They weren't scrubs. Troy Brown had 1200 yards and made the pro bowl, he always made plays. He had a bunch of crucial special teams plays too. Deion Branch was a Super Bowl MVP. David Patten had a game where he caught two TDs, rushed for 1 and threw a TD pass. David Givens was solid.
:thatman: had a 90.7 passer rating his final year with the 49ers. Why do I bring that up? because it's comparable to Brady's #s his first 5 years and Brady actually had more talent on offense. Kap in 2016 his leading receivers were Jeremy Kerley, Quinton Patton and Vance McDonald.
Would you rather have Troy Brown, Deion Branch, Kevin Faulk catching passes out of the backfield, David Patten and David Givens OR Kerley, Patton and Vance McDonald?