Getty Bruce Arians believes the Bucs can play better.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians has made two things clear to his team during the playoffs. Injuries are not going to be used as an excuse and players are expected to step up when given new opportunities.
The Buccaneers released footage of Arians’ speech to the team minutes after they defeated the Eagles in the Wild Card round. Arians emphasized there is a “level of expectation” for the players asked to step up in others’ absences.
“Got a lot of guys step in, step up,” Arians told the team in the locker room on January 16. “It’s going to be the same thing next week. I don’t give a f*** who you are, when you put that Bucs helmet on, there’s a level of expectation. Alls it is is your best. You ain’t got to be the guy you replace, just your best and nothing less.”
Here is a look at Arians’ passionate speech after the Buccaneers’ win over the Eagles.
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David: ‘Whenever Your Name Is Called, You Gotta Step Up & Make Plays’
The Bucs sustained even more injuries in the Wild Card round as the team headed into their Divisional Round showdown against the Los Angeles Rams with starting offensive linemen Tristan Wirfs and Ryan Jensen at less than full strength. Arians’ message appears to be getting through as star linebacker Lavonte David made a similar statement during an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. David admitted that things are different this season than during the Bucs’ Super Bowl run when the team had mostly good fortune with health heading into the postseason.
“It’s different,” David told Breer after the Bucs’ win over the Eagles on January 16. “When you get in the groove with certain guys, and then that guy’s out through injury, you got to be able to adjust. And we were able to do that, for the most part, throughout the year. Had a next-man-up mentality. It’s football. Injuries are expected, you know? So unfortunately, our team took a bulk of them, but we had guys step up and get us to this point.
“We may have a young guy coming in who may not have played a lot of football in the NFL. But you got veteran guys to keep them calm and help ’em out when he needs to be helped, whoever he may be. And you come in, and then you got guys that’s counting on you. That’s the main thing. We hold guys accountable. We got a certain standard here, and whenever your name is called, you gotta step up and make plays.”
Brady Prior to Rams vs. Bucs: ‘This Isn’t the Time for the Trips to the Movie Theaters’
When asked about his ability to have consistent postseason success, Tom Brady took a serious tone, citing his process as a big reason for deep playoff runs. Brady also made it clear in case his teammates were listening that this was not the “time for the trips to the movie theaters.”
“I think for all of us it’s repeating good processes is the important part,” Brady explained during his January 20 press conference. “Getting to this time of year, you don’t do much different. You just do more of what got you here. The things that work, we do more of. You try to eliminate all of the other distractions. I even told (Vice President of Communications) Nelson [Luis], ‘I don’t want to do anything extra this week. I just want to do football.’ That’s all I want to do to prepare and get ready.
“That’s how we should all approach it. This isn’t the time for the trips to the movie theaters. This is the time to lock in on football. All we have is three days left and we have to earn more. You just look at it like that, everything you can kind of put off until the end of the year. We just certainly hope the end of the year isn’t Sunday night. We have to go earn it. You’ve got to go win and move on.”