A sad day in the NFL as the best QB departs the best coach

Every discussion is taking place.

The Patriots are all about the organization and Bill Belichick so they will not miss a beat.

The Patriots will fall apart, seeing what life after Tom Brady is like.

The Patriots will still be good but will not be elite.

Which of the previous statements is closest to the truth?

We are about to find out.

I would say the third premise is most likely to emerge as the winner in this multiple choice.

Regardless of the controversies and wide dislike of “The Patriot Way,” Belichick is the best coach in the history of the game.

Yes, there is SpyGate, deflated footballs and press box cameras focusing on the opposition sideline. Still, the accomplishments cannot be denied.

Brady is the best quarterback in the history of the game. The accomplishments cannot be denied.

In recent history, great quarterbacks have changed addresses in the latter stages of their careers.

Only one was able to win a Super Bowl with a second team and that was a nearly done Peyton Manning, who was a shadow of his former self due to a very serious surgical procedure which left his arm strength limited. Manning was 39 when he won the Super Bowl and then retired.

Still, he managed the Denver Broncos, with a superb defense, to a Super Bowl title to become a rarity—the only starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl with two different teams in NFL history.

Joe Montana and Brett Favre are the other obvious examples and both came close.

Montana played two seasons with Kansas City after leaving San Francisco, where he won four Super Bowls and was the greatest quarterback in league history until Brady came along. In his first season with the Chiefs, Montana led the Chiefs to the AFC championship game but lost to Buffalo. He played one more year with the Chiefs, who lost their first playoff game in Montana’s final game in the league. “Joe Cool” was 37 when he went to Kansas City.

Favre won a Super Bowl with Green Bay and took the Packers to another Super Bowl. He left Green Bay for the New York Jets, playing one year and leading the Jets to a 9-7 season. Then, at the age of 40, he led the Minnesota Vikings to an NFC championship game, falling 31-28 to the Saints in overtime. Of course, the Saints went on to win the Super Bowl. Battling injuries, Favre played one more season in Minnesota and had a losing record and retired.

Kurt Warner actually came closest to winning Super Bowls with two different teams, falling literally seconds short of doing so.

Warner was an NFL Most Valuable Player and, as one of the best stories ever in the NFL, led the St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl championship and took St. Louis to a second Super Bowl, losing on a last second field goal to Brady and the Patriots as the New England dynasty was launched. Warner left the Rams after six seasons after battling numerous injuries.

After a year with the Giants, he ended up in Arizona and rejuvenated his Hall of Fame career, leading the Cardinals to a Super Bowl appearance and narrow Super Bowl loss to Pittsburgh in the 2008 season at the age of 36. Warner played one more good season with the Cardinals, losing to the Saints in the playoffs in his final game in New Orleans.

Steve McNair was an NFL Most Valuable Player who led Tennessee to a Super Bowl, narrowly losing to Warner and the Rams. He played 11 seasons with the Titans. In 2006, McNair was traded to the Ravens, where he played his last two seasons. In his first season with Baltimore, McNair led the Ravens to a 13-3 record and a bye but they lost at home to Manning and the Colts in the Divisional round of the playoffs. In 2007, McNair ended his career battling injuries.

There are other, sad examples.

It was hard watching Johnny Unitas in a Chargers uniform. It was difficult seeing Joe Namath struggle in a Rams jersey.

Brady turns 43 on Aug. 3.

Does he still have game?

Brady completed just 60.8 percent of his passes in 2019, tied for the second lowest completion percentage of his career.

His Quarterback Rating of 88.0 was his lowest since 2006.

He averaged 10.8 yards per completion.

Brady did throw 24 touchdown passes while tossing eight interceptions, a low total.

Belichick is great. Brady is great.

It is hard to fathom the two without each other but we will soon live in that world.

The considerations for Brady involve where he wants to live with his family, where his wife wants to be.

The Los Angeles Chargers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins are the obvious choices for destinations.

The Dolphins may not be a contender quite yet but they are an improving, up-and-coming team under Brian Flores.

The Chargers are an obvious choice.

Brady is from San Mateo and his family lives in California.

The Chargers were thought to be a prime contender for AFC honors coming off of the 2018 season but a rash of injuries to key players, a terrible home field and total lack of fan support for a home field advantage and the deterioration of Philip Rivers were too much to overcome.

