Tom Brady: Steelers Challenged “Everything”
October 17th, 2022
Challenged.
Either this goes to sorry game-planning or poor preparation, or the loss of Antonio Brown, foot-rubbing Rob Gronkowski, Ali Marpet, Alex Cappa, Ryan Jensen and Ronald Jones has neutered the Bucs offense.
The Steelers came at the Bucs yesterday down four starters and a key cornerback off the bench. Two of those four starters are two of the best players in the league, T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Yet the Steelers defense (with loads of help from Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich) bottled up the Tampa Bay offense as if it was the slimy Saints’ defense.
Tom Brady and receiver Chris Godwin are usually on the same page. Yesterday, Godwin only caught half of his targets. So after the game, Brady was asked if the Steelers presented a challenge with throwing to Godwin.
That wasn’t the only challenge, Brady said.
“I think everything — honestly, everything was a challenge,” Brady said. “There was nothing that was not challenging to our offense. We have to do a lot better with everything.”
Joe swears if he hears Leftwich say — and he says it in every press conference — “We do what we do to try to win games” — Joe is going to have an aneurysm. The hell Leftwich is! The Bucs are in the bottom half of offenses NFL through six games.
America’s Quarterback Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton are leading a better offense. That’s right.
Absolutely unacceptable with the talent on this Bucs offense!
Todd Bowles needs to go back to Square One. If quarterbacks coach Clyde Christiansen needs to get extra work so Leftwich can have more time devoted to fixing the run game, so be it.
There is no way an offense with Mike Evans, Playoff Lenny, Brady and Godwin should be this bad. There is no way the Bucs offense should be worse than the Jags’ and the Jets’. But they are!
October 17th, 2022 at 2:31 am
Literally just call the plays in a different order and that will fix the run game. The problem with the run game is the other teams knowing when, and where, the Bucs are running the ball. This is not an all-time great offensive line that can bulldoze anyone in their path, they need their OC to actually help them by not being insanely predictable.
October 17th, 2022 at 2:35 am
You guys just don’t get it.
Everyone knew the Steelers would be sitting on the Bucs trying to pass the ball, so Leftwich outsmarted everyone by just running it up the middle over and over again. Why do you think we eventually got that late touchdown? It was because of all the groundwork that Leftwich laid all day. It was pretty brilliant, and anyone who doesn’t see that, well, they probably wear a pointy hat.
October 17th, 2022 at 2:53 am
Rod Munch, really!?
What is so brilliant about 3 yards a carry in this game?
When Steelers D put 7/8 in the back, Bucs cannot counter that with better passing game? Trubisky converted 3rd and longs in the same situation against Bucs defense with their glorious passing attack. Ugh!
Steelers front 7 or 4 came to play, just wish Byron Leftwich adjusted accordingly to the challenges presented on the field.
October 17th, 2022 at 3:10 am
If Rod wasn’t being sarcastic I will doubt everything he says from now on.
October 17th, 2022 at 3:13 am
I don’t think alleged marital issues are affecting Brady. It’s a cop out. However, if the stories are true and they’ve been living separately for months, it’s time for our boy Tommy to DM some of those beautiful Instagram models. Fly them out to Tampa and make them sign an NDA and take care of business. Jeter did this for years. I’m kidding, of course.
October 17th, 2022 at 3:34 am
Hey Joe, how about Clyde Christiansen as interim OC or BA borought back on board as a play calling “adviser” who calls in the plays to TB12? I mean, if the Bucs somehow only score 16 or 19 points to Carolina next week, would it not be time for team Glazer to tap Bowles on the shoulder and tell him that Byron has to go? This Bucs team is way too talented to be a Mike Evans and Lattimore gang fight in New Orleans (up until ME got tossed, the Bucs looked complacent like they did in Pitt and might have lost 6-3 or so) away from being 2-4 thanks to a stubborn, one-dimensional, unimaginative and vanilla offensive play caller!
