Why Shannon Sharpe apologized to Tom Brady after Patriots loss

The New England Patriots’ recent struggles have been eye-opening.

In fact, Shannon Sharpe felt the need to apologize to Tom Brady on Monday’s episode of ESPN’s “First Take.”

“I think I owe Brady an apology because I don’t think I gave him enough credit or I should have given him more credit because Brady allowed coach (Bill) Belichick to do that,” Sharp said. “Brady is the biggest eraser in professional sports. Because every mistake Coach Belichick made in those two decades (in New England), Brady could erase it.

“You take a bad receiver; Brady will take a seventh-round receiver — the receiver you take in the first, second or third round — and then Brady will take Julian Edelman erases it. Or you make a mistake on a defensive back and he’ll bring someone else on and he can erase it.”

Ever since Brady left the Patriots in 2020, there has been debate whether he or Belichick is more responsible for the New England dynasty, which includes six Super Bowl titles. The truth is that the Patriots probably wouldn’t have the same success if they had just half of their legendary quarterback-coaching combo, but the past few years certainly haven’t done Belichick any favors in the public opinion arena.

After Brady retired, the Patriots went 25-25 over the past three regular seasons while losing their only playoff game by 30 points. Surprisingly, given the current state of affairs, this mediocrity now feels enviable. The Patriots are 1-4 through five weeks into the 2023 season after consecutive losses to the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints.

“Coach Belichick does a great job designing defensive schemes,” Sharp said Monday. ” … Everything he did against “The Greatest Show on the Field” (the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI) — all these great high-flying offenses — but ultimately, when you When the quarterback is needed to make a difference, “Brady always makes plays like this. “

Brady won another Super Bowl immediately after leaving New England and joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Meanwhile, the Patriots are still looking for answers at the quarterback position, and Mac Jones has given the team no reason to believe he’s a true franchise signal-caller.

There have been calls for the Patriots to give up on Belichick, one of the greatest coaches in NFL history.The situation in Foxborough has snowballed That

a lot of.

“There’s no way an average coach could be this successful in twenty years,” Sharp said. “But what it does show you is, no matter how good your defensive mind or your offensive mind is, if you don’t have a guy who’s 6-foot-4 with over 200 pounds of arm weight, you’re whistling in the wind. “

Maybe everyone — at least those who sided with Belichick in the popular New England GOAT debate — owes Brady an apology.