only for the recently retired starter, mentioning Tom as the fault eraser of Belichick.
“I think I owe Brady an apology, because I don’t think I gave him enough credit, or I should have given him even more credit, because what Brady allowed Coach (Bill) Belichick to do Brady is the largest eraser in pro sports. Because every mistake that Coach Belichick made during that two decades (in New England), Brady could erase it.”
Sharpe also criticized Belichick’s selection of their draft pick, but he praised him for his success in creating defensive plans. He later noted that their offensive lineup would still be worthless without Brady.
Since the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers player joined the Bucs after the 2019 season, the Patriots are 26-30, including a playoff defeat.
Patriots’ woes deepen with another lopsided defeat
The Patriots have lost back-to-back, blowout games to the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints, and they are currently 1-4 through five weeks of the 2023 season. In Week 4, they were defeated 38-3 by the Cowboys, which was their worst loss under Bill Belichick as coach. In the following contest, the Saints presented Belichick with the second-worst loss of his coaching career.
As mentioned by Shannon Sharpe, Belichick’s defensive plan worked accordingly, yet his plan regarding their offensive lineup powered by Mac Jones failed in both matches. In their last loss against the Saints, they couldn’t reach the end zone and managed only 156 total offensive yards while Jones added more frustration by throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble.
For that, in spite of being healthy and fit, the head coach had to bench Jones for Bailey Zappe, but the plan also did not work as after the final whistle, they walked out from the field, failing to score a single point.
On the contrary, the Saints took the advantage and fooled the Patriots with two impressive plays from Derek Carr and Rashid Shaheed. Meanwhile, Belichick revealed his hope to “start all over” with the Patriots in their Week 6 game, leaving all these losses as past.
Do you think he can again shine without the fifteen-time Pro Bowler?
