Patriots Backups and Tom Brady share similarities.

Twenty years ago it was Drew Bledsoe's show. Brady was just a backup. Flash forward twenty years, the Brady show has moved to Tampa and Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer are just Backups.

Hoyer was an undrafted quarterback who has bounced around the league and showed in 2014, when actually given the starting job; he can take dumpster fire teams and turn them into average teams. That is why Hoyer is on the roster competing for the job. 

Jarrett Stidham however, is a 4th round draft pick who's still wet between the ears. Stidham's looking like the favorite to start and Vegas has given him decent odds of winning the MVP this season.

Bucky Brooks compared the Patriots quarterback situation to when Drew Bledsoe went down in 2001. Brooks is a former player who works as an analyst for the NFL Network.

Here's what Brooks said Thursday “Tom Brady came out of nowhere and kind of saved the franchise as a game manager, the Patriots leaned on their running game and their defense."

Whoever takes over the starting job will have to do the same thing. The Patriots have the defense, special teams, and running backs to carry the team. They just need intelligence under center.

Brooks showered Stidham with praise. "This is a kid that’s smart. He’s tough. He’s talented. He just needs to be a game manager-plus. Meaning, he’s going to have to make a couple of plays each game for the Patriots to get over the top."

The former receiver is confident that the Patriots will look the same as they always do in 2020. Fans shouldn't be surprised by that because Vegas has the Patriots winning the division again, as well.

Belichick said earlier this offseason that he intends to hold a competition between Hoyer and Stidham. Bill wanted to sit and development Stidham one more season but Brady's departure put a wrench in Belichick's plans.

Still Bill expressed confidence in his quarterback. Telling Rich Eisen

“Stid worked really hard last year, was our backup quarterback the entire season, and I know he’s working hard in the offseason; he’s made a lot of progress in terms of understanding our offense and understanding opponent defenses like all players do from year one to year two. So, I’m sure he’ll get out there and be ready to go, be prepared, compete hard and we’ll see where it takes us.”

Now don't let that take away from Hoyer. Hoyer went 7-6 in 2014 showing promise as a starter, which was enough for Cleveland to punish him by sending him to Houston. Plus, it was Hoyer's intelligence that prepped the 2018 Patriots defense enough to shutdown the Rams in the superbowl. If you look up the definition of game manager in the dictionary,  you'll probably find a picture of Brian Hoyer.

Another similarity between Brady and his former backups is how they're handling this offseason. Stidham, the one time projected first round quarterback and Hoyer, the best looking quarterback in the 2009 senior bowl; have been holding workouts with teammates to get ready for the season.

Now until teams can meet and have camp, nobody knows what's going to happen. For now, the two quarterbacks find themselves in Brady's shoes and are doing their best to show what they've learned being in his shadow over the course of their careers.