Tom Brady did not have a good showing during his first ever start for the Tampa Bay Bucs, and it resulted in a blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Brady threw two interceptions in the loss against the Saints. Arians initially said both turnovers were on the quarterback but clarified Monday that at least one was Mike Evans’ fault. Arians had previously said Brady isn’t going to be treated differently from any other player on his team.
Per ESPN Buccaneers insider Jenna Laine, Brady was asked if he was surprised by Arians’ critiques and he appeared to shrug off any concerns.
“He’s the coach. I’m a player,” Brady said. “Just trying to win a game.”
Brady went 23-of-36 for 239 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.
Brett Favre cautioned Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians about criticizing Tom Brady earlier this week:
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“I think the last person you want to call out after the first game of the year is Tom Brady,” the Hall of Fame quarterback said. “Now maybe they had a mutual truce going into the game, going into the season, ‘Hey, I’m going to be hard on you. I want the guys to know we’re going to treat you the same even though technically I’m not, so are you OK with it?’ If they have that truce, great. If not, I think you are barking up the wrong tree. Dissension could easily enter quickly.
“Maybe the Saints didn’t do anything that they were not ready for other than we didn’t protect very well, Tom gets hit a couple of times, you get a little jittery, it happens. First half of the Super Bowl against the Falcons he was getting nailed, played lackluster at best. They went in, had a ‘Come to Jesus’ at halftime, they don’t even come close to touching him in the second half, and he’s flawless. So they clean up the protection, the timing, the chemistry will come. Will it come overnight? I highly doubt it but it will come pretty quickly though and they very easily could be 4-1 after five weeks.”
Arians was asked about Favre’s comments and his own relationship with Brady on Wednesday.
“Tom and I are fine. I don’t really care what other people think. So it’s just what he and I think,” Arians told reporters, according to ESPN. “We left the stadium fine. We showed up today fine. There ain’t nothin’ to talk about.”
