Written by Michael Sedoris
During the pandemic, the Bucs brass went out and fortified its offense. You don’t bring in a future first ballot hall of fame quarterback and a sure-fire Hall of Fame tight end not to be explosive on the offensive side of the ball.
Well, pump the brakes. Because of the irregular offseason and lack of preseason, I fully believe Tom Brady and the gang will ride the coattails of this young and hungry defense. Offensively, you need time to gel. The offensive line itself needs time together. Let’s not forget the 43-year-old signal-caller is learning a new playbook and terminology. How comfortable are his new toys with him? Where will the chemistry be between Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Scotty Miller, O.J. Howard, Cameron Brate, etc?. This all will take time.
Thankfully, the Bucs will go into a second season under defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. The unit finally hit its stride at the tail end of last season. The Bucs’ offense will need to rely on a defense led by one of the best front sevens in the NFC South and arguably the best linebacker duo (David and White) in the NFL. The Bucs’ defense has proven that you can’t run on them, and late in the year, the secondary led by Carlton Davis III and the young guns Sean Murphy-Bunting and Jamel Dean became opportunistic later during the 2019 campaign.
Brady won’t have to be “Tom Terrific” until probably around week six. Until then, let them get some cohesion and enjoy Shaquil Barrett and this defense winning the Tampa faithful some ball games.
