EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - NOVEMBER 02: Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers warms up prior to facing the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on November 02, 2020 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Tom Brady has had an up-and-down first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Some weeks, he resembles the legendary player he became with the New England Patriots. Others, he seems totally out of sync in Bruce Arians’ offense.
We’ve had an interesting last few weeks, where there seems to be a real rift between the 43-year old QB and his new coach. Arians has been very critical of Brady after losses. Brady did deflect the notion that he’s not happy with his coach today, saying that they have a good relationship.
In any case, it has been an interesting fit. Arians offenses have thrived with big-armed quarterbacks stretching the field. The deep ball has never been Brady’s best weapon, especially at this point in his career.
All things considered, it is hard to tell whether the initial Pro Bowl fan vote for Brady is surprising or not. He’s a superstar, which you’d think would inflate things, but he’s also a divisive figure from a franchise in New England largely hated, if respected, by fans of other teams. According to Greg Auman, Brady is currently sixth overall in Pro Bowl voting among quarterbacks, with Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, and Kyler Murray edging him out in the NFC, along with Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen ahead from the AFC side of things.
Initial Pro Bowl fan balloting: Bucs QB Tom Brady is ranked fourth among NFC quarterbacks, behind Seattle's Russell Wilson, Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers and Arizona's Kyler Murray. He's sixth overall, with Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes and Bills' Josh Allen also ahead.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) December 1, 2020
Overall, this year has been an uptick from a very middling 2019 season for the Patriots. With guys like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, and Rob Gronkowski, the Buccaneers have a much better supporting cast than Brady had with the Patriots last year.
The Buccaneers are 7-5, and in the middle of the Wild Card hunt. Brady is also supported by one of the best defenses in the NFL this year, although they’re also up and down. The team looked incredibly impressive earlier in the year against the Green Bay Packers, but then got absolutely blitzed by the Kansas City Chiefs, allowing Tyreek Hill to put up historic first-half numbers and for the Chiefs cruise to a 27-24 victory that was never as close as that score feels.
Tom Brady hasn’t been bad by any means, but there has definitely been a long learning curve for he and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The championship window is not going to be open for long for the team with an aging Brady, so they may want to do whatever possible to accelerate it.
