When it comes to the sobering week one loss of Tom Brady’s debut in a Buccaneers uniform on the road against the Saints, some things need to be put into perspective. The 34-23 loss at New Orleans shouldn’t drive anyone to panic.
It’s the first game. Relax.Take a few deep breaths. Better? Good. Now let’s put some things into perspective about how the team will be running in the next few weeks. When people ask who will be in better shape between the New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and current Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, what did you think was going to happen? Belichick perfected his team for two decades with a typical solid foundation on defense. Before Brady seriously balled out, Belichick’s defense had his back. Now Belichick’s defense has Cam Newton’s back.
Brady Needs Time to Develop in New System
Let’s take a look at Brady’s situation. He’s in a new system, no preseason to reenact game speed and a complicated system. How complicated is it? Back in January 2020, former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer who ran current Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians system there promised then quarterback Jameis Winston would thrive in year two, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Brady signed a two year deal with the Bucs knowing this. So take it from a quarterback who was once the Cincinnati Bengals franchise before heading to the Cards in 2013 and going to the NFC Championship Game in the 2015 season.
Obviously fans and Brady are probably not willing to wait until year three to go that deep. Instead of looking at Brady now as someone you hope produces numbers of the past 5-10 years, treat it like he’s a 2-3rd year player still figuring the league out. It’s unrealistic for Brady to regularly ball for 300 yards passing and 3 TDs every time out. What we saw on Sunday against the Saints is more like what we’ll see…at least in the first quarter of the season.
Until Brady Gets More Comfortable
Brady will lean more on running backs Ronald Jones II and Leonard Fournette to take the pressure off of himself to set up the pass. The more comfortable he is in the offense, the more likely he can take over. Despite improvements late in 2019, the defense and greater extent, special teams need to get their stuff together and quickly. Otherwise, we’ll be in for a long season. The Buccaneers need those units until the far more fallible Brady can gain his sea legs. Have patience fans, Rome and Brady weren’t built overnight and neither will the 2020 Buccaneers.
