In the 2000 NFL Draft Tom Brady was a lightly regarded prospect coming out of college who didn’t really seem to figure seriously on anyone’s radar. During his five years with Michigan Brady hadn’t pulled up any trees, in fact for a lot of his time there he struggled to nail down a starting place ahead of Drew Henson.
Joining the New England Patriots as 199th pick in that year’s Draft no-one could have predicted the near twenty year love affair that Brady would have with the Patriots. At that time the Patriots were used to featuring at the bottom of the pile in the NFL odds and the arrival of Tom Brady didn’t look like changing that any time soon.
Yet during Tom Brady’s 19 year spell with New England that did chance and dramatically so with the franchise claiming their first Super Bowl success in 2001 and following it up with another five in 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018.
Is it an oversimplification to say that Tom Brady was the main driving factor behind the success of the Patriots in that period? Or would the Patriots have tasted the sweet success of multiple Super Bowl triumphs anyway? Read on to find out.
Who Masterminded Patriots Period of Dominance? Bill Belichick or Tom Brady?
It is a question that raged on for the better part of two decades but one that, with time and hindsight, we feel has had a more than conclusive answer. Before we delve into that though it’s important to recognise the role that Bill Belichick played in the Patriots period of domination.
When he arrived in New England at the turn of the millennium Belichick had a long history of providing specialist defensive guidance to NFL teams. As Head Coach of the Patriots Belichick called upon all of this expertise to help build not just one or two, but a series of defensive powerhouse units.
He also helped to develop a culture and ethos that set the Patriots apart from not only their NFL rivals but from 99% of sports teams. That resilient and relentless attitude combined with a defensive steeliness was the foundation of the Patriots stunning Super Bowl XXXVI in which they restricted a free scoring St. Louis Rams to just 17 points.
(Defense won the day in this Super Bowl clash.)
Does that make Belichick more influential to the Patriots success than Tom Brady though? Well it’s a tough question to answer as the two both played such significant roles in the careers of one another. It was Belichick after all who took the then brave decision to start Brady over Bledsoe at quarterback.
Many would argue too that the unique combination of Bill Belichick’s relentless winning attitude and Tom Brady’s endless pursuit of personal growth and development helped to create the Perfect Storm for success at Foxboro Stadium.
Sitting on the fence though was never on the remit when we were asked to write this article so it’s time to make our bold claim – Tom Brady was the single most important factor in the New England Patriots success from 2001 to 2018 and here’s why:
Defense Doesn’t Create Football Dynasties
There is no doubt that defense is the key building block of a good football team but on its own it doesn’t win multiple Super Bowls, offenses do. Sure there are examples such as the Patriots first Super Bowl win in 2001 where defense won the day but in the main it is offense that counts and Tom Brady not Bill Belichick was the driving force behind the Patriots offensive prowess.
The Facts
The New England Patriots have won six Super Bowl Championships and every single one of them was won when Tom Brady was on the books. When he left in 2019 after nearly 20 years with the franchise to sign a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers he was 42.
Despite that he would go on to inspire the Bucs to their second Super Bowl Championship playing a key part in their 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. In the four years since Brady left Foxboro Stadium Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots haven’t come close to winning a Super Bowl.
(This Super Bowl victory with the Buccaneers provided conclusive proof of Tom Brady’s legendary ability.)
That’s despite the team having effective periods of defensive stability and bringing in serious talent in the quarterback position.
So based on that alone there really is no argument to be had about who was most influential in the Super Bowl successes of the New England Patriots – it was obviously Tom Brady.
