“He Started To Flinch”
April 14th, 2020
Strong Brady critique from a Hall of Famer
Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe hears all the Bucs hype and is in a state of disbelief.
Sharpe compares the Bucs’ roster with old man Tom Brady to those of other franchises and can’t believe people are talking Super Bowl for Tampa Bay.
He’s adamant that the Bucs have too many issues on defense and that Brady isn’t enough of a fit to have a shot at playing in February.
The Bruce Arians offense, Sharpe said, is designed to push the ball down the field, and that comes with a price Brady can’t or won’t pay.
“In order to push the ball down the field, you have to hold onto the ball. When you hold onto the ball, it gives the defenders an extra opportunity to get closer to you and put you on the ground. Tom understands that,” Sharpe told his national FS1 audience. “We started to see things last year. When [defenses] started to dial up the pressure, Tom had one of the worst completion percentages. He started to flinch. We saw that. That is unrefutable.
“And defensively, I know [the Bucs] are No. 1 against the rush, but they were 30th against the pass and it seems like the secondary is their weak link.
“So when you’re 30th against the pass and you have a guy that led the league in sacks, uhhh, what’s going on? So, the expectations I believe for the Bucs are unrealistic. I get that you have Tom Brady, but he’s a 43-year-old Tom Brady, but he’s not used to taking this kind of punishment.”
It’s hard to argue with Sharpe here; the Bucs’ pass defense was sad for much of 2019 and no upgrades have been made. However, Joe is confident many modifications are coming to the offense and Arians — and Brady — will prioritize Brady staying upright.
Like most ex-NFL players, Sharpe, a three-time Super Bowl champ, strongly emphasized that building a winner takes time and a plague-shortened offseason will make that even more difficult in Tampa.
April 14th, 2020 at 4:50 pm
It’s inconceivable that Brady won’t have liberal audible abilities at the line of scrimmage. And if he has such license he will surely use it and furthermore he knows when to dump the ball off. He’s not going to do 30 7 step drops per game…
April 14th, 2020 at 4:55 pm
Shannon Sharpe loves to talk and, more importantly, loves people to listen no matter what he is saying.
April 14th, 2020 at 4:57 pm
…and please don’t forget just having Tom Brady as your QB gives this team a shot of credibility and that may be all this team needs to put together a run. No-ones saying undefeated but just get us to post season and I feel confident with Brady at the helm our chances are as good as anybody making it to the big show. I didn’t have that same confidence with Jameis Winston and by the looks of things neither did the team. So who cares what Shannon Sharpe says because personally I just think he’s jealous that Tom outlasted his old @ss self. 🙂
April 14th, 2020 at 4:59 pm
last year, defenders were getting to brady because his weapons were stuck running in mud…lol…
brady wont have that problem here….we have elite weapons which is something skip alluded to…
if nate solder and trent brown are good enough to to protect brady i believe d.smith and whoever we draft are just as good…..
NYG might be having buyers remorse with solder as he’s been a FA bust….
brady will elevate the offense with his leadership, work ethic and smart play….
GO BUCS!!!!!!
April 14th, 2020 at 5:00 pm
I don’t think the deep ball will be as much as a priority……..hitting receives in stride with accuracy will result in more YAC……..we need a speed receiver as our #3 and a back with speed…..
That, coupled with Evans, Godwin, OJ & Brate will be a lethal passing attack that no defense in the NFL can stop.
Eliminate the turnovers…..and we a good.
I don’t blame Sharpe or others for being skeptical…….we haven’t earned anything yet.
April 14th, 2020 at 5:02 pm
Give him top running back in the draft game over. Your argument invalid this offense would destroy teams.
April 14th, 2020 at 5:04 pm
Shannon sharpe is a moron on that show. He looked at 2-3 lines of stats and then came to a conclusion without ever watching one single bucs game last year and why would he watch the train-wreck that has been the Tampa Bay bucs. He probably knows that Jameis threw 30 picks and the bucs have evans and suh and that is the end period, maybe barrett due to him being an ex bronco. Young secondary needs to improve i in a hurry this season period and be aggressive make tackles and know the coverage; no excuses
April 14th, 2020 at 5:06 pm
I said the same thing…. Its not Brady. Its the team around him. The Bucs are not that good. Just average
And to put that kind of pressure on the old man is asinine
April 14th, 2020 at 5:09 pm
This is Justin Watson’s third year and I think he’s going to explode on to the scene. I love the dudes attitude, plus he’s a very heady intelligent guy. We’ve also got little Scotty Miller that could be Tampa Bay’s version of Julian Edelman.