October 17th, 2022 at 3:38 am
Dear Tom
You should also yell at yourself for attending Kraft wedding. You have no business in that event
October 17th, 2022 at 4:00 am
Without a good OL or DL, you don’t have a good O or D. Period. Have some nice skill position talent? Fine, but that alone don’t cut it. GOAT QB? Useless if the OL can’t do its job. But above all, if the coaching and play calling is subpar, it makes even good or great talent look bad.
Whereas superior coaching can elevate lesser talent. Even a decent but not great coach, like Mike Tomlin, can get scrubs to overachieve.
Although it is still early, what exactly can be done? The commitments and investments have been made. This bunch is it.
October 17th, 2022 at 4:08 am
Bucschimp@ so a player has to lock themselves up in a room all week pre-game? How does a wedding or any event two days before a game hurt anyone? It’s not like he was INTERVIEWING for a JOB!!!
October 17th, 2022 at 4:14 am
Bowles is ruining another team. Ironic the Jets are now on the rise.
Leftwich sucks too.
Yet BA now understands why nobody wanted either coordinator.
Licht, get rid of Lefty and BA and hire a real OC and HC. Bowles is capable as a coordinator only.
October 17th, 2022 at 4:16 am
I hope some damn people start getting fired soon. A message needs to be sent. Way to much talent and money spent on coaches and players that are not even coming close to performing at the level they should be.
October 17th, 2022 at 4:24 am
FIRE Leftwich and the team will improve dramatically.
October 17th, 2022 at 4:30 am
Fans are already falsely accusing him of checking out. It’s time for him to really act like a man who’s checked out. No more emotion from Tom on the sidelines. No more broken tablets. I need him to sit on the sideline and sulk while he stares into the abyss. No more passion from you, Tom. I need complete indifference from you.
October 17th, 2022 at 4:40 am
You have media wondering aloud if Brady is all in. You have fans questioning it. Why won’t the media ask him? I don’t believe it, but I would love to hear and see his response. His mouth might say something, but it’s hard to hide body language. Brady spent almost the whole press conference with his arms folded today. I will say that Sara Walsh will ask the hard questions unlike Jenna who rather further her woke agenda.
October 17th, 2022 at 5:00 am
Don’t care if he is the goat Brady is losing the team with all his b.s. As if other people don’t have problems or events etc but it’s football season. If he wanted to do all these things he should have stayed retired. I wish he did tbh. At least then we could throw Trask out watch him fail and draft our future this year. Instead we are playing .500 football or worse.
I mean watch any team with our record or better and they look way more explosive in all aspects. There is no excuse with the talent we have. I honestly think the offensive play calls are super conservative behind the 1st down line and only 1 receiver that’s a proven YAC guy on our team.
October 17th, 2022 at 5:18 am
I will cash app Joe $100 if he asks Brady this question at his next press availability on Thursday.
Question: Hey Tom, nice Brady Brand shirt. Fans have been questioning your commitment to the team. They’re wondering if you’re all in this year. You’ve missed 11 days of training camp. That’s something you never did in NE. You most recently missed a Saturday walkthrough and meetings to attend a wedding. Another thing that you’ve never done in NE. And unfortunately your private personal issues have become public. What do you say to fans who say you’re not committed to the team this year? And as a follow up. Does your teammates believe you’re fully committed?
A loaded question, i know. I’m usually just for football questions, but since we’re not getting anything worthwhile on that front it’s time to go YOLO. It’s the elephant in the room.
October 17th, 2022 at 5:21 am
This is the most disappointing game, since Jameis used to get us down by two or three scores early in the first quarter. They have morphed a prolific offense into a plodding 3 yards and a cloud of dust offense. Near zero pass protection from backs who are far too busy trying to get open for the safety valves Brady wants. As Tony Romo said yesterday: “You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over again”. Do something, even if we go to max protect
formations to protect Brady. Free the biscuit and let our receivers run routes
that are designed to get separation.
t
October 17th, 2022 at 5:33 am
Part time QB’s, put up part time production.
