Bucs Hurt By Tom Brady’s Immobility?

December 21st, 2022

Todd Bowles explains.

Joe read a Bucs fan on Twitter try to make the case that the Bucs would be better off with a lesser quarterback, a journeyman, than with Tom Brady.

The greatest of all time cannot run. We know that. But this guy claimed Brady hurts the Bucs because the NFL has evolved and teams need mobile quarterbacks.

This same person prefers Jacoby Brissett. No, Joe is not making this up.

Earlier this week, Bucs coach Todd Bowles was asked if Brady’s limited ability to escape pressure is a disadvantage. Bowles scoffed.

“I don’t think it affects anything,” Bowles said. “He didn’t come in running a 4.4 when we got him. We have our stuff tailored around him and what he can do.

“He’s mobile enough to move in the pocket, whether it’s one step or two steps left or right, and make plays.”

Still, Bowles admitted a cleaner pocket for Brady would result in better production.

“We’ve got to protect him better and we’ve got to get open,” Bowles said. “And we’ve got to get rid of the ball as well.”

Joe gets that it’s better to have a mobile quarterback to avoid a pass rush. And, a mobile quarterback can add more plays and further options to the playbook. It’s an age-old NFL chicken-or-the-egg dilemma for quarterbacks.

A mobile quarterback is nice but as we’ve seen from Lamar Jackson and now Jalen Hurts, too much running often gets a quarterback beat to hell. And in the long run, that’s bad for winning, and for an expensive, long-term business investment.

34 Responses to “Bucs Hurt By Tom Brady’s Immobility?”

  1. Buczilla Says:

    If Brady goes elsewhere or retires, I wonder if it would be worth drafting Anthony Richardson to run around and take a beating while he hones his passing skills? It worked for the bills and ravens.

  2. August 1976 Buc Says:

    Hey Todd, just look in the MIrror, and you will see the biggest hindrance to the team.

    SIEGE THE DAY GLAZERS THROW TODD IN THE BAY

  3. 941bucsfan Says:

    Joe, thats all thats left is mobile qbs man… brady is the last statue remaining with kirk. Qbs are going to get hurt. Josh allen has been banged up, but I promise everyone would love to have him right nos

  4. SufferingSince76 Says:

    Go ahead and draft Richardson if you want another ho hum QB. He’s not that good, so I don’t understand the clamor about him.

  5. Alexandre Nascimento Says:

    I agree 100% with you, Joe.
    Moving QBs do not last long in the NFL

  6. Bob in valrico Says:

    While I do believe that too much emphasis on running can shorten a QB’s career.
    QB’s can also sustain injuries while standing in the pocket. The ability to buy more time and make plays seems to be an essential skill in today’s NFL. Even if you are able to build a quality O Line , free agency and injuries will rob you of key players, sometimes a lot sooner than expected. Drafting a QB that can play behind both a good and bad O line seems more important, since teams are sustaining so many injuries that can turn a good O line to a mediocre one.

  7. adam from ny Says:

    i don’t think we are drafting a qb and going the grooming route moving forward…

    i think the glazers and licht learned that lesson with jameis and the 5 year experiment, as well as the previous years’ tankage..

    building around a ready steady freddy, means ready steady go…

    (enter paul oakenfold with the tune “ready steady go” playing on the jumbo-tron for the win)

  8. HC Grover Says:

    He wants a Boy named Sue. Then he can name him Runaround Sue.

  9. rrsrq Says:

    A QB with mobility is what you have to have, not necessarily a running QB. Jameis wasn’t a running QB, but he could move, roll out, not saying bring Jameis back, just observing a mobile QB versus a running QB versus a statue. Defenses already know, Tom is not rolling out to throw the ball, we want to blame the linemen, but the defense know, rush up the middle , Brady is not rolling out or scrambling. But like Todd says, we knew this when we got them, wouldn’t hurt to have an option

  10. KingLDavid54 Says:

    Under what circumstances would the Bucs be helped by Tom Brady’s immobility? Furthermore, it isn’t mobility on the part of Jalen Hurts or Lamar Jackson that’s the problem, it’s the way in which that mobility is used by both coaches and the player himself.

  11. Kentucky Buc Says:

    Not going to argue this point . Just going to watch it play out. Very few of these mobiles will last and even the few that do will have diminished returns as they age. All running QBs have to become pocket passers at some point.

  12. alton green Says:

    what freak’n rock had this guy been hiding under? In 23rd year. How many TEAMS, yes TEAMS, have 7 SB rings???????????????????????? Tom was slow when he was in the combine and 23 yrs later he’s still slow. DUH!!!!!

  13. adam from ny Says:

    if you want to do right by tommy b, you protect the sh!t out of him in the pocket, build a beautiful pocket around him, let him go into his little bounce on his toes move, then he delivers a dime ball anywhere on the field…

    when tom is bouncing in the pocket he is always on point

  14. gotbbucs Says:

    This franchise has never seen a QB sign a second contract with the team, and we’re worried about longevity?

  15. Tampabaybucfan Says:

    Would it be more helpful if Brady was more mobile…..of course…..is it essential…..nope….he’s already proven that in 20 & 21…..

  16. Beej Says:

    Are there any running QB’s over the age of 30?

