How to separate "talent" from "coaching"

[tms]

(09-07-2021, 09:59 PM)BengalChris Wrote: Does anyone see Brady accomplishing what he did all this time without Belichick? Yeah, he did here in Tampa last season, but the Bucs are loaded on both sides of the ball. 

I agree in general with your post, but not this example. To say the Bucs were loaded on both sides of the ball implies they were a good team already- which they weren't. They'd won 7 games the year before and had a losing record in 8 of the previous 9 seasons. Loaded is not a term I would use.

The changes to the roster between 2019 and 2020 were subtle. The coaches/coords were exactly the same. On offense, a rookie RT came in for one of their top players and leaders (Wirfs for Dotson). A rusty Gronk and Scott Miller replaced the two-TE tandem of Brate and Howard. The rest of the starters were identical (Jones II, Evans, Godwin, 4 of 5 on the OL, etc.).

Same on the defensive side of the ball. Nunez-Roches came in for Vea at NT in a lateral move. The LBs corps did not change (Shaq, David, White, JPP). One CB was promoted (Murphy-Bunting for Hargreaves) while a rookie S was brought in to replace Adams (Winfield Jr). Same punter, new kicker... tomayto tomahto. In the end, the roster was generally unchanged- but their stats and rankings were a lot better.

Honesty, I think Brady deserves credit for almost singlehandedly changing the shape, culture and confidence of that team. I was a skeptic beforehand. I find it hard to believe even now. But he did it entirely without Belichick. Amazing.

Hopefully we can replicate that kind of success in Cincinnati.