The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are off to a mediocre 1-1 start to the season with new quarterback, six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, under center.
Tampa Bay started the season with an ugly loss to the New Orleans Saints before defeating a winless Carolina Panthers squad this past Sunday. The team does not look much improved over what we saw when Jameis Winston was under center last season.
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It’s in this that Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians is not going to overlook the injury-plagued and winless Denver Broncos in Week 3. He’s also seemingly unhappy with his team’s performance thus far this season.
Bruce Arians seemingly blasts the Buccaneers again
“I don’t think we can let our guard down. We haven’t done s**t,” the head coach said Wednesday, via ESPN’s Jenna Laine. “We’re nobody to look past anybody.”
Arians does have a point here. Tampa Bay’s struggles have actually been more on the offensive side of the ball through two weeks. That includes future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski catching a total of two passes in as many games.
Overall, this unit just has not performed up to snuff.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2020 stats
- Yards per game: 324.5 (26th)
- Passing yards per game: 220.5 (25th)
- Rushing yards per game: 104.0 (23rd)
- Points per game: 27.0 (13th)
The interesting thing here is that Brady is the one who has let his offense down through the first two weeks of the season. Arians let him know all about that after the all-time great quarterback threw a pick-six back in Week 1.
Tom Brady’s struggles are real
The 43-year-old Brady actually put up one of the worst statistical performance of his career last season in New England. In fact, Brady threw just 24 touchdowns — his lowest total in a full season since all the way back in 2006.
It has not been much better this season.
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Tom Brady stats
- Brady has put up 456 passing yards in two games. That ranks 24th in the NFL, just ahead of Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. That’s not a quarterback you want to be compared to.
- Brady has thrown three touchdowns compared to three interceptions. He ranks 13th in that category. Brady’s three interceptions represent the third-highest total in the NFL through two weeks.
- Brady passer rating (79.3) ranks 28th among qualified quarterbacks, behind the likes of Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold.
It goes without saying that Tampa Bay needs Brady to step up if the team is going to realize its goal of winning the NFC this season. Taking on an injury-plagued Broncos team could just be the tonic this squad needs. If not, Arians’ criticism of the Buccaneers will rightfully continue.