I’m feeling pretty good about the WR’s as long as they stay healthy. Save that xtra 4th for one in this draft since they are deep, and watch the wires after the draft. Someone will let one go.
April 14th, 2020 at 5:10 pm
Hey Shannon ….. don’t forget to mention about 25 less turnovers this year by the offense.
Addition by subtraction.
April 14th, 2020 at 5:11 pm
Last year is last year.
April 14th, 2020 at 5:11 pm
I wonder if the Bucs are making smoke screens, with all of this tackle talk, and are actually going after a receiver.
April 14th, 2020 at 5:12 pm
And there you have it from the great SS-396 !! It’s not going to be easy, because the Ol’ GOAT will soon wake up and find that trip to Tampa on the yellow brick road led him to somewhere over the rainbow… your not in New England any more……
April 14th, 2020 at 5:17 pm
BA would be crazy not to adjust the offense to suit Brady’s strengths, so I would expect less deep throws this year as compared to last.
April 14th, 2020 at 5:20 pm
He started to flinch yet he still threw for over 4K with 24 TDS and 8 INTs all while throwing the ball to a below average group. I’m excited to see Brady with Evans, Godwin and the rest of the crew
April 14th, 2020 at 5:22 pm
JP09…exactly!
April 14th, 2020 at 5:25 pm
The secondary was a mix match of players and inexperience….chemistry will be improved, communication will be improved, technique will be improved, understanding of assignments will be improved and the complexity of the schemes will improve. There’s only so much you can install with young guys….install too much and they don’t play with any instincts because they are thinking and trying to not screw up.
I’m more worried with an injury bug on our d-line…I think that’s our biggest risk on the defense.
April 14th, 2020 at 5:26 pm
Sharpe is a stammering, barely coherent buffoon who (for whatever reason) despises Brady and always has. He’s made so many childish and unhinged comments about him over the years; he really doesn’t matter.
April 14th, 2020 at 5:29 pm
Shannon Sharpe is mentally deficient.
April 14th, 2020 at 5:30 pm
Sharpe obviously hasn’t studied Bucs 2nd half of season tape- he’s just going on stats- I’m sure he’d modify his opinion if he took some time …
Notice he said, “it seems like the secondary is their weak link.”
April 14th, 2020 at 5:34 pm
Sarasota you do realize that posters on this site are not the “Bucs.” While posters, including myself, are talking a lot about the need for a right tackle, the “Bucs” aren’t saying jack about it.
April 14th, 2020 at 5:43 pm
Sure seems like Sharpe simply ranked the Bucs by basic defensive stats and watched zero Bucs games last year; otherwise he’d have seen the Defense’s improvement (even against the pass).
Agree we could use some help in the secondary, though, perhaps one good veteran.
April 14th, 2020 at 5:44 pm
Blah, blah, blah.
April 14th, 2020 at 5:49 pm
So anybody who disagrees with the “fans” are wrong?
April 14th, 2020 at 5:53 pm
A tale of two seasons! Apparently Sharpe and other failed to watch our final six games or take notice of our D’s improvement.
TBBF
Agree with you. BA likes CHUNK plays but he doesn’t care how we get them. Hitting ME or CG or OJ in the hands in stride would improve our YAC enormously!
A 50 yard pass completion does not have to necessarily travel 50 yards and have ME or CG make and acrobatic catch or win a jump ball. Hitting them in stride 10 yards down the field and they run for 40 more is the same result.
April 14th, 2020 at 6:04 pm
In all fairness, Brady is going to be 43 when the season starts. It is like Michael Jordan on the Wizards. Sure Jordan had some great games, but wasn’t able to sustain it like he did in his youth. That doesn’t mean Brady stinks. That means we must be realistic.
The secondary did have some good games towards the end, but the only great offense they played during that last six was Atlanta(And Falcons fans hate Koetter). Houston was without Fuller in the Bucs game and we know Houston’s offense is below average without Fuller.
