Getty Tom Brady and the Bucs will go with a look the resembles the last time the team played in the NFC Championship game.
Tom Brady downplayed Washington defensive end Chase Young’s “Tom Brady, I’m Coming” comments as the 21-year-old rookie being excited about another game, too, known as “The Game.”
“Chase is a great young player — he went to Ohio State, so naturally I think that Ohio State-Michigan thing wears off on him a little bit. I understand that,” said Brady, who played at Michigan, in Wednesday’s press conference.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers star quarterback looked dismissive of Young’s exuberance, too, per ESPN’s Jenna Laine on Twitter.
I asked @TomBrady about Chase Young’s comments, saying, “Tom Brady, I’m coming. I want Tom.” I could play the video for ya. But his face alone has me cracking up…
Young spouted off on wanting to take on Brady after helping the Washington Football Team edge Philadelphia on Sunday and land a Wild Card game with Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for Saturday’s Wild Card round. Brady won’t overlook Young and company in that game.
“We’ve got our hands full with that D-Line – one of the best D-Lines in the league,” Brady said. “We’re prepared for a tough challenge and it should be a fun game.”
Arians Sounds off on Young
Bucs head coach Bruce Arians responded more strongly to Young’s comments.
Arians spoke highly of the rookie in Monday’s press conference but concluded with “you better watch what you wish for.”
Brady, recently named FedEx Air Player of the Week per Buccaneers.com, threw for 339 yards and four touchdowns against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. He also just finished with 40 touchdown passes for the season — the second-best mark of his storied career.
While Arians believes Brady can keep up his recent success, the veteran coach acknowledges that Young and second-ranked Washington defense could block the Bucs’ Super Bowl bid prematurely.
“You don’t want to draft that high to get guys like that, but you’ve got to play against them,” Arians said of Young. “He’s a hell of a player. Obviously, making him a captain as a rookie speaks volumes.”
“Both those kids from Ohio State — him and (Terry) McLaurin — are great kids,” Arians added. “He’s a handful, but so is (Montez) Sweat, (Daron) Payne, the rest of those guys. Ryan Kerrigan — I’ve had a ton of respect for (him) for a long time.”
“We’ll have our hands full,” Arians said.
David on First Playoff Game
Bucs linebacker Lavonte David waited longer to get to the playoffs than any other long-term member of the team, ABC Action News’ Kyle Burger reported via Twitter.
#Bucs‘ LB Lavonte David has a sense of urgency in his first playoff appearance as the longest-tenured Buccaneer #GoBucs
READ MORE: t.co/Gij1bDSUgG #TBvsWAS
“Obviously, this can’t be a normal game because it’s sudden death, basically,” David said in Tuesday’s press conference. “If you lose, you’re out. And if you win, you keep on moving forward. Our whole mindset is ‘focus on us’ and forget about everything that happened the last 17 weeks. It’s a new start. It doesn’t matter (what) a team’s record (is and) it doesn’t matter how they got here.”
They’re here, so they’re going to give you their best and we should put our best out there. It’s definitely going to be fun to be a part of — to feel the atmosphere, the intensity that being in the playoff brings. Definitely have to be able to focus on what we focus on and just try to end this thing with a victory Saturday night.”
READ NEXT: Bucs’ Chris Godwin Sounds Off on Mike Evans Possibly Missing Playoff Game