Tom brady is just another guy on a soccer field. Well not exactly, but in a team sport like football, Brady has lived the last 20 years of his career like this in New England.
While South Florida looks more fun with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, head coach Bruce arians treats Brady like any other player. Kind of like that “do your job” guy up north.
In fact, Brady is receiving treatment from the Arians like any other player, which the head coach told ESPN on Thursday.
“He gets insulted just like everyone else,” The Arians told ESPN. “He did a little bit yesterday because he likes to throw the ball in the walk-throughs and we don’t throw the ball in the walk-throughs. But not bad.”
Maybe Brady was ‘insulted’ by Patriots head coach Bill Belichick also, so that shouldn’t be new, but it’s a great example of Arians not putting a future Hall of Famer above the rest of the squad. Brady’s addition to Tampa made the Bucs the instant Super Bowl contenders in 2020.
Speaking with the media last week, Brady explained how he had adjusted to the Bucs in a short period of time due to the coronavirus pandemic and what he was keeping in the same way.
“You try to learn a bunch of different things, not just an offense but the way you work,” Brady said. “Learn the names of the guys, I didn’t even know where the quarterback room or the full team boardroom was. With each passing day, it gets a little better. I’m glad we weren’t playing a game this Sunday, we have time to prepare. It’s been a good week to be here. I take every day to improve myself and be the best quarterback on this team, that this team deserves. I want to come and do a great job for them.
“I haven’t had to study my playbook for 19 years. So you forget, wow that’s a lot and you really have to put a lot of mental energy into it. I still have to work hard physically, but mentally you (have to put it together). With the coronavirus, I think we would have had conversations in April that we have now. You have to adapt as best you can. I think the reality is that time is running out for everyone. We can’t waste minutes during the day, take up the challenge and see it as an opportunity for what we can accomplish.
As for Brady’s appearance at the start of practice, with the NFL season a month away, Jason Licht, General Manager of Bucs, couldn’t be more impressed.
“He looked great,” Licht said. “We haven’t put on any pads yet, we haven’t even (past) the attack on the defense in the walkthroughs, it’s happening this week. But there is definitely a different aura to be practiced. There is a different feeling. It is very effective. Players are attracted to him as you might expect. I was in New England for six years when he was a quarterback. I’m not as impressed as a lot of other people who haven’t been around him. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still in awe, he’s the best ever. It’s a different feeling, but we’re taking it one day at a time and we have some work to do before we start in a month.
In 20 career seasons, Brady has totaled 74,571 yards, 541 touchdowns, 179 interceptions and a 63.8 percent completion percentage. Tampa Bay opens the 2020 regular season on the road on September 13 against the New Orleans Saints at 4:25 p.m. EST.
