As Tom Brady prepares to play in his 10th Super Bowl, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots are left watching from home.
Not only did Belichick miss the playoffs for the first time since 2008, the Pats head coach also is stuck searching for another new quarterback this offseason. Meanwhile, Brady leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl berth shines a spotlight on Belichick's decision to move on from his prized QB last year.
Perry: All eyes now starting to focus on Jimmy G. Should they be?
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Brady and the Bucs finished 11-5 in the regular season and won each of their postseason games on the road. The 43-year-old QB completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 4,633 yards and 40 touchdowns in 2020.
Should Belichick have seen Brady's Tampa success coming? Former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison discussed with Tom E. Curran on a new episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast.
Patriots Talk Podcast: Rodney Harrison on why Belichick should have expected Tom Brady’s Tampa success | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
"That's his fault. That's his situation. That's his problem. That's what happens," Harrison said of Belichick moving on from Brady. "When you give up on a guy like a Tom Brady, you know what's inside of him. You've seen it for 20 years. You know what's deep down inside Tom. Tom's gonna come back, he's gonna train harder, he's gonna be more focused, he's gonna be more in tune, he's gonna try and take everything to the next level because you know he's the most competitive guy that you've ever been around.
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"That's how Tom is. Tom is a nice guy, he's handsome, he's articulate, he knows how to say the right things. But at the end of the day, he wants to rip your freakin' heart out of you."
Does it bother Belichick to see Brady continue to succeed without him?
"Not at all. I don't think so because if I'm Bill, I'm sitting back almost like a proud father," Harrison said. "Because how could you not like Tom Brady? Yeah, you could disagree on schemes and Xs and Os and things like that, but how could you not like him? When all he makes is everything about the team. It's never about Brady. It's never been about him. It's always been about the team.
"And that's why his teammates, that's why Danny Amendola -- even though I agree to disagree with Danny Amendola on some things -- that's why teammates say things like that about Tom because they love him so much, because he's just a good guy."
Kickoff for the Buccaneers-Chiefs Super Bowl is set for 6:30 p.m. ET. on Sunday.
Also discussed in the new episode - Harrison on why he is taking Brady in the Super Bowl, is Jimmy G the best option for the Patriots next season? Harrison says Cam Newton can't play in the NFL anymore, and Phil Perry on how much Pats should give up for Garoppolo.
Check out the latest episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast on the NBC Sports Boston Podcast Network, or watch on YouTube below: