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Tom Brady has received his fair share of praise throughout his career, but his late-game interceptions have some Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans along with former players remembering the Jameis Winston era. Six-time pro-bowler Gerald McCoy took to social media to point out some of the hypocrisy he sees with the amount of criticism Winston had compared to Brady. McCoy responded to a tweet from former Buccaneers corner Jude Adjei-Barimah that noted “Brady is costing games.”
“But they killed Jameis………,” McCoy responded.
McCoy was referencing how Winston was criticized for being turnover prone, in particular his 30 interceptions in 2019. The longtime Bucs defensive tackle explained that he is not trying to say that Winston is better than Brady.
“…Don’t make exceptions for certain players,” McCoy told a fan on Twitter. “Was the passes bad or not? Did he throw 2 picks and almost a 3rd or not. Bad QB play is bad QB play. Call it what it is. Brady the GOAT but he’s also human.”
McCoy last played for the Bucs in 2018 and signed with the Panthers in 2019. The defensive tackle joined the Cowboys in free agency but suffered a significant injury before the start of the season.
After nine seasons with the Bucs, McCoys still appears to be cheering on Tampa Bay, even if he is offering constructive criticism. Brady has thrown for 2,955 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine touchdowns through the first 11 weeks of the season, but not quite on pace to match Winston’s high mark for picks in 2019.
Arians Was Also Critical of Brady’s Interceptions
McCoy is not alone in his criticism of Brady as the quarterback’s own head coach has not held back when he has underperformed. Bruce Arians was once again critical of Brady after throwing two interceptions against the Rams.
“We’ve got the guys open. We’ve just missed ’em,” Arians told ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “There are times when coverage dictates you go to that guy. I think we can do a better job of utilizing the deep ball in our game plan. … But when they’re there, we need to hit ’em. We can’t have ’em going off our fingertips and we can’t overthrow ’em.”
While Arians has been critical of Brady, he also admitted that some of the quarterback’s missteps are tied to the lack of a traditional offseason. The Buccaneers were not able to host formal offseason workouts, but Brady did throw with some of his new teammates on his own.
“You don’t have a spring at all or a real training camp, it’s hard on the quarterback, especially when you’ve done something for 20 years and then throw all these guys at him,” Arians explained, per ESPN. “I think the lack of practice time and everything, and learning of everything, from spring through camp is still showing up.”
Winston Lost Out on Starting for the Saints in Brees’ Absence
Winston’s career with the Buccaneers started with such promise, but the quarterback was never able to consistently live up to the expectations that came with being a No. 1 draft pick. Following in the footsteps of Teddy Bridgewater, Winston signed with the Saints in the offseason with the hope that he could improve his value and potentially find a starting spot somewhere in 2021.
Unfortunately, the Saints named Taysom Hill the starter as Drew Brees is sidelined with a rib injury, essentially making Winston the third-string quarterback. During training camp, Saints head coach Sean Payton praised Winston’s work ethic and conditioning.
“Look, he’s been in what we’re doing meeting-wise, walkthrough-wise, lifting,” Payton said, per USA Today. “We’re out on the field during the walkthroughs. So just like everyone else, he’s in good shape, he’s lost weight, he’s lean. He’s a guy that is not afraid to work. He’s doing well, he’s fit in well.”
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