Top 7 Spots for Tom Brady were he to leave the Pats

Tom Brady, leave New England?!  Yep.  There’s a lot going on we don’t know about, but here’s something we do know: He’s not entirely happy.  He has saved the team millions of dollars over the years.  He took a pay cut so they could afford Wes Welker one year, and then once Welker wasn’t re-signed Brady was left to wonder where that money then went.  He also hasn’t really been given weapons in 2019, and he is sorely missing Gronk.  Also, his owner is in the midst of a scandal.  If I was a betting man, I’d bet he retires a Patriot and only plays for one team in his career.  However, I also would’ve bet Peyton Manning retires a Colt back in 2010.  So, what if Tom Brady wanted to leave and prove he could win without Bill Belichick?  I mean, that competitive desire in him may make him want to do that.  There are seven possible teams he could go to if he were to leave the Patriots.  Why 7?  It's an odd number, but I really think there are about 7 teams, give or take.


7. Dallas Cowboys
Colin Cowherd talked about possibilities for Brady and his pick is the Dallas Cowboys.  Yes, they have good talent and may end up replacing their coach, but they are only #7 for me for two reasons.  One, Brady grew up a 49er fan and therefore grew up hating the Cowboys.  He's not a huge fan of the organization.  Two, they have Dak Prescott, who Jerry Jones likes.  Sure, his contract is expiring soon, but they'd be foolish to go from a younger Dak to Brady.  But I guess they're a distant possibility.  

6. San Francisco 49ers
I know, they have Jimmy G, but what if he got hurt again?  Or perhaps Brady wants to win a ring as a backup/mentor.  The biggest problem with this is that the 49ers can’t afford to pay two quarterbacks that much money.  But Brady grew up a Niners fan, so if he had his choice of NFC teams, this would be it.

5. Tennessee Titans
First off, Brady would get to play for his former teammate Mike Vrabel.  Tennessee does have a decent roster and their QB position isn't completely solidified.  It's kind of a smaller market, which works against them.  But the talent is there and with a legit, proven winner at quarterback, they may be able to take the next step.  I consider the Titans the dark horses in the Brady sweepstakes, if there ever is any.

4. Denver Broncos
Could Elway persuade another legend to join him?  It’s possible.  If Manning can win a Super Bowl there, Brady surely can.  Broncos fans have loathed Brady for years, so this would be hard for them to accept, which is why the Broncos are only #4.  Also, they have Drew Lock, who would probably be traded if this happened.

3. New York Giants
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, right?  Brady has failed twice to beat the Giants in the Super Bowl, so why not join them?  But like the Broncos fans, New York football fans have grown up hating Brady, so this would also be hard for them to accept.  But that’s mostly Jets fans who hate Brady.  Giants fans are happy they’ve been able to beat him twice.  Also, Daniel Jones would be traded just like Drew Lock if this were to happen.

2. Chicago Bears
I have a feeling Brady would love to play under Matt Nagy.  Chicago is one of the biggest metropolises in America, and their team has a rich history.  Just playing in Chicago for a couple years would make people consider Brady as one of the best Bears quarterbacks ever.  It also would be funny that Jimmy Garoppolo is playing for Brady’s hometown team while Brady plays for Jimmy Garoppolo’s hometown team.  Trubisky could either be traded or be forced to serve as Brady's backup, but would he be all right with that?  Hard to say.

1. Los Angeles Chargers
California?  Check.  Good roster?  Check.  Big market?  Check.  Brady’s best fit is with the Chargers.  He could replace Rivers whose best days are behind him.  It’s funny Brady could replace Rivers who came into the league AFTER Brady.  The Chargers are struggling to gain fans in the LA Market, and getting Brady would immensely help that cause.  Brady in LA in the new stadium?  Hard to beat that.  The only problem with this I see is the Chargers might not have enough of a history or fan base to woo Brady over.  But he would know that by signing with the Chargers, it would re-energize the team and bring in a lot of new fans.
Edit: Following the Seahawks-Eagles Wild Card game, Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels discussed Tom Brady and his future.  Michaels prodded Collinsworth and goaded him into picking a team Collinsworth could see Brady going to.  His answer?  The LA Chargers.  Now, he said he has no insider information, but if a well-respected analyst is saying the same team as me, we might be on to something.  

Hard to see Brady going anywhere else (that’s if he does leave the Patriots).  You can rule out the AFC East and any teams that have entrenched starters for the next several years at least.  He’s got a great relationship with Josh McDaniels, so if McDaniels gets a head coaching job somewhere, that team instantly becomes the best possible landing spot for Brady.  The only team here that is probably replacing its coach soon is the New York Giants, with the Cowboys as an outside possibility.

