Many media pundits have turned this week into a Bill Belichick vs. Tom Brady debate with Brady going to the Super Bowl in his first year in Tampa Bay and the Patriots missing the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
Former Patriots linebacker and current NFL Network analyst Willie McGinest was asked about it on a conference call with reporters Friday and he believes there shouldn't be an argument.
“I listen to a lot of people talk from the outside and I think if you talk to any player who played when that culture was created and the foundation was set by ownership, No. 1, our coaching staff, our personnel, really everybody that was there, and then the players that were kept from the old regime and new players that were added through the draft and free agency," McGinest said.
“The Patriot Way was something that was created really right before the first Super Bowl, right before that season. Basically even before that, even when we were [5-11] the year before, and I think there were a bunch of things that were put in place. Team over individualism, preparation, our staff wanting mentally and tough players, type of character guys we wanted, guys that can do multiple things, and understanding what everybody’s roles were, and putting the team first — all of those different things.
“Tom, I don’t think was even there yet when this culture was inserted and put in place. I know Tom would say the same thing I would say, [Tedy] Bruschi would say, Ty Law would say and anybody else would say, that it was a collective effort from everybody on every single level to incorporate the Patriot Way. You needed everybody to buy in and invest in that for it to be successful."
McGinest added everyone needed each other equally for everything to work like it did.
“I will say this: from a players point of view, if you don’t have the players to buy in, the system and the blueprint doesn’t work," he said. "It doesn’t really matter. If the players aren’t going to buy in and they don’t perform and adhere to what is in place, it doesn’t really matter how great your system is. And on the other side, if you don’t have a great system and blueprint in place, you can have the greatest players and it would be unorganized, undisciplined, it would be selfish, a lot of other things that can effect the team.
“I think it was a unique situation where both sides came together and you needed Belichick like you needed Tom, like you needed Willie, like you needed Bruschi, like you needed Ted [Johnson], like you needed Roman [Phifer], like you needed Ty, [Richard] Seymour, Vince [Wilfork], like you needed everybody. We all needed each other equally for all this to work."
Brady is going for his seventh Super Bowl win Sunday night against Kansas City.
