Tom Brady says he's done dwelling on last Sunday's loss at Cleveland.
Even amid a disappointing season, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady can keep his sense of humor.
Reporters grilled Brady initially on Friday, December 2, about the Week 12 overtime loss to the Cleveland Browns. After Brady deflected talking about the 23-17 defeat, Brady poked fun at a reporter who addressed Brady’s not talking with the media since a brief postgame press conference on Sunday, November 27.
“Yeah, you missed an opportunity. What happened?,” Brady ribbed the reporter. “No, seriously, I’m thinking about this week. Last week’s gone; we can’t do anything about it.”
Brady says he’s “on to the [New Orleans] Saints” and doesn’t want the past 11 weeks to define the season. Brady’s 2022 season with the Bucs (5-6) hasn’t looked anything like his previous 21 as a starting quarterback. He enters December with a losing record for the first time ever and the lowest-scoring team he has ever played for.
“No one likes the fact that we’re 5-6, believe me. We’re not celebrating any of that,” Brady said. “We have not played the way we’re capable of playing. I think the thing we can do about it is this week we can try to go out and play the way we’re capable of playing.”
“But we’re going against a team that’s a very good team and they’re not going to let us off the hook,” Brady added. “They’re not going to give us touchdowns and give us easy runs and give us easy throws. They’re going to challenge us. That’s what they always do.”
Brady Gives Nod to Saints Defense
New Orleans gave Tampa Bay all kinds of trouble when the Bucs escaped the Superdome with a 20-10 victory in Week 2. The Bucs lost the previous four regular season games against the Saints during Brady’s tenure, and the Bucs haven’t won at home against the Saints since 2017.
“Well, they’re a very good defense,” Brady said of the Saints. “They’re very good at the D-Line; I think they have one of the best linebackers playing in football in Demario [Davis]; very good in the secondary. I think they have invested a lot in their defense. Just very talented, and I think they make it a very physical game, tough to run the ball, they challenge you in the pass game.”
Turnover Woes on Brady’s Mind
Brady still has more interceptions, six, against the Saints than touchdowns, five in regular season games versus the NFC South rival as a Buccaneer. Fumbles also have plagued the Bucs, but the team only gave up one last time against the Saints and won the turnover battle 5-1.
Ball is loose. @demario__davis recovers. @Saints take over!
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“Turnovers have been a big story against us, in the times we’ve won and the times we’ve lost,” Brady said. “So we’re going to have to take care of the ball, we’re going to have to make the plays when they’re there. We’ve got to stay balanced, we’ve got to play a great game in all three phases against a good football team that’s been a tough team for us, no doubt.”
“Certainly at home we have not…we’re not winning scoring zero points,” Brady added in reference to last year’s 9-0 loss at home. “We’re certainly not winning, probably, scoring three points. So we’re going to have to do a good job and hit the ones that are there.”