Why The New England Patriots Should Not Worry With Tom Brady Gone

A 20-year run came to an end on St. Patrick's Day as Tom Brady announced his intentions to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What appears to be the end of a score-long dynasty because of Brady's absence may not be the case. Here are some reasons why.

First and foremost, Bill Belichick is still the head coach of the Patriots. This isn't a knock on Brady's past accolades; after all, the three-time MVP has been remarked as one of the best postseason quarterbacks of all time. It's just that it's a compliment to Belichick as well. Hands down a Hall of Fame head coach with a regular season record of 304-137 (.689 winning percentage), a postseason record of 31-12 (.721), and six Super Bowl titles, Belichick deserves some praise for implementing the Erhardt-Perkins system. This system was designed for offenses to perform well under cold weather and give many looks to opposing defenses and Belichick was ahead of the curve.

Another point to look at is that Brady wasn't too stellar last season. While Brady did throw for 4,057 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and just eight interceptions, Brady also had a QBR of 53.7 (17th in the NFL). Brady also completed just 60.8% of his passes and averaged 6.6 yards per pass (which is a whole yard down from his previous season). Keep in mind that Brady is 42, which will even come for Brady despite Brady's claims otherwise.

Brady should find some success in Tampa Bay's offense. After all, Bruce Arians is an acclaimed passing guru who turned Jameis Winston into a 5,000-yard passer. However, New England should not discount the situation they're in right now. All they need is a quarterback and perhaps a tight end and they should be fine.