Getty Joe Judge reportedly believes Tom Brady is getting exposed with the Buccaneers.
The criticism of Tom Brady continues to swirl and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense is shedding light on some of the quarterback’s deficiencies according to some former Patriots coaches. NFL Network’s Mike Silver reported that Giants head coach Joe Judge along with some of the other former Patriots assistants believe the New England system hid some of Brady’s flaws.
“In making the case that the Patriots’ system is supreme, Judge and some ex-New England have assistants have openly denigrated the abilities of Tom Brady–claiming he struggles when it comes to throwing deep, throwing outside the numbers and moving in the pocket,” Silver noted on Twitter.
Brady’s 11 interceptions this season has already topped his eight picks with the Patriots in 2019, and the quarterback is well on his way to topping his career-high of 14. Silver added that Judge and the other Giants coaches do not doubt Brady’s intelligence but believe his physical limitations were covered up in New England. The tweets were part of a larger thread about Judge’s decision to fire offensive line coach Marc Colombo.
“To their credit, Judge and his assistants DO acknowledge that the six-time Super Bowl champion is intelligent,” Silver added. “They’ve also claimed that the Giants’ offensive personnel is equal to what they had in New England in past years.”
Arians Has Been Critical of Brady’s Mistakes
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians has not been bashful with his criticism of Brady throughout the season. From the interceptions to his inability to find Mike Evans, Arians has pointed out a number of Brady’s shortcomings this season.
“We’ve got the guys open. We’ve just missed ’em,” Arians told ESPN’s Jenna Laine after the Bucs’ loss to the Rams. “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.”
For all of the criticism, Arians also admitted that Brady faced an uphill battle this season with the lack of offseason workouts. Arians believes that some of the mistakes could have been avoided if Brady was able to have a traditional offseason with his new teammates.
“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.”
Brady Labeled the Rumored Drama With the Coaching Staff as ‘Outside Noise’
Few people know why Brady departed New England aside from the legendary quarterback. It is unclear just how hard Bill Belichick fought to keep Brady with the Patriots, and the New England head coach has a history of moving on from veterans for cheaper options. Brady has repeatedly dismissed the idea that he is unhappy in the Buccaneers offense or with the current coaching staff.
“It’s the external noise, that when you’re losing, that’s what you deal with,” Brady said after the loss to the Chiefs, per NFL.com. “I love playing for the guys I play with, the coaches, the whole organization has been unbelievable. I certainly have to do a better job with the last four weeks of the year.”
There are valid points on both sides of the conversation, but Brady has shown he is more than capable of winning games. Judge’s comments also have some truth to them as Belichick knew better than anyone how to help utilize Brady’s strengths. The question is whether Arians is willing to do a better job of adapting his offense to suit Brady, and the Bucs’ season could depend on whether these adjustments are made.
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