October 17th, 2022 at 5:37 am
The word is “predictability”. It was not fun to watch. There was zero creativity.
It’s pretty clear to me the stamp that BA had on this offense.
With the players we have, we should not be struggling.
October 17th, 2022 at 6:07 am
Yesterday’s loss was a failure across the board. It’s not just a matter of ‘Fire Bowles and we’ll be Super Bowl champs again for sure’ though. Or ‘Fire Leftwich and our offense will kick ass’. Bucs have multiple problems & a bandaid here or there won’t stop the bleeding.
Our game planning, play design & play calling all suck for starters. Bucs’ high-powered offense has scored 121 points TOTAL through 6 games … barely 20 PPG average. That’s abysmal with the talent that this team has. The only thing we’ve been consistent at is starting slow; that’s on game planning IMO. As I watch many of our plays … run plays AND passing plays … I see defenders not being blocked, some just overwhelming the Bucs in front of them, and receivers getting very little separation. A large part of that’s on execution; but a big share is also on play design IMO. And Bucs’ play-calling is in a strange world of its own it appears; it goes far beyond being ‘too predictable’. The only thing that makes some of these plays even come close to working is Tom Brady’s experience, quick release & accuracy.
Beyond that though, it really does all start in the trenches, and our OLine is getting owned. They’re not winning the 1-on-1 battles, and blocking schemes seem to often collapse as a result. I’d like to say it’s 2 youngsters (Hainsey & Goedeke) just learning on the job, but I think it’s a lot more than that. None of our OLinemen are standing tall right now; they’re all getting beat at various times. Yes, even Wirfs. They’re not playing well as unit OR as individuals. They lack FIELD LEADERSHIP; they need as field general of their own to light a fire under them. And that’s NOT Tom Brady; they desperately need Ryan Jensen back.
I’m seeing a very vulnerable Tom Brady right now. He’s checking down on a lot of throws, and throwing away a number of others. Brady’s getting the completions (he’s at 68%), but they’re not going anywhere & they’re not resulting in 1st downs or even getting close. It’s become feast or famine, and famine seems to be winning.
And that’s just on the offensive side of the ball; Bucs’ defense has a plethora of problems of its’ own, starting with too few ‘beasts in the trenches’. And yet, our defense has only given up 103 points total in 6 games … barely 17 PPG … with a whopping 41 of those coming in a single game. For the other 5 games we’re averaging less 12.5 PPG. With numbers like that, we should be 5-1 instead of 3-3. But then again, if pigs had wings they could fly.
October 17th, 2022 at 6:23 am
8 guys in the box and we run, I’m starting to think Byron is trying to sabotage Todd out of spite.
October 17th, 2022 at 6:51 am
Bucs coaches had no answer for Steelers zone coverage.
Bucs OLine couldn’t handle Steelers front 4.
Special teams kick coverage and blocking is worst in NFL
Trubisky isn’t Stafford, and Steelers don’t have Cupp, so what’s the excuse for not being able to stop them the last 4 1/2 minutes?
October 17th, 2022 at 6:57 am
This team and coaching staff are an embarrassing mess. How bad was it? After the first Buccaneers offensive series and the first defensive series I opted to go out and do yardwork in the 87 deg sun. And I HATE doing yardwork.
This team has zero direction. Zero motivation. (They get bored per Devin White).
I’ve seen enough of this train wreck. I’m pissed off and this team does not deserve our support.
October 17th, 2022 at 6:59 am
Maybe Todd Bowles needs to fire himself from calling plays on defense? I can’t believe he didn’t blitz on 3rd, and 16 only rushing four late in the game. Turb completed it first down. Then again he only rushed four on 3rd, and eleven, again first down. This time game over. No blitz it, no risk it? Knowing you weren’t getting home with four why not blitz? Why keep seddling for field goals? Why not go for some 4th downs? This team has no brains, or balls. Bowles needs to drop the play calling, and start being the head coach.
