Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians takes shot at Patriots with Tom Brady comments
By Jerry Trotta
Patriots fans undoubtedly had their eyes glued to the Saints-Buccaneers game on Sunday night as franchise legend Tom Brady attempted to advance to the 14th conference championship game of his distinguished career.
As those watching know, he, thanks to some clutch throws and a lights out performance by the Bucs defense in the second half, pulled out a 30-20 victory to set up a box-office showdown at Lambeau Field against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
Though watching Brady succeed to this degree in his first season away from Foxborough should sting the fan base, they’d be hard-pressed not to be rooting for him. However, that might be difficult after Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians took a blatant shot at the Patriots and their supposed inflexibility when it comes to letting Brady coach up his teammates.
Bruce Arians' praise of Tom Brady's leadership might have also included a shot at the quarterback's former team:https://t.co/flgsd9hVdP
— NESN (@NESN) January 18, 2021
"“Consummate leader,” Arians said of Brady after the game. “Has been all year. Got the air of confidence that permeates through our team every day. I allow him to be himself. Like, New England didn’t allow him to coach. I allow him to coach. I just sit back sometimes and watch.”"
Tell us how you really feel, Arians. Folks will somehow find a way to pin this on Brady, so let’s make one thing clear: he doesn’t speak for the three-time MVP, who’s had nothing but positive things to say about the Patriots throughout the course of the season.
It just feels like the Buccaneers as an organization are trying desperately to convince the public that Brady is more relaxed and more like himself this year. That may be the case, but why is it such a big deal? Leading up to Sunday night’s showdown vs the Saints, tight end Rob Gronkowski made that exact point by claiming that he has the freedom to crack more jokes in the locker room.
Tom Brady is going to the Conference Championship Game for the 9th time in the last 10 years and 14th time overall in his 21-year NFL career.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 18, 2021
This time he’s doing it as a Wild Card, with an NFC team, in a year that had no preseason and OTAs.
Everybody knows that the Patriots are one of the most buttoned-up franchises in sports and Brady reportedly had tension with Bill Belichick and some other executives on his way out, but can we please stop trying to push the narrative that he didn’t enjoy his time in New England?
The Bucs are literally one win away from the Super Bowl and Arians’ top priority in his postgame presser was to take shots at the Patriots, who finished the year with a 7-9 record and have an admittedly bleak future entering the offseason.
Remind us again, what was the point of these comments?
