The dynasty forged in New England over 19 seasons seems to have finally reached its end.
It has been seen long down the road for multiple seasons by football fans young and old, but still, the news was shocking, and caught football fans across the country off guard. When the No. 1 seeded Patriots fell to the Titans in an 20-13 upset in the 2019 NFL playoffs, it was the writing on the wall that Tom Brady might not be in New England come next fall. However, at the time, many believed that he would retire, not seek out another team in free agency like he did Wednesday.
Through a multitude of star receivers from Randy Moss to Wes Welker to Julian Edelman, and running backs like James White, Kevin Faulk and Dion Lewis, he has always been the one constant leading the offense. Not anymore. He has moved on.
Since he emerged as a star in the season of 2000, taking over for an injured Drew Bledsoe, Brady has been the glue holding this offense, and frankly, the Patriots together. Brady is a guy who leads by example, puts forth 110% and expects his teammates to do the same.
All dynasties come to an end at some point, and so has the Patriots' most recent one. Don't get me wrong though, it was one of the NFL's best dynasties, with six Super Bowl victories under the leadership of Brady and head coach Bill Belichick. Their ultimate dominance of the AFC East will go in the record books for years to come. For that matter, the Patriots may still dominate their division this next season, but a piece that was integral in their success for so long will no longer be there.
Onto a new franchise, a new city, with new challenges. Tampa Bay will be that landing site for the 42 year old Brady, who has at least a couple of seasons left in the tank. Buccaneers fans should rejoice. Gone are the days of inaccurate, inconsistent quarterbacks, and four-interception games. Yes, he is 42, and not ranked as one of the league’s most agile quarterbacks, but he is consistent, and he is accurate. Two qualities that have made him one of the league's most decorated quarterbacks.
Experience is also critical. A four time Super Bowl MVP and winner of three NFL MVP awards, he brings a sense of maturity and postseason experience that many players on the Bucs’ roster do not have. That is yet another plus in a fantastic move by the front office in Tampa to secure one of the NFL’s all-time best, even if he is towards the end of his career.
However, you cannot deny it. It will look awfully weird come September to see Brady wearing the gold and red of the Buccaneers, not the navy and silver of the Patriots, playing under sunny skies in south Florida, not the snow of New England, and tossing touchdown passes to Mike Evans, not Julian Edelman.
A question to the Patriots as well: It was a phenomenal ride with Brady, who became the face of the franchise, but who will they turn to now? How will they be able to maintain that veteran leadership that was there for so many seasons?
Who knows, but what is obvious is that the Patriots are sure going to miss having Brady behind center, while the Bucs will be thankful just to have Brady for a single season. Victory should return to Tampa very soon with Brady in the driver's seat.
Current Event of the Day
During this coronavirus spread, it can be easy to forget about other news going on in the United States. However, it is critical we do not, because in addition to the virus, a lot is going on in the US. One of these events is the tremendous earthquake that the citizens of northern Utah experienced yesterday morning, which registered as the strongest earthquake to hit the state in 28 years. With a magnitude of 5.7, the unexpected earthquake luckily did not claim any lives, but did claim numerous buildings, even damaging the runway at the Salt Lake City Airport, which has recently been repaired, and downtown buildings in Salt Lake. In addition, 48 mobile homes have been reported being “shifted off their foundations”.
Like most earthquakes, there was a strong aftershock, this one registering 4.7.
The Red Cross is currently on the ground, helping Utahns affected by this unexpected natural disaster in a time of national crisis.
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