What are the stakes for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in the Super Bowl?

COMMENTARY

I understand this is sort of a taboo suggestion to consider, heading down a path that few in these parts figure to be a likely scenario, but what if they lose?

Yes, yes, delusions of grandeur and all, there’s very little possibility that the city of Boston won’t enjoy yet anther Rolling Rally sometime next week after the New England Patriots dispatch of the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. It will be Lombardi No. 5 for Tom Brady, making him the winningest quarterback in Super Bowl history. It will be No. 7 for head coach Bill Belichick, which means some poor fellow on Nantucket is going to have to file paperwork for yet another name change on the boat that boasts his accomplishments.

But, what if they, you know…don’t?

For those of a certain age, there’s little to deny the Greatest of All Time scenarios for the Brady-Belichick tandem, while the older set among us might still have a difficult time placing them above Montana-Walsh. The delusional probably still figure Bradshaw-Knox deserve top billing still, but hey, nobody is perfect.

Then again, there’s a certain byproduct of being to the Super Bowl so many times, and if the Patriots somehow, someway, lose to the Falcons in Houston, it’s going to open the door to plenty of doubts about their legacy.

It won’t happen. But…..

Brady and Belichick would be 4-3 in the league’s deciding factor. The franchise, as a whole, would be only 4-5.

Montana never lost a Super Bowl. Bradshaw never lost a Super Bowl.

So, where would that leave Brady with a record of 4-3?

GOAT?

Or Goat?

“We’ve had a good run,” Brady said before the Patriots traveled to Houston. “We’ve got to keep it going. This is an important week for us. It’s a lot of practice the next couple days and then obviously with the start of Super Bowl week there’s a lot of hoopla that goes into that. This is the biggest game of the year and it’s our opportunity to be at our best and not let anything get in the way of what our goal is, because I’ve been a part of a few of these that we’ve lost and it has been pretty crappy to think about those memories, so hopefully we can make it a great outcome.”

This trip is a lot different than it was even two years ago, when the Patriots had perhaps the greatest Super Bowl win in the league’s history over the Seattle Seahawks. But let’s play into mind, had Seahawks coach Pete Carroll not made one of the most delusional calls at the goal line, New England would have been riding a three-game losing streak in the Super Bowl, putting them more in the conversation with the Buffalo Bills than the 49ers and Dallas Cowboys.

That, of course, takes away Brady’s trademark comeback in that game, which isn’t a fair assessment. But what if Marshawn Lynch ran it in from the one? What are we talking about these days?

Brady would have been 3-3 in the Super Bowl. And yes, yes, you still have to get there.

Still.

Brady is 39 years old, and looks to be better than he ever has been. That includes 2007 where he set records to be broken with Randy Moss and Wes Welker. That includes 2011 when – sorry – he had the worst Super Bowl performance of his career. And, yes, it cost them the game. (Go easy on Welker, would you?)

This Brady? This 2016-17 Brady is as good as we’ve ever seen him.

There’s no way he loses.

Right?

“I’m motivated for my teammates,” Brady said. “I said that after the game. I think they’re all the motivation that I need. It takes a lot of work to get to this point and nothing that has happened in the past is going to help us win this game. What’s going to help us win this game is going through that process that we talked about and being ready to go. That’s enough motivation for me.”

If he wins, he’s the greatest of all time. Ah, hell, he is already.

But the record books see things differently. The win-loss record matters a little more.

But if he wins No. 5, there’s no denying it any longer.

GOAT.

The only hope after that is that he finds someone to create him a “6” T-shirt to wear at Fenway, throwing the first pitch on Opening Day.

Goat? Please.

GOAT?

Bet on it.