I'm not a Patriots fan. I'm a Niners fan (for my sins) - and I tend to think that the Patriots can be some of the jammiest luckiest sons of guns at times in terms of calls (starting with the tuck rule and keeping on going) but hey, good teams make their own luck and the Patriots are a great team currently.
Brady has lots of time in the pocket and yes, that does make it look easier but that's what a good offensive line is supposed to do. Replace a few of those linemen and that protection might break down a little and make him look a little more rushed - although he has such a quick release, that it might mean more short gains rather than longer ones.
No-one was disagreeing that they have lots of good receivers this year but they're also clever in how they spread the ball around so that defenses don't know who might get it - they have what, 18 guys who have got a TD this year? There are entire teams who don't have 18 TDs between them!
They've got there by being smart in the draft and not overpaying for free agents. They let guys go rather than overpay and bring in young guys to train up to take their place. Pioli deserves every award going for his skill in doing that.
The first couple of years I thought Brady wasn't the real deal (I'd still argue that Joe Montana could also stand in there with 2 minutes to go in the Super Bowl and drive a team down the field to win
) but he's proved it consistently for 5 years now. He's a special QB. He's got it all aside perhaps from great running ability (although on the few occasions where he takes off perhaps the shock is what makes it effective). He can throw deep, he can make quick decisions and has a fast release, he'll sit and wait in the pocket with defenders in his face and he's accurate. And in past year, he really didn't have a great receiving corps...In terms of videogate... since the evidence is destroyed, I guess we'll never know the full extent of it. To me, I'd rather have seen the dirty laundry aired rather than end up with the current scenario. The Patriots fans take it too lightly and the non-Patriots say it tarnishes everything they've achieved. I'm sitting on the fence here in terms of past seasons and how it impacted those SuperBowls potentially. In terms of this season and how well that team is playing, I don't think it would have made a blind bit of difference and if the team goes unbeaten, it will be be the result of great team play. (If the unbeaten season had come previously with potential video being used throughout the season, then I'd be more inclined to mentally asterisk it).