October 17th, 2022 at 6:59 am
We have now lost 3 out of 4. If you count preseason, that these brilliant coaches decided were a waste of time, we have only won 2 of 9. Preparing the team to play wasn’t important, Brady being in town for preseason wasn’t important, Brady taking an extra day off each week is not important, Julio actually playing is not important, Brady missing team meetings for a wedding is not important. Winning? Well we will do what we do, if that leads to a win, well thats its nice.
October 17th, 2022 at 7:00 am
Oops, 3 of 9
October 17th, 2022 at 7:01 am
Not saying that the record of preseason is important, just saying the intensity that you bring is important.
October 17th, 2022 at 7:02 am
Watching the rest of the games yesterday, I saw teams that play hard, block, tackle and play like they actually know what they’re doing and want to be there.
The Bucs? Not so much.
October 17th, 2022 at 7:06 am
I don’t think it’s Leftwich.
I think it’s Brady.
I think his hand is far worse than anybody on the outside thinks.
Since when does *Tom Brady* miss on half his passes?
Yeah, some of it was Pittsburgh’s four beating our five, but I’ve seen worse.
Maybe we need to give him a week off. After all, our opponent is Carolina.
October 17th, 2022 at 7:08 am
Without that extra few seconds needed by the o-line “the risk it, no biscuit” offense has been neutered.
October 17th, 2022 at 7:08 am
In the NFL, if the offenses are struggling, I tend to look at their quarterback play.
October 17th, 2022 at 7:09 am
SO DISAPPOINTED IN YOU BUCS!!
There might have been a few players who gave it their all (great job Succop), but most of you failed to deliver, you never brought it, didn’t play your hearts out, didn’t play as a team.
And you coaches should be ashamed. You’re dreadful.
So no more GO BUCS! That’s over for now. From now on its GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER BUCS!!!
October 17th, 2022 at 7:11 am
Shut up Brady or just say ” We all need to play better and that starts with me”. Bucs are 3-3 and in danger of not making the playoffs Brady-so are you all in or not??
October 17th, 2022 at 7:12 am
Like i said last week in regards to obj , licht needs to sign as many people as he can cause this coaching staff will struggle to be .500 this season. The toilet bowles of coaching
October 17th, 2022 at 7:13 am
With a porous o-line I don’t understand why BL doesn’t incorporate more quick slants and out routes. It seems the only routes BL likes are those RPO’s type quick hits and over-the-middle seam routes.
October 17th, 2022 at 7:24 am
I know i’m waisting my time but firing Lefty won’t fix it. Fire that manaquin standing on the sideline. That makes sense right? That will only work if the owners are allowed to hire the best man for the job. Who is that you say? ANYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Poor LEFTY looks like he’s selling magazine subscriptions on the clipboard LOL
October 17th, 2022 at 7:25 am
I have supported the Bucs since 1976. Even during the 0-26 streak, I do not recall such a lousy performance as yesterday. In the early years the Bucs had no talent. NO excuse for this ugly loss other than our wonderfull coaching staff. The play calling was a sad joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
October 17th, 2022 at 7:31 am
Part time Brady sucks.
October 17th, 2022 at 7:33 am
I wonder if Brady and Godwin could get on the same page if Brady tried throwing to Godwin instead of the ground a foot in front of Godwin.
October 17th, 2022 at 7:36 am
No, full time Leftwich sucks and the organization is apparently good with it. 🙄
October 17th, 2022 at 7:37 am
Were you in a coma during the Jameis Winston years when the Bucs had talent?
October 17th, 2022 at 7:48 am
This online is POOP! I don’t think much can be done at this point in the season but this goes to show that we should have at least attempted to go out and get a veteran or 2 on that offensive line. We can’t run the ball and we can’t throw the ball deep, all due to lack of blocking.. We are cooked. 1 and done in the playoffs if we are lucky.
signed a sad Bucs fan.
