Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has definitely been keeping busy this offseason.
The reigning Super Bowl champs have remained in the spotlight long after their famous comeback against the Atlanta Falcons, mostly thanks to Belichick. And the reason for this? Belichick is doing what he does best: finagling his way into every player’s (and team’s) business with his offseason pickups and dropoffs.
As the NFL season wears and tears and injuries become more frequent, Belichick has the amazing ability to pull backups from thin air and turn them into great substitutes. Part of that has to do with the professionalism and impressiveness of his star quarterback, Tom Brady, but it’s mostly a testament to Belichick’s coaching abilities on and off the field. The man is notorious for turning no-names into All-Stars (I’m looking at you, Malcolm Butler) and giving All-Stars the manpower it takes to become champions. And a prime example of exactly this is what happened during the offseason with Martellus Bennett.
Bennett was a good player, but the Patriots made him great. As a veteran on the field and well into his NFL career, Bennett was not looking for money when he signed on with the Patriots for the 2016 season — he was looking for glory.
The Patriots dominance in AFC, let alone the NFL, is absolutely no surprise at all. As consistent winners of the AFC and five Super bowl rings in the last 16 years, there is not a football fan on this earth who doubts the Patriots’ reign as the most dominant team in the NFL. But that doesn’t just hold true for fans — it is universally undisputed amongst players and coaches, too.
The allure of the Patriots for players like Martellus Bennett is evident. He was a powerhouse for the Patriots offense, scoring three touchdowns in his first game with Tom Brady alone and quickly working his way into his teammates and New England fans’ hearts. Whether it be through his dancing with the Patriots cheerleaders or constant praise of his coach and quarterback, Bennett’s happiness with the Patriots was clear.
But after the Patriots gave him exactly what he wanted, he left. And that was Belichick’s plan all along.
Belichick has been scoring these kinds of deals for a long time. With a team like the Patriots, he doesn’t need the same players year in and out to make his team great (clearly he didn’t need Jamie Collins) because good players will just flock to him and his team.
There is no way that Adrian Peterson came to Gillette for a visit for a big money deal. He came for an opportunity to win with one of the best teams in NFL history.
That being said, it is no surprise that Brady is in his last few years of his dynasty. He’s about one hit away from retirement, and not even a special Gisele Bündchen-approved diet can fix his aging bones. It happens — Robert Kraft could not keep him around forever — and if they really want to max out the number of Super Bowl rings they can get from his last few good years on the team, they need to continue to be smart about who they are putting around him.
The situation with backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is definitely a curious one. Jimmy G already has a huge spot in New Englanders’ hearts as the backup and his hopeful successor, but I am not quite sure if that is in the cards for the Eastern Illinois alum. There’s been some talk about a potential trade of the infamous QB2 for a better spot in the draft, as Belichick seems to have taken a liking to Jacoby Brissett as well, but there has been no confirmation of any such action yet. Even if neither Garoppolo nor Brissett fill Brady’s shoes soon, whether next offseason or the one following, the Patriots are going to have to finally start looking at other quarterbacks, even if they do so kicking and screaming.
I must say, however, that acquiring Brandin Cooks, re-signing linebacker Dont’a Hightower and signing ex-Bills pro-bowl cornerback Stephon Gilmore is a good start, for sure. With an inconsistent tight end situation (come on, Gronk) and Mr. Reliable Julian Edelman acting as the team’s second lord and savior only to Brady himself, maintaining a killer offense with a few decisive defensive players is definitely a step in the right direction to continue this dynasty for as long as possible.
