Getty Tom Brady is walking away from the NFL.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had just pulled out a thrilling overtime victory, but head coach Bruce Arians was still concerned about the health of legendary quarterback Tom Brady. Arians was asked about Brady having more quarterback runs than normal and the Bucs coach had a message for his superstar.
“Yeah, that’s enough of that s***,” Arians quipped a bit tongue-in-cheek during his December 12 postgame press conference.
Arians received a follow-up question about his thoughts during games when Brady runs and the Buccaneers coach emphasized the quarterback needs to slide instead of taking hits.
“Get your a** on the ground,” Arians added.
Brady had seven carries for 16 yards against the Bills. These numbers will not get Brady confused with Lamar Jackson, but the quarterback did show more mobility than usual. During Brady’s Let’s Go podcast on December 13, Jim Gray played the quarterback the clip of Arians’ comments.
“That doesn’t even sound like coach, I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard him swear,” Brady said jokingly. “He’s right, he’s right. I agree with B.A. [Bruce Arians]. Get my a** on the ground. That’s what I deserve. That’s where I should be. They’re trying to put me on the ground pretty tough, and they [Bills] took some good shots yesterday. So, I think my days of running, they’ll be only if necessary going forward.”
ALL the latest Bucs news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Bucs newsletter here!
Brady on Scramble vs. Bills: ‘That Was Probably the Highlight of the Day for Me’
Tom Brady o1.5 Rush YDS ✅
Brady had a different reaction to his athletic feat, calling the scramble for a first down against the Bills the “highlight of the day for me.” The Buccaneers quarterback added that he wishes he could be a bit more shifty on the field.
“I did like my scramble yesterday, that was probably the highlight of the day for me,” Brady noted. “Outside of a few completions, those are the ones that I probably think to myself, ‘Wow, that was pretty good, even for me, that was pretty good.’ …Man, I was running, just a slow trot, believe me. I wish I could run. That hasn’t been in my forte over the years, let me say that.”
‘Hell Yeah, I Treat Him Different,’ Arians Is Quoted as Saying of Brady
Bruce Arians’ thoughts on Tom Brady dropping his shoulder into a defensive back to run for a first down:
Joking aside, Arians’ relationship with Brady is clearly different than the one the quarterback had with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Arians has no problem calling Brady out in public if he believes the quarterback made a mistake.
This is a sharp contrast from Belichick who typically saved his criticism for private meetings. Lars Anderson, author of “A Season in the Sun” documenting Tampa Bay’s title run, recently detailed Brady’s unique relationship with Arians.
“When I was talking to Bruce about Tom like, ‘Hey, do you treat Tom different?’ He’s like, ‘Hell yeah, I treat him different. He can take any days off he wants, and if he wants to come into my office and tell me that that we need to change the game plan I’m going to listen and most likely, I’m going to do it,’” Anderson recounted during a November 3 interview on The Colin Cowherd Podcast.
“Of course, Bruce, he’s a very strong, very strong personality and so it’s not gonna be just like, ‘Okay, Tom gets whatever he wants.’ I mean, Bruce will light him up, right and not afraid to do that, either behind closed doors or in front of the media when he thinks that Tom’s made a mistake. But I think Tom appreciates that honesty and he appreciates the relationship that they have and the open communication and they just like sitting around bull******* with each other. They really enjoy each other’s company.”