Tom Brady isn’t the problem with the Buccaneers offense
By John Paul
Despite the plethora of articles being written after the Tampa Bay Buccaneer’s awful performance this past weekend against the Panthers about how this is finally the season that proves that Tom Brady is in fact a human being and is finally playing like his age would dictate, it’s just not true.
With the lack of red zone production by the Bucs’ offense, which has seen a marked decrease compared to the last couple years where it was one of the best, people have been quick to blame Brady as the fault of all their troubles.
And, while it is true that Brady’s hasn’t had the monster numbers he’s had the last few seasons as a Buccaneer, Brady is by no means playing poorly. Despite a lack of consistent receivers to throw to due to injury, Brady has only turned the ball over once this season, and he is doing fine through the air week after week, especially when the team is in the middle of the field.
What is a problem for the Bucs offense is not Brady, but instead the team’s insistence on being a running team despite the fact that they have been unable to effectively rush all year.
As of this point in the season, the team is one of the worst in the NFL at running the ball.
You might think it would be smart to just double down on passing and put the ball in the hands of the greatest QB in the history of the sport, but unfortunately, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich doesn’t seem keen on doing that.
Instead, Leftwich continues to try and fit a square peg in a round hole and rush the ball over 20 times per game, most of which wasting 1st-and-10 throwing opportunities for Brady.
The one time this season that Brady was able to throw the ball without wasting early downs to ineffective rushing was against the Kansas City Chiefs, and it was the best the Bucs offense has looked all season.
So, before people start pointing the blame at Brady, they need to take a look at Leftwich, who continues to call the same plays and do the same things, despite them obviously not working.
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