Bruce Arians: “The Guys Didn’t Really Know How To Win, Or Sometimes Even Expect To Win.”
January 26th, 2021
Bucco Bruce Arians shed fresh light this week on the state of the Buccaneers before and after they signed their messiah back in March.
Tom Brady is is name and Arians joined CBS Sports Radio to reflect on eradicating the stench of losing from One Buc Palace.
“He was the missing piece,” Arians said of Brady.
“The guys didn’t really know how to win, or sometimes even expect to win. They played extremely hard, but as soon has he walked in, and I’ve seen it before. He walked in and all of a sudden we were legitimate contenders.”
The “expect to win” line is so telling. Joe has written — and taken plenty of hateful barbs from fans — over the years for writing about the loser mentality that deeply infected the Bucs roster through the lost decade.
That’s deadly in the NFL. Jason Licht inherited it the losing, and Lovie Smith promptly threw gas on it when he demanded to start his regime with career loser Josh McCown as his starting quarterback.
The fungus of losing grew and grew before Arians and Licht took drastic measures. In the same interview, Arians noted how he thought Jameis Winston could lead a talented young team to the promised land but “once we decided to move on, Tom was the guy.”
As the Bucs sit here on the cusp of a Super Bowl and riding a franchise-record, seven-game winning streak, Joe is thanking the football gods for Brady. He likely was the only QB that would have put the Bucs in this position.
Think that’s stretching it? That’s exactly what Arians told WFLA TV.
“I doubt it. I doubt it,” Arians replied when asked if the Bucs would be in the Super Bowl with any other quarterback. “We have a really good football team, but when Tom brought the belief, having done it, letting the guys know they’re good and good enough to do it, the confidence level just rose for our football team.”
January 26th, 2021 at 12:14 pm
I “expect” a SuperBowl Victory!!
January 26th, 2021 at 12:17 pm
LFG!
January 26th, 2021 at 12:18 pm
He is THE only one. Plenty of people NOT eating crow.
Happy to say I called him the difference maker before he signed and that he would sign. Now watch AB ball out in the SB.
And mad love for the site Joe…and I been a pain sometimes and I get the moniker schtick…., but I’ll consider this a serving of crow for you. 🙂
January 26th, 2021 at 12:19 pm
Off topic, but did anyone else notice that the field in Lambeau looked a lot better than ours did most of the season?
January 26th, 2021 at 12:20 pm
It’s been a fun ride!
Go Bucs!!!(remember when Realist would type Go Panthers or some other team?So glad that’s over.)
January 26th, 2021 at 12:24 pm
Robert is right… I doubt any other played (QB or otherwise) could come into our team and turn it around like he did, during a pandemic, with no offseason.
January 26th, 2021 at 12:27 pm
Arians was brought here to change the culture. I would say that it worked.
We can beat ANYBODY! And, I believe that THEY believe that we can beat anybody!
Lets nab that Lombardi!
January 26th, 2021 at 12:34 pm
It’s really been a marvel to behold. You can tell they never think they’re out of it this year, which is something we haven’t seen with this franchise since… we’ll maybe ever. Even with our dominant defenses of the late 90s and early 00s, how many times did we actually claw our way back into games?
And I’ll eat some crow on Brady. I thought he was gonna be at least partially washed up. But those concerns were quickly erased once you saw him throwing bombs and darts with accuracy. The biggest issue early on was playcalling and everyone getting on the same page. It’s not perfect now, but it’s damn close.
Go Bucs!
January 26th, 2021 at 12:35 pm
I hope Brady plays at least 2 more years here, relevance, and being a legitimate contender is a nice feeling. GO BUCS!!!!! SUPER BOWL OR BUST!!!!!
January 26th, 2021 at 12:35 pm
@bfm – truth! Culture has changed indeed. You saw the start of it last year, but this year the mentality truly transformed.
January 26th, 2021 at 12:43 pm
BL deserves some credit the last 6 weeks in adjusting the game plan as well.
We are FINALLY at a point where the team can do exactly the opposite of what the other team expects and execute it. That -to me- was the key to the Patriots although I was never a big fan…just respected. How about that lob to Brate this weekend when they sold out on the run…. LOL and on the play to Scotty they were sure we were playing for a few yards and a FG and BOOM. Good to be a Bucs fan about now!
January 26th, 2021 at 12:46 pm
Yes they’ve all worked hard and the losing mentality is gone.
Hey Joe do you still not believe in what leadership and a true leader can do?
