Is the end of the Tom Brady era coming sooner than we thought?

That headline was so painful to write.

After Monday night, it's no secret this team has more holes than half of a pound of swiss cheese. The offense as a whole has really struggled, including Tom Brady, but I'll go on record as saying that I don't think he's as much of the problem as everyone else is. Yes, he deserves some blame, no doubt. But one would have to imagine that if he had better protection, he could make some more throws.

Larry W. Smith/The Boston Globe

He did have a few decent moments, including a few quick strikes to Rob Gronkowski and Edelman, and Brandon LaFell seems to be getting more involved in the offense.

That being said, Brady, along with the rest of the offense, continued to struggle mightily against the Chiefs, and I felt the interception Brady threw to Sean Smith was an unbelievably careless mistake.
As the beating continued, he seemed to look more disinterested.

He's still forcing throws to Julian Edelman, as he continues to try and hit Edelman with deep balls that just aren't there. More often than not on those routes, Edelman is double covered and can't get separation, so why Brady seems to think he can still make those throws is a question I ask myself every game.

Despite my feelings about all of this, some national pundits would seem to disagree with me.

Jason Fitzgerald of The Sporting News has called for the Patriots to have a backup plan in case Brady continues to struggle.

He details Brady's contract first. Brady makes $7 million per season and because of that, his salary is basically guaranteed until his contract expires in 2017. If the Patriots were to cut Brady, which obviously won't happen, it would cost them $18 million against the cap in 2015.

For the remaining three years of his deal, Brady will make $13, $14 and $15 million respectively, which is where the issue lies for the Patriots. Fitzgerald sees two options for the team moving forward, providing Brady still struggles:

The first is to continue to start Brady for the duration of the contract, which would make him the QB until he's 40. That would force the Pats to shift their salary cap and roster strategies to invest in players around Brady, rather than expecting Brady to turn lower-cost investments into stars.

Option two sees the Patriots begin to shift Brady to the bench and begin the evaluation of a younger quarterback. Because Brady’s cap charges are not excessive, the team can afford to field a high draft pick and keep Brady on the roster.

I see the first option being more likely. We know Brady did not have a good year statistically last year, but many praised him for what he was able to do with the personnel he had. It's hard to truly imagine he could have dropped off so much in just one season.

Will the Jimmy Garoppolo era start sooner than we think? Peter Aiken/The Boston Globe

But, option two is sort of intriguing. Jimmy Garoppolo came in in garbage time and looked pretty good. He made good decisions and led a drive that resulted in a touchdown to Gronkowski, but that was only in limited action. There's no guarantee he could keep that up for a whole game this season. Unless Brady suffers an injury at any point during the season, I seriously doubt we'll see Garoppolo start a game from beginning to end.

Another piece of the Fitzgerald article that I think helps Brady's case is this:

The Patriots must consider spending more on free agents who can contribute right away. Despite their Brady savings, the Patriots still field one of the lowest cash payrolls in the NFL. Their largest multi-year free agent investment is just $5.7 million per season on Danny Amendola. This can not continue with the older version of Brady.

Many fans, myself included, have been saying for the last year or two that if the Patriots expect to win and remain competitive, they need to surround Brady with more proven weapons. At first, I was okay with going into the season with what they had because I expected an improvement out of everyone. So far, that hasn't happened. Brady's time is short and enough is enough. Dump the idea of developing rookie receivers, which really hasn't worked out that well in the Belichick era with a few exceptions, and get him pieces that will allow him to excel again.

His "decline" if you can call it that, is such a hot topic right now because A.) his offensive line isn't very good, and B.) his receivers, besides Edelman and Gronkowski, can barely get open. Some of that might come down to coaching, but everyone needs to improve. It's just that simple.

Furthermore, Ben Volin seems to believe the end of the Brady era will come sooner than we think.

Speaking on Toucher and Rich, Volin said the following:

“Joe Montana got traded. Peyton Manning got cut. Johnny Unitas, Brett Favre and other legendary quarterbacks didn’t end their careers with one team. I think considering where Brady is in his career, his contract and what they have in [Jimmy] Garoppolo, I think the end is gonna come a lot sooner than we expect.”

Volin noted that he thinks Brady is still physically as good as ever, but mentally, he is not all there, which I think is a fair assessment.

The Patriots need to figure this out quickly if they want to reach their goal of winning a fourth Super Bowl. Right now, that seems laughable, but in a weak AFC East, the Patriots still have time to turn it around. If they don't come out with fire and play well against the Bengals on Sunday night, it will officially be time to hit the panic button.

How are you feeling about Tom Brady these days? Tweet me your thoughts - @JesseGaunce

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