October 17th, 2022 at 7:48 am
DR, where are your stats on the pass/run balance from yesterday? The Bucs are the easiest team in the NFL to defend BL’s plays are straight out of a Pop Warner play book. I love how BA says NOTHING, he shoved the worst coaching staff down the Bucs throat. Looks like Bowels is on a path of 3 TIME LOSER!
#BLisdestroyingtheO
October 17th, 2022 at 7:51 am
And, why did the Bucs not “challenge everything” the Steelers did? hmmmm
October 17th, 2022 at 8:02 am
When in doubt…blame the Brotha!! Ain’t that right, Tampa Bay?
October 17th, 2022 at 8:19 am
TJ
When the coaching (or lack there of) blows…
You blame the Coaches. Simple.
October 17th, 2022 at 8:22 am
Listnfrmafar Says:
October 17th, 2022 at 7:48 am
DR, where are your stats on the pass/run balance from yesterday? The Bucs are the easiest team in the NFL to defend BL’s plays are straight out of a Pop Warner play book. I love how BA says NOTHING, he shoved the worst coaching staff down the Bucs throat. Looks like Bowels is on a path of 3 TIME LOSER!
#BLisdestroyingtheO
According you List and many others, Brady was the architect of the coaching moves not BA.
You cannot have it both ways. You slam BA now again when he is not the one orchestrating this mess of an offense. When BA was in charge they never looked like this, and also before Brady was here, even with Jameis and his 30 Td 30int 2019 they still looked a lot better than this Neanderthal level offense being run.
GO BUCS!!!!!
October 17th, 2022 at 8:33 am
“BuccoBruce Says: If he wanted to do all these things he should have stayed retired. I wish he did tbh. At least then we could throw Trask out watch him fail and draft our future this year.”
How do you know he would fail? Because he’s white? Because he didn’t play for FSU? Or because backups like Brett Favre and Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers all fail?
You’re a moron.
October 17th, 2022 at 8:43 am
we miss Arians, and something that needs to be pointed out our WR’s cant separate and we dont have any gamebreakers at WR or TE.
October 17th, 2022 at 9:00 am
Please, please do NOT evoke the name of Xlyde Christiansen as a solution to anything more than possibly fetching coffee. His inability to nurture any qb to success other than blue chippers like Manning, Luck, and now Brady is testimony to his ineptitude in title. That guy is a cardboard cut out who can’t even prepare a second rd pick enough so he can put on pads on Sunday. He is the poster boy for yes men who ride the coat tail of others to glory.. I’d rather have Rod Munch than Clyde at the reigns
October 17th, 2022 at 9:09 am
Listnfrmafar … Stats just came out, but nothing out of the ordinary for how this team has been performing. Bucs had 68 plays for 30:01 TOP. Ran 26 times for 75 yards (2.9 YPC). Passed 40 times with 25 complete (62.5%) plus got sacked 2 times. That’s a run-pass ratio of 38.2%, not out of the ordinary for the Bucs. We had no turnovers & only 6 penalties (42 yds). We sucked on 3rd down conversions (4-for-14 … 28.6%) but that’s nothing new; we’ve been doing that all season. We did however do OK on 4th down conversions (2-for-2).
You’ve already told me what happened … ‘BL’s plays are straight out of a Pop Warner play book’. Obviously your mind’s made up.
Used to be a radio personality named Paul Harvey who would always tell a story, go to commercial, then return with ‘And now for the REST OF THE STORY’. You know as well as I do that there’s MUCH MORE involved to the saga of yesterday’s loss than just a ‘Pop Warner play book’ created by BL.
Take a really close look at the play-by-play … on offense AND defense … and you’ll see a team that right now seems incapable of making the BIG PLAYS. The superstars aren’t really looking all that super, across the board. If all you want is a SCAPEGOAT, then fine, point at Leftwich or Bowles (personally I think folks should be pointing more at Licht for the high-priced geriatric squad he’s put together). Dig deeper though and I’m betting you’ll find the problems go MUCH DEEPER than just 1 or 2 scapegoats.
October 17th, 2022 at 9:12 am
If both Bowles and Leftwich gets fired, who are the alternatives ? Arians back ?
