With Tom Brady’s decision still looming over all of New England, many people are on edge waiting for him to make a choice. While staying with the New England Patriots seems like the most likely option, this is the first time in his career that he has the opportunity to enter the open market. The simple fact that he will be able to negotiate with other teams means that he can drive up his price, which means at the same time, that price could drive the Patriots away. Aside from Brady, there are players on defense that are going to expect big money this off-season, and will eventually end up leaving. Whether or not Brady stays, the team is going to have to make the transition at quarterback within the next couple years. There is no way around it. 

While parts of the roster are going to be in question, there is no doubt that Bill Belichick will be able to put the Patriots in position to stay competitive and ultimately win. There is no question that Tom Brady is not only the greatest quarterback of all time, but that he also has been an intricate part of this 20-plus year run. However, Belichick has been able to sustain a disciplined team with everyone buying in and putting the team first. Across the entire National Football League, team after team makes off the field mistakes, from the front office, to the coaching staff, all the way down to the players. While the Patriots certainly are not innocent of making mistakes, they occur far less often. For the most part, players enter New England, and we do not hear them make a peep until they are gone. 

Although Belichick has never won without Brady, he has proven that he evaluates the quarterback position unlike anyone else. To begin, let’s examine Brady himself. After being here in New England for just a short time back in 2000, Belichick knew he wanted to give Brady the job over Drew Bledsoe. It was known that he believed in Brady and thought the team could succeed with him; and as it turns out, he could not have been more correct. For the next seven seasons, New England dominated the NFL. Then came the first week of 2008, when Tom Brady tore his ACL. No Brady? No worries. Belichick gave the job to backup Matt Cassel, who led the team to an 11–5 record, while throwing 21 touchdown passes and 3,693 yards. Then came 2016, when Tom Brady was suspended for the first four games. With Jimmy Garoppolo having two seasons in the system, he stepped right in and was incredible. They won both games, while Garoppolo made precision passes and more importantly, the offense looked identical to the way it does when Brady is running the show. While Garoppolo got injured in just his second start, third stringer Jacoby Brissett took over. He got the job done, and then beat the Houston Texans 27–0 the following week. The bottom line here is that Belichick can seek out quarterbacks better than just about anyone else in the history of the NFL.

When the trade was made with the San Francisco 49ers to send Garoppolo for a second-round pick, it was evident that Belichick was reluctant to deal him. He wanted to make the transition at quarterback all the way back then, which is now three seasons ago. As it turns out, Brady has been to two Super Bowls since and has won one, while Garoppolo has been to the most recent which resulted in a loss. Realistically, both outcomes are better than most teams can say. I think that it is important for Patriots fans to realize that the team is in excellent hands with Belichick at the helm. With or without Tom Brady, he absolutely knows what he is doing and he deserves the trust of his fans. He is going to find the next guy, and even if that quarterback is not as talented as Brady, he will improve other parts of the roster to make up for it. Bill Belichick is the most critical part of the Patriots entire operation and will continue to be going forward.