The Tom Brady Bunch: Bill Belichick Is Not The Reason For The Patriots Success

"Bill Belichick is the smartest guy in the NFL".  "Bill Belichick is one of the best coaches of all time".  "Bill Belichick doesn't need Randy Moss".

Really?

If I were Tom Brady I would be tearing my Justin Bieber hair out after hearing the trade rumors indicating that Belichick was finished with the Randy Moss experiment and was working on a deal to ship him to Minnesota for a third-round pick. 

Ever since the Pats won their first Super Bowl, people have been quick to anoint Bill Belichick as one of the best and smartest coaches in the NFL.  Words like "Genius" have been thrown around like middle-fingers on the Bills' sideline when referring to the almighty Belichick. 

Everybody just  needs to take a deep breath, open their eyes and look at what has made Belichick successful...

Tom Brady.  Simple as that.

Belichick found oil in his backyard in Foxborough when Drew Bledsoe went down.  Up until that point lets take a look at his career as an NFL head coach.  From 1991 to 1995 he was head coach of the Browns where he compiled a less than stellar 36-44 record.  In his final season with the Browns they went 5-11 and he bailed when the team left for Baltimore to go back to being an assistant coach for Bill Parcells.  In 2000, his first year as head coach of the Patriots they went 5-11.  

The 2001 Pats started the season with two losses when Bledsoe went down and Brady got his chance.   As they say - the rest is history.

Belichick supporters and probably Belichick himself like to believe that the "Team" is above any one player and that his system and "intellegence" as a coach is what keeps the Pats successful.  They will tell you to look at all the Pats Super Bowl teams and how they were able to win without superstars; how they were able to plug in role-players and keep winning.  Well there was one common denominator with all those teams...

Tom Brady.

Belichick doesn't win a single Super Bowl without him.  Bledsoe wasn't going to get it done.  Matt Cassell couldn't get it done.  Just think about it.  How many coaches are lucky enough to come across one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time buried in their depth chart?  Not many.  The ones that do, win Super Bowls.

Now, all that being said, Belichick is by no means a bad coach.  He is an average to above-average coach.  Not a genius, but practical. 

Trading away Randy Moss is neither genius nor practical - unless they plan on picking up Vincent Jackson to take his place.  Yes, the Pats still have Tom Brady.  What they don't have this year is a defense.  In the past Belichick and the Pats have gotten by with bit-players at receiver and a smothering defense.  This year however, without a big play receiver, the Pats will be in trouble.

Belichick's hubris may very well be the downfall of the 2010 Patriots.  

If he's really half the genius people say he is, he will retire the same year as Tom Brady.