January 26th, 2021 at 12:55 pm
august 76′ i’ll do ya one better, i hope he plays till he’s 50, if he can play at this level is healthy and enjoying himself, why not? i have heard on more than one occasion, thru multiple press conferences and different coaches on our team from BA to Leftwich, letting it slip he may want to go till he’s fifty, and although i do not think they meant to let the cat out of the bag or if it was a freudian slip never the less it was let out
January 26th, 2021 at 12:55 pm
Brady made the Bucs relevant……but winning will keep the Bucs relevant.
It’s been a long time since we picked 32nd……
January 26th, 2021 at 12:56 pm
Jameis Winston was the problem. It’s nice to have Gronk, Leonard Fournette, and AB on the roster but even without those three this was a contending team with Tom Brady. The best free agency move Jason Licht has ever made wasn’t Tom Brady. It was letting Jameis walk.
It’s baffling to me that re-signing Jameis was even a point of discussion among Bucs fans last year.
January 26th, 2021 at 12:56 pm
Robert – Excellent point. Unpredictability is so important. As you say, they seem to have got it down now. One more game!
January 26th, 2021 at 1:02 pm
Kind of a shame the trolls aren’t here to take their beating like men! I’m asking the Joe’s and every true Bucs fan here to remember this. They can’t show up next season or three seasons from now after an ugly loss or a losing streak and start spewing all their brain dead ignorance in their troll fashion ever again without being blocked or having their momma’s talked about! Lol. They do nothing but bring this site down and destroy any chance for us to have actual constructive debates in here.
January 26th, 2021 at 1:02 pm
Everything about Tom’s winning know-how can be encapsulated in a single play.
In the 4th Qtr Tom Brady threw the ball in the dirt to preserve the field position. A field goal guaranteed no worse than a tie along with enough time to win. Even if GB tied the game, the Bucs still had 2 minutes and 3 TOs to score.
That’s TB (and no one else BTW) knowing how to win games. That knowledge only comes from winning a lot of games.
January 26th, 2021 at 1:03 pm
If Brady didn’t come we will still be losing- Arians
January 26th, 2021 at 1:04 pm
Brady is not in Tampa Bay for one try, and wants to win every one. He’s a total team guy. So even though many justifiably attribute team success to TB12, he will always reflect it back to his teammates. We know that, because that’s what he’s always done.
January 26th, 2021 at 1:06 pm
D-Rome
Amen brother!
JayMiss WAS the problem……. and as it turns out, a lot of us haters aren’t actually racists!
January 26th, 2021 at 1:12 pm
Well I think Mahomies might have been able to but Mr. Not Tom Terrific Discount Double Check Rogers couldn’t have.
January 26th, 2021 at 1:12 pm
I always though highly of Brady, but there is No doubt in my mind that he is the G.O.A.T., thus far, in sports history!
January 26th, 2021 at 1:34 pm
Jameis was part of the problem, but he also was the ONLY positive thing we had on the team for most of his time here. The defense was a sieve for all but the last half season, and the special teams were a joke. “Fans” here treat him like he was the only thing keeping the team out of the SB. That’s just wrong. He was a turnover machine no doubt, but nobody can fault him for lack of effort, or accuse him of quitting. He should be respected for that. He also left with class and never disrespected the organization like Doug Williams did. Long time fans will remember “the curse”.
January 26th, 2021 at 1:46 pm
That made me sad to read our guys didnt believe they can win. But that’s history now!! On to KC!!
January 26th, 2021 at 1:47 pm
Have to disagree with you Sparky.
JW has shown little class. Quite a bit of his immaturity has come out, but not much class.
His immaturity, BTW, is the primary reason he’s no longer a Buc.
January 26th, 2021 at 1:48 pm
Every regular poster on JBF needs to remember the cowards known as Realist, NDog, TMax and a handful of others when they crawl out from under their rock and start spewing their gutless garbage. None of them have the stones to come on here to admit they were wrong about this team.
January 26th, 2021 at 1:56 pm
@Rob in Land O Lakes
Oh, They’ll be back when we have our next losing season.
Hopefully, that’ll be about ten or more years from now!
January 26th, 2021 at 1:57 pm
Well, I was a Patriots fan from their very beginning. Rode through all the horrible years before Brady and all the glorious ones while he was leading that team. But when he left the Patriots (or more correctly, when they stopped supporting him) I left, too, and came over to the Bucs with him. I have been a little disappointed with some of the Bucs fans – still not sure if you appreciate/deserve the G.O.A.T. At least some of the comments early in year were not very supportive. But that was understandable. Some of you folks just didn’t know what an old Brady fan like me, already knew about him. HE’S A BIG DIFFERENCE MAKER and a WINNER! GET USE TO IT, GET BEHIND HIM AND YOUR TEAM. And as we old Patriots fans say, “On to Tampa!” Oh, wait… LOL
January 26th, 2021 at 2:21 pm
I thought him violating the Personal Conduct Policy by touching the Uber driver in an inappropriate and sexual manner without her consent, and then lying about it, was very disrespectful to the organization and fans that supported him.
