TwistedHusky":8hadhzrm said:
Brady dictated personnel decisions.
It turned a team that had no chance into a SB winner.
He didn't just mandate they sign Gronk, he made them trade for him.
Their coach, and reportedly their GM, was against signing AB. He had them sign AB anyway.
Teams that do not allow QBs to make the key decisions will find themselves without a QB because there are plenty of teams that know letting QBs make those decisions will vault them into the playoffs. And QBs now know they can (AND WILL) force themselves off the roster of teams that try to assert their power over their star QBs.
If you are a star QB, you either get what you want or can force yourself to a place that you will. That is the reality because of over 30 teams, the top 5-7 QBs determine who gets to go to the SB. And you cannot get to a SB without that key...(MAYBE the Browns are so loaded now they don't need an elite QB...but I doubt it.)
QBs make the rules now. Watson and Brady opened the door and even 'company man' Wilson is pushing his way through it. If you are great QB, you get to make the decisions if you don't agree with the coach or the GM. If not, you go where you will.
The Bucs traded what amounts to a 5th round pick for Gronk, who stated he would only unretire to play with Brady. He's arguably the great tight end of all time, and he was 30 years old last season. To say Brady mandated or made the Bucs trade for Gronk is a stretch. The Bucs would make that trade even if Winston was still their QB.
AB is a HoF caliber WR in his late prime who signed for the vet minimum with no guarantees last season. Brady was definitely responsible for the signing, but that deal does not get done if Brown had any semblance of a market. Even this year, Brown has a meager 2 million guaranteed, which is voided if he gets into trouble. Seattle would take that deal in a heartbeat. Brown chose the Bucs.
What a minute. What do you mean you need a top 5-7 QB to make a Superbowl? Does that include Jared Goff, Jimmy Garapolo, and Nick Foles? Seriously, eliminate Brady from the last decade of SB's, and there are almost as many average-to-bad QBs as elite QBs. Flacco, Kaepernick, washed Peyton Manning. You'd have to include Newton and Ryan in the above-average group. Yeah, they won MVP's the year they went to the Superbowl, but it's hard to argue either guy has been top 5-7 for the past decade. Russ wasn't top 7 when he made the SB. Big Ben hasn't been back to the Superbowl since losing his elite defense, and Rodgers hasn't been to the Superbowl in over a decade. So, it's basically Mahomes, Brady, Peyton Manning.