The new-look Tampa Bay Buccaneers started the season on the wrong foot by way of their 34-23 opening game loss to division leader New Orleans Saints. Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians was recently critical of his quarterback Tom Brady who failed to come up with a strong enough performance to lead the team to victory.
Former New England Patriots linebackers coach Rob Ryan then came to the defense of his old pal in Brady and fired back at Arians.
“You wanna blame somebody, blame yourself because your team was outcoached,” he said on Sky Sports’ Inside the Huddle.
Ryan also noted that Arians must cooperate and meet Brady halfway on the team's offensive schemes, given the limited time that the quarterback had to learn the entire playbook during the offseason.
A crucial play during the opening game evidently showed that the six-time Super Bowl champion still hasn't full settled into the Tampa Bay system. Ryan cited Saints cornerback Janoris Jenkins' interception on one of Brady's passes that was eventually returned as a touchdown.
“That’s not his throw,” Ryan said of Brady. “He doesn’t make those throws.”
Public criticism was “the wrong thing to do to Tom Brady. How about you rip yourself?”, he said to Arians.
Ryan also noticed how the Buccaneers failed to utilize tight end Rob Gronkowski in the slot during the game which could've limited his production. The veteran had lowly numbers for his standards and only tallied 11 receiving yards on two receptions without a touchdown scored.
After spending the past two decades in New England, quarterback Tom Brady will need more time to ease himself in the Bucs' system. In order for things to work in Tampa Bay, the playmaker would ultimately need his tactician's help to make the transition easier for both of them as the season progresses.
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