Tom Brady and Bill Belichick took a beating in their Thursday night home opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. The 42-27 loss showed subpar performances on all sides of the ball, starting with Brady. According to NFL.com, the GOAT only completed 16 passes for 267 yards. A long 58-yard bomb to Brandin Cooks helped his stat line. While the New England Patriots’ defense gave up over 500 yards, Brady did not impress. Misfires and a lack of offensive rhythm were apparent. Yesterday, the Patriots decided to work out four quarterbacks, as stated by CBS Boston.
Is Belichick losing faith in the GOAT?
Beliichick Gets Busy
The Patriots’ injuries are piling up in them. Julian Edelman is out for the year with a torn ACL. Wide receiver Danny Amendola left the game with a concussion. Chris Hogan did not step up to the plate and ended the evening with zero catches. Malcolm Mitchell is on injured reserve. That makes thing much harder for Belichick. Yesterday, the Patriots’ coach worked out four quarterbacks, including Thad Lewis, Matt Barkley, David Fales, and Matt McGoin. They also worked out receiver Jordan Payton, according to CBS Boston.
While testing out Payton to get another solid target on board makes sense, bringing in four quarterbacks creates some head scratching.
Perhaps, the Patriots fear an injury to Brady. That would leave just Jimmy Garoppolo on the roster. Adding a third quarterback would give some security and insurance to the team. However, if the team was that concerned about having a third option under center, why would they trade quarterback Jacoby Brissett to the Indianapolis Colts?
He won two games for the Patriots when Brady was suspended for the first 4 games of the 2016 season for his role in Deflategate. The suspension also saved some wear and tear on Brady. Garoppolo could end up taking over for Brady if the GOAT does not improve.
Is Bill Worried Brady Will Take Peyton Manning’s Route?
The reality of the Patriots’ situation is that Tom Brady is a 40-year old quarterback.
When looking at past NFL quarterbacks, such as Brett Favre and peyton manning, when the decline hits, it hits fast. For example, Peyton Manning had his best season ever with the Denver Broncos in 2013. He threw for over 5000 yards and 55 touchdowns. Two year later, Manning looked like a shell of his former days. His arm was shot and his accuracy suffered. On his opening day against the Baltimore Ravens, he was 24 of 40 for 175 yards and failed to throw a touchdown, as stated in Sports Illustrated. Brady also failed to make a touchdown this past week.
Manning redeemed himself for the next three games, but in Week 5, his sharp decline was evident. He ended the day with two interceptions and no touchdowns.
The next week was worse with three picks. By Week 11, Manning was benched after tossing fourth interceptions the previous week. His arm strength had weakened and it was clear Manning’s days were numbered. While Manning was the starting quarterback for their Super Bowl win that year, he had no touchdowns. Manning retired that year.
Bill Belichick’s main goal is winning. He had no loyalty to veteran Drew Bledsoe after Tom Brady stepped in. Tony Romo was ousted by rookie Dak Prescott. Who Belichick thinks is the best quarterback on the field will start. All the avocado ice cream in the world may not stop the natural decline of a 40-year old quarterback.
Tom Brady and the Patriots get a chance to redeem themselves when they take on the New England Saints next week.
