Can Tom Brady Lead the Buccaneers Beyond NFL Regular Season

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On August 28, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had their first scrimmage in their 2020 training camp, which meant that Tom Brady was playing in a Tampa Bay uniform for the first time at Raymond James Stadium. The stands were empty, but the stadium sound system blared crowd noise, and there were cannons firing. Brady led the first team to a 15-6 win over the second team, led by backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert. At the age of 43, Brady is about to start his first NFL season with a team other than the New England Patriots, and he showed plenty of energy, leading a 16-play scoring drive to start the scrimmage and keeping the energy going from there.

How far can he take Tampa Bay this year? Don’t miss our NFL betting thoughts on their chances.

NFL Betting News:
How Far Can Tom Brady Lead the Buccaneers?

There have been all sorts of predictions about Brady’s debut with the Buccaneers. According to an article on CBSSports.com, Brady will become the league’s oldest MVP and lead the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title, making them the first team ever to win a Super Bowl in their home stadium. There are others who see the Buccaneers cratering, as Brady proves to be too slow and immobile (and there were moments in 2019 when he looked that way). As is usually the case in situations like this, the final answer will likely be somewhere in between. Let’s take a look at Tom Brady’s outlook in Tampa Bay.

Brady has committed to running the offense that head coach Bruce Arians installed in Tampa Bay. Jameis Winston had a lot of success with it, but he also had a lot of adversity, becoming the first NFL quarterback ever to throw more than 30 touchdown passes and interceptions in the same season.

Why is the offense so challenging? It relies on long routes, with all of the eligible receivers contributing. That means that Brady will have to wait in the pocket, something that he did not do with the Patriots much last year. He got rid of the ball more quickly than any of the other 31 starting quarterbacks, in terms of seconds per play, with New England last year. This year, he will have to face some pass rush.

Brady does have a much better wide receiver corps in Tampa Bay than he did last year. Yes, Julian Edelman is a transcendent game changer, but now Brady has All-Pro level players in Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. Rob Gronkowski has come out of retirement to play tight end, but he is just one of several talented players the Bucs have at that position for this season.

One problem for Tampa Bay last year was their defense. They gave up almost 30 points per game last season; even if you take away the points that the team gave up thanks to Winston’s pick-sixes, it was the defense that contributed to many of the Buccaneers’ woes a year ago. One of the best offensive teams in the NFL is in Tampa Bay’s division — the New Orleans Saints. The Saints won 13 games in each of the last two seasons, and that was without tailback Alvin Kamara for much of the season. The Saints added Malcolm Jenkins at safety, and Janoris Jenkins, who came over midyear in 2019, also returns. Also in the division are the Atlanta Falcons, who won six of eight in the second half of 2019, as they figured out how to play defense at the midpoint of the season, and they added tailback Todd Gurley from the Rams. Then there’s Carolina, which has a surprisingly dangerous offense with new quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. There’s a new head coach (Matt Rhule) and a new offensive coordinator (Joe Brady, who coordinated the high-octane LSU offense that won a national championship last year), so once the team builds chemistry, they’ll be dangerous too.

All of this is to say, the Bucs could have six extremely tough divisional games next year. Winning the NFC South is far from a given — and could even be said to be a stretch. Securing a wild card could be a challenge given the talent across the conference this year. I see the Buccaneers going 8-8 or 9-7, perhaps snagging a wild card, but that will be about it.

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