The 2020 offseason is shaping up to be one of the craziest we’ve ever. Headlining this year’s free agency class is six-time Super Bowl Champion and twenty-year NFL veteran quarterback (QB) Tom Brady, who has made the decision to not return to the New England Patriots after two decades of dominant play.
For the first time in his illustrious career, Brady will be wearing an NFL uniform that isn’t of the Patriots, who he led countless Super Bowls, division titles, wins and everything else imaginable. Even to myself, the prospect of Brady playing for a different franchise is unimaginable, but now it is a certainty that it will happen.
Brady’s departure will leave a big hole to fill at the QB position for the Patriots. The team rarely has had to use other QBs over the past two decades, mainly when Brady missed nearly the entirety of the 2008 season with an injury and when Jimmy Garoppolo (currently with San Francisco) had to fill in when Brady was temporarily suspended following the Deflategate scandal after New England’s blowout win over the Indianapolis Colts in 2014.
On both occasions, the Patriots did fine in Brady’s absence. When Matt Cassel filled in for an injured Brady in 2008, the team went 11-5 but narrowly missed out on the postseason. Missing out on the playoffs is horrible under the current standard for New England, but an 11-5 record is still nothing to scoff at. The team even went 4-0 when Garoppolo was at the helm.
Clearly, the Patriots can succeed without Brady as history shows, but can Brady succeed in a different environment? After all, we haven’t seen Brady play high-level football in a different uniform since his days at the University of Michigan. For years, Brady has been labeled as a system QB – someone who has only thrived in professional football due to being in the Patriots’ system and likely will fail if placed elsewhere.
I can see the merit of that argument. The Patriots since 2000 have been the NFL’s model organization, with the same head coach and relative structure for two decades. They are the model of consistency. New England thrives off of game-planning, strategy and a solid support system in conjunction with offensive and defensive talent. Brady was always an important cog in that machine, helping to build a winning culture that everyone across the league respected.
The burning question here is if Brady can succeed in a different environment. Tampa Bay is certainly a different environment than New England, and the Buccaneers haven’t seen nearly as much success as the Patriots have. In fact, the Buccaneers haven’t reached the postseason at all in the last decade spanning from 2010-2019, and last appeared in the playoffs in 2007. Brady has a new challenge to tackle this time around.
The Buccaneers are coming off a 7-9 season in which former first overall pick QB Jameis Winston threw for both 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions, a first in NFL history. This didn’t translate into success for the team. Since the Buccaneers have only had one winning season under Winston (a 9-7 campaign in 2016), Tampa Bay needed a new QB. In all likelihood, Winston will also be suiting up in a new uniform soon.
There’s not a shred of doubt in my mind that Brady is a more reliable QB than Winston, even now. On the offensive side of the ball, the team still has three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver (WR) Mike Evans, 2019 Pro Bowl WR Chris Godwin and solid tight end (TE) O.J. Howard.
While Brady has weapons to work with on Tampa Bay’s offense (Brady didn’t request to have control of the entire offense), he will no longer be playing behind a great offensive line. Typically over the last decade, New England’s o-line was ranked in the top-15 of the league, with the Patriots ranking No. 7 in 2019. On the other hand, the Buccaneers’ o-line ranked at No. 22 last year.
Brady has a greater challenge to face this year (assuming that the season begins on time). Tampa Bay is a whole different animal compared to the perennial powerhouse in New England. But if you know Brady, you have to know about his crazy work ethic and dedication to the game. If anybody is going to lead the Buccaneers to greatness, I wouldn’t pick any other QB than Brady.
