Tom Brady following other great quarterbacks who tried to keep legendary careers alive
Following Tom Brady’s announcement of leaving the New England Patriots, find out other pro football players who switched teams at the end of their careers.
Tom Brady, the NFL’s all-time Leader in Super Bowl wins and deflated footballs is taking his talents to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
You’ll have to forgive sports fans if we’re a little miffed, but this is the pigskin equivalent of dumping Giselle for ... anyone! Like, why would you do that man? I am well aware that the grass is always greener on the other side but this decision has me thinking there was a different kind of grass involved.
Think about this: Tom’s old coach – that sounds so weird to say – Bill Belichick is the greatest head coach in NFL history. A defensive genius who stifled some of the most potent passers on the planet in guiding the Brady Bunch to six Super Bowl championships.
Was Tom Terrific the MVP in four of those wins? Sure. But no QB gets anywhere near the Lombardi Trophy without a defense that can stop the other team with the game on the line. If you don’t believe me ask Dan Marino, who despite being one of the best QB’s in league history, will best be remembered by future generations for failing to hold the laces out during a field goal attempt in the movie "Ace Ventura."
TOM BRADY OFFICIALLY SIGNS WITH THE TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, STARTS 'NEW FOOTBALL JOURNEY'
And lest we think Brady made Belichick, allow me to point out that prior to joining the Patriots, the man in the hoodie won two Super Bowl rings as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants. He also managed to coach the Cleveland Browns for five seasons without developing a drinking problem, which is no small feat.
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Brady leaves Belichick’s brilliance behind to join the Buccaneers, a team that is to winning football games as Hillary Clinton is to winning presidential elections. Sure, they’re favored once in a while but for whatever reason, it never happens.
In the past 10 years, Tampa Bay has won 59 games and lost 102. I’ve heard better records from Chumbawamba. Except when Chumbawamba gets knocked down they get up again. I’ll show myself out.
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But allow me to share this hypothesis on the way: The GOAT's decision to punt on the Patriots is his “Beatles Moment.” Much the same as the Fab Four were so successful they had nothing left to accomplish together, the weapons-grade egos of Brady and Belichick have driven them to prove they can win without each other. Because deep down, neither one of them wanted another year together.
Belichick controls all football operations for the team and easily could have given Brady a contract extension during the past offseason. He chose not to, knowing full well it would open the door to the first free agency of Tom’s career. But unlike the Beatles, who found all kinds of solo success on their own, only one of these guys can take home a title next year.
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If I had to pick one, I’d bet on Belichick because 67-year-old head coaches have a much better track record in the league than 42-year-old quarterbacks. Never mind that when Brady missed the entire 2008 season due to injury Belichick coached the Patriots to an 11-5 record with Matt Cassel under center. MATT CASSEL! That’s like guiding Gronk to victory in the Scripp’s National Spelling Bee.
How this plays out is anybody’s guess, but we do know this. During his 20 years in New England, Tom Brady went from a sixth-round draft pick out of Michigan to a man who was so spectacularly successful he was accused of selling his soul to the Devil on more than one occasion. It sounded silly at the time, but his decision to head South for the winter is so perplexing, it has me thinking the Devil might be calling collect.
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