You make some very good points. I’d phrase one thing a little differently. I’d say BB is getting slammed for trying to rely on a system that depends on leaders he doesn’t have now. I’m not sure they’re less common, but he had one that was unique in TB12. The Patriot Way made a magical Super Bowl win after Bledsoe’s injury, and for the next few years it worked as you described, as we all know. That was the First Dynasty of the Patriots.
Then there was a mini dry spell, starting when Brady was injured and they missed the playoffs. The next two years they lost in a wild card game and then in the divisional round, despite having Randy Moss giving Brady a stellar target.
It has seemed to me that something changed with Brady during that period, but your comments make me realize that things changed around him too. I’ve thought that Moss spoiled Brady, by giving him a taste of what it’s like to have a dominant talent at WR. After that Brady seemed to be much less interested in working with lesser talented receivers. Or your comments now have me wondering if it was more that he was not as patient with receivers who weren’t diligent enough in working to surpass the limits of their talent, and there wasn’t the same cadre of veteran leaders to reinforce the work ethic and model the Patriot Way. Regardless, whatever the reason, the Second Dynasty of the Patriots had different dynamics than the first. It was more elitist, not as egalitarian, with Brady playing his favorites and not working with those he didn’t favor, whereas in the First Dynasty no one was left out.
Anyway, Belichick has always been coaching the Patriot Way. He’s been consistent and steady on that, even as Brady evolved after his injury and playing with Moss. That‘s why they had to get divorced. Now Bill has been trying to rebuild using that same approach, but he’s not yet found a QB to be the leader he needs. I think he’s got some other players who can do it, but McCorkle Jones is not one of them. His character shows in some dirty plays on the field, and in the locker room it’s resulted in teammates clearly warming up to Zappe more than to Jones. Looking at the overall picture I think if Bill had found his QB the rest of the team would be significantly improved just by that change. We may not be just a QB away, but with the right QB we’d be a lot closer than we are now. Probably at least contending for a playoff slot, and then who knows…