Future Hall of Famer gives bold take on Tom Brady's play
There's zero room to argue that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense is struggling. For starters, the team is averaging just 20.2 points per game, which represents the NFL's 20th-ranked scoring offense. This comes after two second-place finishes and 29+ point per game averages in 2020 and 2021. Things don't get much better when it comes […]
There's zero room to argue that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense is struggling.
For starters, the team is averaging just 20.2 points per game, which represents the NFL's 20th-ranked scoring offense. This comes after two second-place finishes and 29+ point per game averages in 2020 and 2021.
Things don't get much better when it comes to advanced statistics, either. Per Football Outsiders, the Buccaneers are good for 16th-best when it comes to overall offensive DVOA. That ranking includes the 10th-best passing DVOA and the 30th-ranked rushing DVOA.
The Buccaneers offense isn't a good one. By the numbers and the tape. There are a ton of deficiencies and they start up front with the offensive line. That trickle-down effect has led to third-down struggles, red zone struggles, and the struggle to just move the ball in general (the offense ranks 21st with 31.79 yards per drive).
And future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger thinks all of this taking a major toll on Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.
"Tom [Brady] is the greatest. The Super Bowl rings show it," Roethlisberger said on the latest edition of his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger. "[But] it looked like he didn't want to be out there [against the Pittsburgh Steelers href="https://atozsports.com/pittsburgh/" target="_blank"]. Maybe it was the pressure and he was getting hit and whatever was going on."
Brady also showed clear signs of frustration, evidenced by the video showing him giving his offensive line some "constructive criticism" on the sidelines.
Roethlisberger noticed that and much more.
"When a defense gets after you, sometimes, your anger and your disgust for things happen because the other team is affecting you," Roethlisberger said. "Not because it's you. But yeah, it looked like a different Tom."
"There's no way he's enjoying this. No way. … It just didn't look fun for him."
The Week 6 loss to the Steelers is arguably the worse loss of the Tom Brady era and it represents the culmination of six long weeks of offensive futility. And what makes things worse is the fact, again, that the Steelers were missing a ton of key pieces in their secondary.
Monday, Brady posted an encouraging message on Instagram saying "we'll turn it around", so everything appears fine on the surface.
But, only Brady and those closest to him know if Roethlisberger's speculation is more reality than it is perception.
Regardless, it's clear there's a lot of work to do until the Buccaneers get back to the offensive powerhouse the NFL became accustomed to over the last couple of years.
And until that happens, I don't think anyone will be having much fun. At all.
Featured image via Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
