Head coach Bruce Arians told NFL Network’s Michael Silver that they have allowed Tom Brady to call the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive plays for weeks.
“We call what he picks, we just have to get better,” Silver said Monday on “The Aftermath” while recalling his conversation with Arians.
So, Bruce Arians' public comments are a bit blunt sometimes? Trust me, Tom Brady can take it… The Aftermath continues on @nflnetwork until 6 pm Eastern/3 pm Pacific pic.twitter.com/PcoNR8A8ql
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) November 30, 2020
Byron Leftwich is the Buccaneer’s offensive coordinator and Arians was an offensive coordinator during his coaching career.
Even with all the combined offensive knowledge, it has been Brady calling the plays during the week, in the huddle, and at the line of scrimmage.
It is a sign of respect towards Brady’s status in the league.
However, Arians and Leftwich may want to take back the reigns based on recent performances.
The Buccaneers offense has looked lost at times and has especially struggled in 3 of their past 4 games.
In those three games, they only managed to score 51 total points – 3, 24, and 24 – all losses.
For a team that has arguably the most talented skill group in the league, the lack of offense is a big disappointment.
Arians has shouldered most of the blame recently.
The Bucs have been criticized for having a lack of pre-snap motion, play-action attempts, and vertical passing plays.
Given Brady was a master of the quick-pass attack in New England, these critiques don’t come as a surprise.
Brady has lacked the ability to throw the deep ball in recent years, which doesn’t mesh well with Arians style of offense.
Between weeks 5 and 11, Brady was 3-36 with 1 TD and 3 INT’s on deep throws, per Next Gen Stats.
Tom Brady had a bounce-back game throwing deep, with more completions (4) on deep passes than he had in his previous seven games (3).
Brady Deep (Weeks 5-11)
➤ 3/36, 94 yards, TD, 3 INTBrady Deep (Today)
➤ 4/7, 152 yards, TD, INT#KCvsTB | #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/mM0eQxVUzr— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) November 30, 2020
It is worth noting Brady played better against the Chiefs.
However, he did throw his 6th and 7th interceptions.
Arians and Brady Fit
A major question entering the season was how well Brady would fit into Arians’ offense.
Bruce prefers to throw the ball deep and stretch the field.
Brady preferred to extend drives with short throws for a few yards at a time.
While the Bucs offense has clicked at times, they’ve also struggled mightily.
And unlike Belichick, Arians has criticized Brady publicly.
"Other than the deep ball, I think he’s getting confused a few times with the coverage."
Bruce Arians did not hold back when asked about Tom Brady's struggles. https://t.co/jXcLB15rzw
— NESN (@NESN) November 24, 2020
The not-so-perfect fit is a scary thought for opposing defenses.
Even with Arians and Brady still figuring out how to coexist, Tampa Bay has the 3rd most points-for in the league.
They also have a top-10 passing attack in terms of yards-per-game.
It is fair to say that people expected more from this offense, though.
They started the season with 2 top-tier receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
They also had receiving threats at tight end with Cameron Brate, OJ Howard, and Rob Gronkowski.
Ronald Jones and Leonard Fournette headlined the backfield behind a solid offensive line.
And then they added former All-Pro wideout, Antonio Brown, in the middle of the season.
With Brady having prior chemistry with Gronk and AB, analysts expected more firepower down in Tampa.
It may be time for a play-calling change to get more out of the offense.
A greater emphasis on the run would help set up a play-action attack that has been extremely effective, yet grossly underused.
Tom Brady: ranks 2nd in yards per dropback using play action (9.1)
Buccaneers: rank 30th in play action frequency (18% of dropbacks)
🤷♂️
— Paul Hembekides (@PaulHembo) November 30, 2020
Drawing the safeties up closer to the line would give their star receivers more room to operate down the field.
NEXT: Antonio Brown Struggling With Deep Ball: Brady to Blame?