That should change, at least to a degree, with the opening of SoFi Stadium this season.

In 2018, the Chargers were 12-4, won a playoff game and lost in the Divisional Playoff round to none other than Brady and the Patriots. In 2019, Los Angeles fell to 5-11. They are primed for a rebound year with better health and better quarterback play. Melvin Gordon is good, when healthy. Keenan Allen is a very good receiver while Austin Ekeler is excellent catching the ball out of the backfield.

The Buccaneers could move on from the erratic Jameis Winston. Then again, they may not. That remains an open book, at this point.

Tampa Bay has good receivers in Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, something Brady lacked sorely with the Patriots. There is a good defensive front on hand.

The issue is clear.

The Bucs have posted nine consecutive losing seasons under five different head coaches. They have had 32 non-winning seasons in 44 years in the league.

Miami is intriguing.

Keep in mind that Flores coached under Belichick and with Brady from 2004-2018.

While the Dolphins were just 5-11 last year, they won their last two games, including a final week 27-24 win over the Patriots and Brady at Gilette Stadium. That killed New England’s quest to have a bye week and the Patriots lost at home to Tennessee in the Wild Card game.

The negative is obvious.

Miami was dead last in the NFL, giving up 494 points, the most in the NFL. To become a contender, the Dolphins will have to dramatically improve a porous defense and the offense had no real running game.

DeVante Parker is a good wide receiver while Mike Gesicki is a solid tight end.

There is no guarantee with any of these franchises.

The Brady legacy as the best ever is clear. It is undeniable. The numbers speak for themselves–20 seasons, nine Super Bowl appearances and six Super Bowl championships. A record of 219-64 in the regular season. A record of 30-11 in the postseason.

Was Brady ever fully appreciated by Belichick?

That is the conjecture today, that he was not.

Brady was never at the top of the heap in how he was paid, despite being the best player in the league.

Outside of Randy Moss for just over three seasons and, for a fleeting moment, Antonio Brown, when did Brady ever have a top wide receiver? He did have Rob Gronkowski who was the best in the business for a period of time at tight end.

Brady made everyone around him better, much like the greats, including Drew Brees, do.

Should Brady end up in Tampa Bay, he would face Brees and the Saints twice in a matchup of Hall of Fame quarterbacks north of 40.

We have often talked about Sean Payton and Brees being one, virtually joined at the hip. They think the same thoughts simultaneously. There is huge, mutual admiration and respect and it has been manifest, obvious to all, expressed publicly.

From afar, that has not seemingly been the case with Belichick and Brady. Brees said he would never play elsewhere, that he would either play with the Saints or retire. Nothing of the sort came out of the mouth of Brady with regard to New England.

The separation has occurred.

In New England, Brady had a solid but not elite running game, led by Sony Michel. Julian Edelman is a solid receiver but not a great receiver. If Edelman is your second wide receiver, you are in good shape. As your alpha dog, that is not a desirable situation.

Brees had a lot of good wide receivers, most notably Marques Colston and Lance Moore. He had a great tight end for a few years with Jimmy Graham. He finally has a great receiver in Michael Thomas but that did not occur until the twilight of his career.

While the Patriots need a No. 1 wide receiver, the Saints still need a No. 2 wideout.

The odds of Brady going elsewhere and winning a Super Bowl are slim. History does not lie.

San Francisco won another Super Bowl after Montana due to the presence of Steve Young, another all-time great. Green Bay won a Super Bowl after Favre due to the presence of Aaron Rodgers, another all-time great. Indianapolis has not come close to doing so since the departure of Manning.

This is a sad day for me.

While I am not a Patriots fan, I am a fan of what the New England organization has accomplished in an era of 32 teams and with a system built for parity. It cannot be denied. Greatness, even grudgingly, is to be admired.

It will be very difficult seeing Brady in another uniform.

Then again, the greatest basketball player ever, Michael Jordan, closed his magnificent career as an also-ran with the Wizards. Babe Ruth, one of the best, if not the best baseball player ever, finished his career with the Boston Braves.

Brady is the best. Belichick is the best. Now, we’ll see who fares best apart.