Rex Ryan labels Bill Belichick's Patriot Way an exhausting force: “Tom Brady was the only reason you won anyway”

Tom Brady and Rex Ryan had plenty of matchups over the years and at the end of most of them, No. 12 and Bill Belichick had the winning score. Now, with the Patriots at risk of having their worst season since 1992, the former Jets head coach viciously announced who he sided with on the Brady-Belichick debate. Here's how he put it:

"The team plays like they're exhausted and the Patriot Way, that's it. It exhausts these kids and Tom Brady was the only reason you won anyway."

He went on to credit No. 12 for the team's greatness:

"Bill Belichick is the greatest in the history [of the NFL]. I will never dispute that. I had my a** kicked by him a million times. But if you think for a minute that it wasn't about Tom Brady, you're absolutely crazy."

Ryan's comments paint a picture of Brady pulling the team in one way while the team's culture and head coach's strategy pulled the team in another way. Of course, in the end, Brady pulled harder than Belichick and got two hands worth of Super Bowl rings.

However, by Ryan's logic, had Brady gotten a head coach who had a style of coaching that meshed with his strengths and weaknesses better, he would have won the Super Bowl even more often.

Tom Brady's Patriots exit continues to leave Bill Belichick risking it all

Bill Belichick at New England Patriots v New York Giants

At this point, it isn't just about who was more important for the Patriots' success. As evidenced above, more analysts are wondering if Belichick can still win in the NFL. If he can't, then could he have won without Tom Brady in the first place?

Had the coach never landed the quarterback, history indicates that his job would have been terminated potentially decades earlier as just another in a line of head coaches. Instead, because he got Tom Brady, he enjoyed two decades as one of the faces of the NFL.

At this point, even if he has zero risk of losing his job, continuing to lose is only damaging his legacy further. At this moment, not many believe he was the source of winning for the New England Patriots. However, if he continues to lose, the risk only increases for being remembered as the source of losing from those decades.

Continuing on gives him a chance to go out on top a la Peyton Manning, but it also risks damaging his credentials as one of the elite coaches in the game.

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If any of the above quotes are used, credit Get Up and H/T Sportskeeda.