A couple of links sent our way got us thinking. But first, the links: Apparently you can already order a book by the Boston Globe on the Patriots’ historic 19-0 season. That might not sit well in New York; just in case, we hope they have a few copies of the “pretty nifty 18-1 season” book lying around; also, a CNBC rep e-mailed to let us know about their Patriots-based program tonight. Looks fairly cool. We watched a little clip, with jabber about Bill Belichick, and it got us wondering: just how much of his coaching career does he owe to Tom Brady. (This is the thought portion of our program, so feel free to skip straight to the comments if you don’t wish to hear our gibberish). In any event, the numbers are fairly staggering. Belichick was 36-44 with the Browns; the Patriots were 5-11 in 2000, Belichick’s first year, sans Brady. And they lost their first game in 2001 (sans Brady). That’s a total record of 41-56 with one playoff appearance. We’re sure this has been pointed out before, but that’s closer to Steckel than stalwart territory. Starting with Game 2 of the 2001 season, Brady has played in every game for the Belichick-led Patriots. Since then, New England is 86-25 in the regular season with three Super Bowl titles and possibly a fourth on the way (definitely a fourth according to the above literature). Now: There’s no doubt Belichick evolved as a head coach during that time. He is a great defensive mind, and he also surrounded himself with a great staff. But the fact remains that until Brady came around, he was, at best, an average head coach. We can’t help but wonder how much of the Belichick genius story is built on the right arm of a man who might be the best QB of all-time. Your thoughts?

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