Son,

One of the ESPN sports shows posed an interesting question a couple of weeks ago. The question: “Would the Patriots be undefeated if Brett Favre or Peyton Manning had been the quarterback?” The concensus on the ESPN panel was a unanimous ‘NO.’ But I think they made a couple of erroneous assumptions.

They assumed that the Manning to compare would be Peyton.  We could insert Eli into the equation and ask the same question.

Some folks I talk with agree with ESPN.  Some say Favre is too eratic, that he takes too many chances.  Some say that the Manning boys cannot escape the whispers of their father.

There is no doubt that Tom Brady is a superb quarterback. There is no doubt that Favre and both Mannings are superb quarterbacks. They are different, they have different strengths and weaknesses. The present offensive scheme lends itself to Brady – well duh!

The other erroneous assumption was that Belichick would have the same philosophy with any other quarterback. One of the attributes that makes Belichick such a powerful coach is his ability to develop strategies around his available talent.

Belichick, I hate to say, it the dependent variable. Not Tom Brady.

Dad