tom brady

As I’m waiting for the All-22 film of Pats-Bengals to come out, I couldn’t help but click on Michael Silver’s latest NFL.com article positing that Brady *could* be at a tipping point with Belichick because, when compared to Denver and Peyton Manning, Belichick just hasn’t given Brady the best weapons to use. (You can go find the article on your own if you really want to read it.)

Now Silver has always had these kind of takes when it comes to Brady. Here’s one from 2010 that pretty much has the same takeaway – Brady isn’t treated as well as Peyton Manning is and should be upset about it.

Silver runs down each and every Denver “weapon” but when you boil it down I think the only real difference is that Denver hit on Demaryius Thomas in the first round before Manning even got there.

Are there any Patriot fans out there who think the Patriots would be better with Welker instead of Edelman right now? Not to mention about six months from now when Welker will either be looking at retirement or dangerously prolonging his career?

The Pats did try to get Emmanuel Sanders last year but this year went with Brandon LaFell, who has shown solid progress and is the top X receiver in New England right now. Given their style of play, and what Brady’s strengths are, I don’t think it’s crazy why the Pats went with physicality and size over speed.

And we’ll see how well Sanders does against Revis and Browner. LaFell’s size is something this Pats team has lacked for as long as anyone can remember.

Of course ditching Logan Mankins is mentioned, but the part about getting the rookie tight end who led the league in receptions last year? Well that part isn’t important. Apparently that doesn’t qualify you as a “weapon”.

Oh and comparing Julius Thomas to Gronk? Come on. We know what Gronk has gone through and that he’s still getting it all back, but with both healthy there’s little debate who the better tight end is. Thomas was invisible for two years in Denver before Peyton arrived.

Another thing Silver ignores is how many receivers have failed in New England. Is that Belichick’s fault too? Chad Jackson, Joey Galloway, Torry Holt, Taylor Price, Chad Ochocinco are just a few high round draft picks and significant free agents that didn’t last long in Foxboro. 

I’m sure Silver will just tell you it’s Belichick’s fault for missing on the draft picks and the other guys were just past their primes. That’s an argument that ignores one of Brady’s few flaws, which is how picky he about who he throws the ball to.

Silver also says that Revis was the only high-profile signing the Patriots made this offseason, conveniently leaving off Brandon Browner, re-signing Julian Edelman, while also making a significant departure from recent years and taking a pure pass rusher with their first-round pick.

This is the storyline that Silver has clearly be enamored with since 2010 – that Tom Brady and the Patriots would be so much better if Bill Belichick would just dish out a big contract to someone like… well, he doesn’t actually have any specific moves that the Pats could’ve made to give Brady what he needs, instead it just remains that nameless, faceless “weapon” that Peyton Manning has in spades.

Here’s the other thing someone as taken with Denver’s offseason approach as Silver clearly is – we’re only five weeks into the season, let’s see how good Denver’s depth looks when injuries strike. Aqib Talib looked great for us in September last year too.

The Patriots have won more games than anyone since 2001. They have had one of the top-ranked offenses every year, and from the way Silver makes it sound, Brady did it almost entirely on his own except for when Randy Moss was here. 

Really what it boils down to for me is when was the last time the team with the best offensive “weapons” won the Super Bowl? Is that what’s really held this team back? If the Pats get final defensive stops in 2007 and 2012 and have 5 Super Bowls, does this perspective still exist?

Or is it just an east crutch for the simple minded football fans who think all you need is a star quarterback, wide receiver and “pass rusher”, who are all paid the appropriate budget-busting contract, to be an “elite” team who wins the Super Bowl every single year?