The Brady-Belichick Era: A Dynasty or a Reign of Terror?
It goes without saying that the New England Patriots were one of, if not, the most dominant team in NFL history. The 2001-2019 era of the New England Patriots, better known as the Brady-Belichick era, pretty much held the NFL hostage until Tom Brady departed in 2020. Belichick mutually parted ways with the Patriots four years later after 23 seasons. During the 2000 NFL Draft, Brady was drafted in the sixth round, with the 199th overall pick, and as a rookie, he was the fourth-string quarterback. He became the second-string quarterback in the 2001 season behind Drew Bledsoe. After Bledsoe suffered an almost fatal injury, Brady was moved to the starting quarterback, even after Bledsoe’s return. However, before the injury, there were reports that Belichick wanted to start Brady over Bledsoe soon. After the injury, the rest is history. Fans and analysts labeled this era as a dynasty due to their consistent winning seasons and Super Bowl wins. Others in fact could call it a reign of terror instead due to their fearsome dominance.
Dynasty
The Brady-Belichick era could be considered a dynasty because the dynamic between Tom Brady and Bill Belichick was a rare sight to behold. In a way, they both had an old-school football mentality while also having to adapt to the game as it kept changing. They also knew how to identify talent and they brought in some unknowns and made them into stars depending on how they played. They even knew about taking risks, such as turning Julian Edelman into a wide receiver even though he was a quarterback in college. They had Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers throughout the era, such as Randy Moss, widely regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time, Wes Welker, and Rob Gronkowski, considered one of the greatest tight ends of all time. They even had great defenses throughout the era with players consisting of Devin McCourty, Stephon Gilmore, Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins, and current head coach of the team and former linebacker, Jerod Mayo.
They were also incredibly consistent, having 19 consecutive winning seasons. Especially in the 2007 season, the Patriots really made a name for themselves by becoming the only team in NFL history to win all 16 games in the regular season. In the 2008 season, the team was led by Matt Cassel under center when Brady was out injured and still went 11-5, but unfortunately missed the playoffs due to losing a tiebreaker to the Baltimore Ravens. In the 2016 season, Tom Brady was suspended for four games and the team was led by Jimmy Garoppolo for the first two games. After he went down with an injury, the team went to Jacoby Brissett, who had just recently returned to New England. The team went 3-1 until Brady’s return and they ended up winning the Super Bowl against the Atlanta Falcons in the first Super Bowl to ever go to overtime. The Patriots have won a total of six out of nine Super Bowls since 2001 and have made the playoffs 17 times with 13 AFC Championship Game appearances. It goes without saying that the Patriots might be the most successful team in NFL history.
Reign of Terror
The Brady-Bellichick era could be considered a reign of terror other than a dynasty due to their fearsome dominance. The Patriots were seen as the biggest obstacle most teams had to overcome, almost making it seem as if they didn’t even want their team to play against them because their chances of losing were very high. They actually ended up becoming one of the most hated teams in the NFL with fans just begging for them to lose every time they step onto a field. The Patriots also faced a ton of controversies throughout the era. For example, when the Patriots were caught filming opposing coaches’ signals, better known as the Spygate. As a result, Belichick was fined $500,000, which is the maximum fine from the league and the largest fine for any coach in the NFL. However, the fine never stopped them. They were also accused of deflating their footballs in the 2014 AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts better known as the Deflategate. The controversy led to the Patriots being fined one million and resulted in Brady's four-game suspension in the 2016 season.
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are two of the most famous and controversial figures in sports. Many fans admire them for their incredible achievements, such as winning multiple Super Bowls and changing how the game is played. However, others see them as arrogant and believe they often bend the rules to get ahead. This divide makes them polarizing; people either love them for their success or dislike them for their competitiveness and the scandals surrounding the team. In the end, the Brady-Belichick era remains a complex tale of greatness mixed with controversy, leaving fans divided between admiration and resentment.
