Did he not just get an opportunity to bounce back with New England?
I meant bounce back from last year with a better roster. Injuries derailed Cam's last two seasons before New England and he came on late with no preseason to a worse roster than the one that convinced Brady to bounce. It was an opportunity but I wouldn't consider it a prime one at all, that roster was a mess.
He had an up and down season, with some awful games no doubt but there were also some where he played fine. The 8-10 TD/INT ratio and having a losing season for the Pats after 20 years of success made it far worse in the eyes of the public, to where they scrutinized every throw he made. Overall he wasn't good, not arguing that. But outside circumstances had a lot to do with that, and he wasn't the worst starter in the league like the media ran with