  17. NEfan Says:

    Mobile QB’s get hurt. Muffay, Hurts, Jackson eventually all of them. I’m actually shocked Allen is still in one piece the way they use him. Mobile QB’s throw ints. Allen, Mahomes, Hebert, Burrow the top guys in the NFL have at least double the ints Brady has and we all witnessed how turnovers can change a game. Goff, Cousins don’t run, how they doing?

  18. Allen Lofton Says:

    a running Quarterback can be a two-edge sword

  19. Kgh4life Says:

    The Patriots were not hurt by Brady’s lack of mobility, they overcame that weakness with great coaching.

  20. Alanbucsfan Says:

    In order for Brady to perform like the Goat, Bucs need to do what Bowles said:

    “We’ve got to protect him better and we’ve got to get open,”

  21. NEfan Says:

    Great coaches and scheme and motivate a team, they can also intimidate other coaches into doing something they normally wouldn’t. Bad coaching is far worse, this isn’t basketball, these players rely on play calling. The Bucs have bad coaches. Could you imagine what this teams record would be if Brady threw 12-15 ints?
    He is 3rd in the league in passing yards and many of these throws are underneath. Some will dispute he throws more and would be correct but believe it or not, not much more compared to years past. The difference is Bucs have to throw more they have NO running game.

  22. Buc4evr Says:

    Brady used to scramble for a few yards to get a first down. Now he is totally immobile and just throws the ball away on third and 2. Defenses know he won’t run even for two yards. He is basically a statue protected by a bad O line. One dimensional QB that is easy to get to.

  23. BrianBucs Says:

    Running QB’s usually run right to the DL or IR

  24. D-Rok Says:

    How many games has Brady missed due to injury since coming to the Bucs in 2020?

    His style of play requires good/very good o-line blocking, and precision route-running. He is Mr. Consistent, and is why he’s won so many games/titles.

    Personally, I’d prefer my franchise QB to be under center for every game, rather than miss multiple games each year and be done by age 30. Just a preference of mine.

  25. D-Rok Says:

    Lot of good comments on this thread about mobile/run-a-round QB’s.

  26. Hunter's Crack Pipe Says:

    SufferingSince76 Says:
    “Go ahead and draft Richardson if you want another ho hum QB.”
    .
    .

    Trask was a better quarterback in that offense, and some of the same people who think Trask will never amount to anything are now calling to draft Richardson. It’s mildly amusing.

  27. Hunter's Crack Pipe Says:

    rrsrq Says:
    “A QB with mobility is what you have to have, not necessarily a running QB. Jameis wasn’t a running QB, but he could move, roll out…”
    .
    .

    I always compared Jameis’ scrambling to Dirk Nowitzki driving the lane. Looks awkward and funny, but oddly effective.

  28. beano Says:

    Anthony Richardson is Herschel Walker playing the quarterback position. His college passing was poor.

    If Richardson gets drafted high it will be because of the woke effort to put more blacks behind center.

    Richardson will end up like UF’s other strong armed mobile quarterback, Feleipe Franks – as a tight end for the Falcons. Maybe the Falcons will take Richardson and run a dual tight end set with Gators. LOL.

  29. beano Says:

    Hunter’s Crack Pipe Says: “Trask was a better quarterback in that offense, and some of the same people who think Trask will never amount to anything are now calling to draft Richardson. It’s mildly amusing.”

    Kinda like Joe crying after the 2014 draft because the Bucs didn’t draft Johnny Manziel and now trashing Trask. None of them know sh*t.
    You have a great time mischaracterizing things. Joe would love nothing more than to see the Bucs clinch before Week 18 and give Trask the start against Atlanta. –Joe

  30. Mike Johnson Says:

    I been sayin this from day one. Brady cannot run 5 yrds if his life depended on it. Defenses are even giving him an open field look every game. IF..our Bucs were smart, there think tank would be committed to finding us a mobile QB for the future. Its just the way it is now. You don’t have to run every play. But you sure as hell better be able to get your team a few yrds here and there. Brady is great. But he is a. Statue of Liberty back there.

  31. Oxycondoms Says:

    Brady has always been immobile. If anyones immobility is the issue its the bucs wr group

  32. Jim Says:

    I see Mobile quarterbacks being sack in every game. Yes Brady gets sacked but isn’t for less lost yards than the scrambling quarterback?

  33. View from 132 Says:

    I would make this same case for next year. Not Brissett but for Lamar Jackson. It is one thing to be a pocket passer, but Brady has moved from pocket passer to statue. Yes, that handcuffs an offense. Getting 3 yards to move the chains isn’t asking for Mike Vick.

  34. Browsing from DC Says:

    I was disappointed early in the Cincy game when the Bucs were at 3rd down and 3 or 4 inside the 10 yard line. Brady took a few steps forward and went down (untouched) about 1.5 yards short when it looked like he could have dived forward for the 1st and goal. We ended up with a field goal. He’s definitely playing tentatively. He never used to be that timid.

    He does have the ability to roll out and they’ve used a few (very few) of those designed rollouts and they’ve usually worked. Rolling right, away from his back side pressure to buy a little extra time for routes to develop.

    He never was and will never be a “mobile” QB like so many of the young guys these days, but I’ll still take him over just about any QB in the league.