January 26th, 2021 at 2:41 pm
Sparky
Way off base.
January 26th, 2021 at 2:56 pm
Quite remarkable what a difference in attitude can make.
January 26th, 2021 at 3:07 pm
I hope so too. This teams has enough players on their rookie deals and veterans that aren’t going anywhere. They all know now what it takes to make it to the Super Bowl. Anything less should not be tolerated.
January 26th, 2021 at 3:22 pm
Feasting on biscuits greedy for 1 more…. 😉
January 26th, 2021 at 3:24 pm
@D-Rome
**Anything less should not be tolerated.**
That’s what Brady brings
January 26th, 2021 at 3:41 pm
DRome
You are delusional if you think Jameis Winston was the only problem my friend.
Yes, we have a clear upgrade at QB, but the Bucs improved their roster all across the board.
Do you actually think we would be in the SuperBowl if we still had Matt Gay kicking and Caleb Bennoch and Demar Dotson starting on the Oline. Also the pass defense was atrocious last year.
January 26th, 2021 at 3:55 pm
Live in NE. Huge Pats and TB fan since day one. Dropped the Pats this year and followed the Bucs religiously, now my favorite team. Will never forgive Belichek, who couldn’t stand anyone else like TB sucking some of the oxygen from BB. There can only be one #1 in Bill’s world and it’s gotta be him. Bo Bucs and TB.
January 26th, 2021 at 4:44 pm
I love how everyone is finally positive and behind our team!! Go BUCS !!! MAKE HISTORY
January 26th, 2021 at 5:16 pm
Doug Williams didn’t disrespect the team. To the contrary, Hugh Culverhouse disrespected Doug in a horrible way. Culverhouse WAS the curse of this franchise. Period.
January 26th, 2021 at 5:22 pm
It’s been awfully quiet around here with out all the “I told you so’s” and the yearning non stop for the return of Mr Pick 6 for about 7 weeks now I guess. I wonder if they are even able to enjoy the moment. I doubt it.
January 26th, 2021 at 5:25 pm
The kicker alone cost us two wins in 2019, and our defense was consistently among the worst year after year. The ground attack was pathetic. Our one bright spot was Jameis, Evans, and the Grate Brate. I haven’t seen anything where Jameis has disrespected anyone in the Buccaneer organization when or since he left. Doug Williams put a curse on the team and took shots at every opportunity. Jameis still has buddies on the team, and I have no doubt he is rooting for them. Show some class and respect the work ethic and the effort. Jameis doesn’t deserve to be treated like the tree humper who was just here for the paychecks.
January 26th, 2021 at 7:17 pm
As much as I hate to say it but other than Brady, Mahomes may have brought that aura.
January 26th, 2021 at 7:48 pm
1sparky I feel you bro because Jamies gave it all he had every Sunday . And he did it without a running game and still tried to make plays to help this team win . Last year it was actually 3 games where we were winning and either the defense or the kicker who gave up the game . Not to mention he came to a team that never developed a quarterback in the history of the franchise . Now Brady has become bigger than the team even when the defense won games and now we have a runningback that everyone said he wasn’t good including me sometimes. Because we never gave him a chance the hold time Jamies was here . And after this year and maybe next year then what ???
January 26th, 2021 at 9:14 pm
I agree with the you that Brady was not support enough in NE. The result is just perfect for us Bucs fan! Tom Brady don’t count his efforts to help elevated the level of play of everybody, even if it means to stay after practice with the runnings backs to develop new routes, one day, or to stay with the WR next day.
Brady want’s the entire teem to win, not personals stats.
And, by the way,… ha, ha, ha,.. I was WRONG in my last post!
I said our BUCS will win against hated GB because Brady will not turn the ball over!
I have no voice left because in the first half I cheers for Brady,… And because I cheers MORE for our Def in the second half when Brady turn it over 3 times!!
Ha, ha,ha,… The BUCS Def won that game! Period. GO BUCS!!!
January 26th, 2021 at 10:16 pm
Ah, one finally showed up. I wonder why 0 of 32 teams offered Mr Pick-6 a starters contract if his only problem was our kicker and running game? I had no idea Matt Gay caused any of those pick-6’s.
January 26th, 2021 at 10:41 pm
Made props to the Joe’s. Thanks for understanding some of your fans personal views. PTL
January 27th, 2021 at 5:47 am
Jameis “meaningless stats ” Winston who? Gave it his all every day? Well his all wan’t good enough. You can give 110% and still fail. You can be on the right track and still get nowhere. Jameis “meaningless stats” Winston was the main problem for the last 3 years and while not the only problem he is a problem that has been corrected.