Edit: Just for fun, here's why all the other teams would not even be considered:
Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen, division rival
Miami Dolphins: Division rival, bad roster
New York Jets: Sam Darnold, division rival
Baltimore Ravens: Lamar Jackson
Cincinnati Bengals: Small market, bad roster
Cleveland Browns: Bad history
Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger, AFC Rival
Houston Texans: Deshaun Watson
Indianapolis Colts: AFC Rival, small market
Jacksonville Jaguars: Bad team, small market
Kansas City Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes
Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders: Derek Carr, grew up 49ers fan so naturally dislikes Raiders
Philadelphia Eagles: Carson Wentz
Washington Redskins: Dysfunction, bad roster
Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford, bad history
Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers
Minnesota Vikings: Kirk Cousins, wouldn't want to copy Brett Favre
Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan, recently beat in Super Bowl
Carolina Panthers: Cam Newton, small market, not enough history
New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Bad history, Jameis Winston
Arizona Cardinals: Kyler Murray
Los Angeles Rams: Jared Goff, recently beat them in Super Bowl
Seattle Seahawks: Russell Wilson, beat in Super Bowl XLIX

My Solution to the NFL's Overtime Rule

Ever since the vaulted Chiefs offense of 2018/19 did not get an opportunity to take the field in overtime of the 2019 AFC Championship game, NFL fans (mostly Chiefs) have clamored for a change to the NFL overtime rules.  They want both teams to have an opportunity to possess the ball.  And I have to admit, I agree.  If two teams meet, and each team has a great offense and sub-par defense, the coin flip really does determine who wins the game.  I know it's been 7 months since that AFC Championship game, but I have just thought of a solution to fix overtime in the NFL.  I want to add that I have modified my original overtime proposal which allowed games to extend beyond two possessions.  This does not (unless it is a playoff game).

Here is my solution: Each team gets one opportunity to possess the ball on offense.  The only exception being if the defense scores on the first possession.  If the first team to possess the ball scores, the opposing team will get one shot to tie or beat them.  After those two possessions, the game is over.  If the game is tied after two scoring possessions, the game becomes a tie (unless it's a playoff game).  If the first team to possess the ball gets a TD and goes for two and succeeds, that means the best the opposing team can do is tie the game.  If it was a playoff game, they'd have to get a touchdown and two point conversion to keep the game going.  I must add that in this version of overtime, there is no game clock, just like in college.  Just possessions and a play clock.

Confused at all?  I wouldn't blame you if you were.  Here are some hypotheticals (and we'll use the Patriots and Chiefs to make it easy).  And we are using regular season overtime rules (unless otherwise specified).

- The Patriots get the ball first in overtime and kick a field goal.  The Chiefs then kick a field goal.  The game would then be a tie.  In the playoffs, the Patriots would get the ball back, now with the game in sudden death mode.

- The Patriots get the ball first in overtime and score a touchdown and get the ensuing PAT.  The Chiefs get the ball themselves and score a touchdown as well.  They kick the PAT as well.  This would result in a tie.  The Chiefs could go for two points, and if they successfully get it, they win the game.  If they fail to get it, they lose.  Talk about drama.

- The Patriots get the ball first in overtime and score a touchdown and get the two point conversion.  The Chiefs would then get an opportunity to match.  If they don't, the game obviously ends with a Patriots victory.  If they do, the game ends in a tie.  In the playoffs, they would continue to play now under sudden death (next score wins).

- The Patriots get the ball first and either punt or turn the ball over.  The Chiefs get the ball.  Any score wins it for them.  If they fail to score at least a field goal (because with the offense on the field, they can't score a safety), the game ends in a tie.  In the playoffs, the game would continue until someone scores.

I hope that clarifies things.  This way, both teams get a chance to possess the football, and the game always ends after two possessions, unless it's the playoffs.  The interesting scenario this creates is for the second team to possess the ball.  Do they go for the tie or the win?  I'd say 90%+ of the time you go for the win; one exception being if a loss knocks you out of the playoffs, but a tie or win and you're in the playoffs.

Here are the pros and cons of this format.

PROS:
- Both teams get a chance to go for the win if they so choose, unless the first team gets a TD and 2 point conversion.  If the first team does get both, then the second team loses the ability to go for the win.
- Would make for exciting and dramatic football as we could see a lot of "Do or Die" plays
- Would make for a lot of interesting and tough coaching decisions (Go for 2?  Go for it on 4th?  Kick or receive?)
- It's about as fair as OT can be to whoever wins the toss, and I could see some teams wanting the ball first while others want it second

CONS:
- Can be a tad confusing
- There could be an increase in the number of ties since any teams that do the same in the overtime period would count as a tie.
- This could increase the amount of time players have to play in overtime if they're always forced to play at least two possessions.

To counter those three cons I listed, for the first one, I came up with a simplified way of explaining these rules and it is this: Each team gets one possession.  Whoever does better wins.  If they do the same, they tie.  That's it. Once people get used to these rules, they become very easy to explain.

Secondly, it's hard to really say if the number of ties would increase.  If just one team scores, the chance that there will be a tie dramatically drops, because the second team to possess the ball more than likely won't go for a tie.  And with defenses that have been on the field for a half hour each (on average) already, it means offenses playing against gassed defenses and more than likely, one of the offensive units would get at least a field goal.  Also, you would not see many teams "going for a tie", such as kicking a field goal when the other team kicked a field goal, because a head coach would instantly and forever be harshly criticized for not having the courage to go for the win.

Thirdly, this could indeed increase on average the amount of time overtime periods go.  Right now, overtime can end on one possession.  It still could now (if there's a defensive score), but most often we'd see two possessions.  My argument is that I think players would be willing to play a bit more for a better chance to win the game.  Think back to the AFC Championship game this past season.  I'd guarantee each of those Chiefs offensive players, from QB Patrick Mahomes to the offensive linemen, they all wanted to go back out there.  They all wanted one more shot.  There are only 16 games a season plus a maximum of 4 playoff games for one team.  Each game is critical, and everyone on the team would love a shot to go out and win a game that goes to overtime.  Let's give them that shot.