The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hoping Tom Brady can end their postseason drought, which currently stands at 12-straight seasons.
Brady, the six-time Super Bowl champion, has 30 playoffs victories, the most of any quarterback ever. The Bucs, who haven’t won a postseason game since their Super Bowl XXXVII win following the 2002 season, believe Brady is the missing piece to their playoff puzzle. After all, Tampa Bay’s offense was tied for third in scoring last season, even with Jameis Winston throwing 30 interceptions. Put a future Hall of Famer like Brady under center and a postseason berth seems all but certain, right?
The problem right now for the Bucs and Brady, though, is the lack of in-person training and interaction that’s resulted from the coronavirus pandemic. Even the 2020 NFL draft will be fully virtual, according to a memo from commissioner Roger Goodell.
As Jenna Laine of ESPN points out, a lost offseason could ultimately hurt Brady and his preparation for the 2020 season.
Per Laine:
“Coach Bruce Arians said he sees some similarities between the Bucs’ and Patriots’ playbooks, but Brady will still need time to adjust to different personnel. ‘Julian Edelman runs certain routes and Chris Godwin runs certain routes and they’re very similar, but they are different people,’ Arians said. ‘That part is going to be the harder part — getting them together. … As soon as it’s safe to do all that, I’m sure they’re going to do it on their own.’ Arians added that he, too, has to get to know Brady, but they can do that collaboration electronically.”
Electronic collaboration is fine, but it can’t replace the in-person collaboration between players. Brady can talk all day on the phone with Arians or Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, but figuring out timing on routes needs to be done on the field. And, if Arians’ offense is as complicated as it seems — even if he is making adjustments to accommodate Brady — then it could take some time once the season rolls around for the Bucs offense to really start clicking.
Hopefully, training camp will start without a hitch and Brady will find the right groove with his receivers.
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