Tom Brady has not been the GOAT that was promised.
He certainly did not look very GOAT-ly (just go with it) on Monday night, when he threw two ugly interceptions and averaged a measly 4.5 yards per attempt in the Buccaneers’ 27-24 loss to the Rams. The Buccaneers now sit at 7-4 with a fifth loss likely on the way with a visit from the Chiefs next up on the schedule.
The offense, which is loaded with arguably the greatest receiving ensemble in NFL history (if you include Gronk in the equation), has been middling and sometimes downright bad. Those “sometimes” have almost exclusively come in games against some of the NFC’s better defenses. You know, the kind of defenses Tampa Bay would have to beat in order to make it to the Super Bowl. The kind of defenses Brady was brought in to beat.
The Bucs have now played four games against the defenses that rank in the top-10 in DVOA. Those were the two Saints games, the loss in Chicago and last night’s loss to the Rams. In those games, Brady has completed 58.9% of his passes for an average of 5.6 yards per attempt and five touchdowns against seven interceptions. It’s as if Jameis Winston never left.
Let me be careful to admit that I’ve spent a decent amount of time this year trying to understand what type of player Tom Brady is now and how he fits in Tampa Bay — and the answer keeps changing. In early October I wrote that I was wrong for doubting that he would sufficiently adjust to Bruce Arians’ offense. But now that I’ve seen how top defenses are in turn defending this version of Brady, and observed his inability to adjust to what he’s seeing, I’m back to doubting this will work.
But let’s examine what, exactly, is limiting Brady’s effectiveness.