October 17th, 2022 at 9:14 am
Bradys gotta go, hang ‘em up and go finish your divorce Tom
October 17th, 2022 at 9:17 am
August1976 … Bucs were able to do what they did in 2020 & 2021 offensively because they had an incredible OLIne protecting The GOAT … Wirfs, Cappa, Jensen, Marpet, D Smith. Had we just substituted Mason for Cappa they wouldn’t have skipped a beat IMO. BUT substituting 2 essentially rookie linemen … Hainsey for Jensen and Goedeke for Marpet … has been the kiss of death. No true field leadership right now in that group (they miss Jensen BIG-TIME). Add in that Brady is incredibly immobile & that our play calls and play designs are quite ‘pedestrian’, and that becomes the perfect prescription for mediocrity. And voila, that’s exactly what we’ve been seeing.
I’m thinking now that we miss BA’s red pen. Maybe those stories weren’t so far-fetched.
October 17th, 2022 at 9:19 am
Joe … I don’t know why just everything I’ve written over the past couple days is going to the cooler, but I can see why some JBFers lose interest if that keeps happening.
October 17th, 2022 at 9:21 am
Not gonna lie, if I’m a player on the Bucs who saw Brady miss practice for a wedding after getting all training camp off to have him yell at the other players after he makes a poor pass to an open receiver, I’d be livid
October 17th, 2022 at 9:50 am
Grab some wood Buc Fans. We will play like this the entire season. Blame who you will or must. But this teams O and D line has glaring deficiencies. They are helter skelter and play inconsistent. We will lose some and win some. But don’t even get your hopes up for a Superbowl run. Not this year. We still can finish 9-7 though.
October 17th, 2022 at 9:57 am
If a team is not prepared and focused, definitely everything is a challenge. It’s like taking an exam, you prepare for it, study, review and you’ll come out confident otherwise, you sweat out like bullets and you crap out.
October 17th, 2022 at 10:00 am
I understand Tom is VIP but he already used that up when he took a 10 day vacation. Now it’s time to work and there’s no such thing as a wedding day off! Bucs have alot of wrinkles to iron out missing walkthrough does matter. I’m not saying this is all Tom’s fault but he is part of it.
Or perhaps we thought we can easily walk pass the Steelers? Look what overconfidence can do to you.
October 17th, 2022 at 10:15 am
@DR I have been experiencing the same thing. Don’t feel like I have put anything controversial and it makes it uber irritating when you are trying to make a point after a previous post.
October 17th, 2022 at 10:18 am
@Deeemo. He didn’t miss practice!! He practiced fully last week. Sick of this narrative by ignorant fans who don’t know the difference between a brief walkthrough and practice.
October 17th, 2022 at 10:37 am
Looks like Brady is going thru the motions he wanted the Bucs to trade him last year to the fish or someone else and Arians said he would trade him for three first rounders and then some. If we look this bad with Brady how are we going to look without Brady.
October 17th, 2022 at 12:18 pm
If this team loses to the Stinken Pathers this Sunday our season can potentially be over during week 8, week 8! Because we won’t beat the Ravens at home because we stink there to. The Rams will discover their offense in front of our home crowd and the rest is history. How pathetic energy will embody us for the rest of the season, atleast I don’t live in Tampa anymore. When I did for 29 years I would always have a lousy week until the next epic failure and the next excuse. It gets old real fast and the Tampa Bay fans aren’t stupid. We have been conditioned to accept mediocrity from a team with so much potential.
October 17th, 2022 at 2:20 pm
Leftwich should be let go , aka -fired..We should start the rebuild process with Trask .let Brady be a player-coach ( as he wanted in Miami). With the O-Line as it is ; better to playTrask who has mobility / Brady does NOT ..
October 17th, 2022 at 11:15 pm
Brady’s coming back wasn’t the best for his family, his team, or even himself.
If he can’t 100% concentrate on football, then he’s NOT Tom Brady.