People talk about getting the ball out quickly. It is a good concept, but you have to be precise to be successful in that type of scheme. Evans and Godwin are great, but not precise route runners like an Edelman. That’s part of the Patriots “Do Your Job” mantra. RoJo can catch, but neither he nor Dare are good route runners(Get Edwards-Helaire). Brady is a details guy, but this coach and team aren’t know for their attention to detail. Bruce butchering clock management, players not stretching throughout the season(which was the root cause of all of those hamstring injuries), and dumb challenges on interference calls.
I expect a playoff berth, but let’s keep in mind Brady is 43 and Father Time pops up out of nowhere. Finally, the lack of OTAs and minicamps will definitely hurt the timing of this offense. Brady and Bruce are going to merge their offenses without any real offseason training. That’s why I expect a wild card berth and hoping for a big time playoff run.
I do expect a playoff berth
April 14th, 2020 at 6:06 pm
Sharpe knows nothing about the defense, he’s just looking at the stats for the season
April 14th, 2020 at 6:32 pm
If Shannon was riding TB’s scrotum like Skip none of you would be questioning him in a insulting manner. Dusthty Rhothdes you a joke to
April 14th, 2020 at 6:53 pm
The top 2 targets for the Bucs at QB were Brady and Bridgewater. Clearly Arians is more concerned with ball security and not arm strength, so idk why everybody keeps talking Brady’s arm strength like its going to be a problem.
He doesnt have to come in and throw for 5,000 yards…
April 14th, 2020 at 7:01 pm
@Joe … “It’s hard to argue with Sharpe here; the Bucs’ pass defense was sad for much of 2019 and no upgrades have been made.”
Yes the Bucs pass defense was sad for the 1st half of the season. But once VHIII was released, the Secondary came alive. At one point we were playing 4 rookies in there (White, Dean, SMB & Edwards) plus 3 second-year guys (Vea, Whitehead, Davis) as starters. That’s almost 2/3rds of our defense right there. It’s quite understandable why it took half a season for this defense to gel, especially since we had a new DC and an all-new hybrid 3-4 defense.
But the defense did improve markedly in the 2nd half, DESPITE having to deal with 23 giveaways by the Bucs’ offense. Our defense was tagged with allowing 449 points on the season, of which 197 points were allowed in the last 8 games. But 28 of those 2nd half points came from INTs provided courtesy of our offense, when the defense wasn’t even on the field. So really our defense allowed 169 points in those 8 games, or 21 PPG average. Not that shabby considering that they had to deal with 19 OTHER giveaways by the offense.
It’s worth noting too that our defense scored FOUR TDs in those last 8 games. That’s not too shabby either. So yes, we have a young Secondary, but they improved rapidly last season. Whether they can pick up where they left off is anyone’s guess at this point. I for one would feel a lot better about our defense though if we’d add a quality veteran Safety, as well as another DLineman in the draft to take the place of Nassib & Allen. In the meantime, lots of time until Game 1 this year.
April 14th, 2020 at 7:17 pm
This is going to be a better second year secondary. If we can get Kinlaw in the first we should trade for a good safety. OLB Zack Baun in the third round. Drooling. Use the rest on in the trenches and a fifth round QB.
April 14th, 2020 at 7:36 pm
Let’s remember Sharpe is an entertainer now and the news is slow. I respect his playing history but how well does he know the Bucs?
April 14th, 2020 at 7:52 pm
SS career was ended by a Bucs defender….home game, I don’t remember if it was in the Ole Sombrero but I think so….so he has always had an axe to grind
April 14th, 2020 at 8:05 pm
Bucs defense ranked 5th in DVOA, and got stronger as the year went on. Their biggest problem? The number of times the other team was handed the ball on a silver platter by our former QB. The problem is gone. This Bucs team going to surprise a lot of people.
April 14th, 2020 at 8:09 pm
I am ok with Sharpe’s opinion especially about the defense. On this site here and all across the media, there is a sickening simplified concept of Arians. Everyone has taken the no risk it no biscuit and simplified it to that Arians had all of his quarterbacks hold onto the ball for a long time on most plays.
Really, he has not. Look at all the quarterbacks he has coached and look at the difference in the systems. Arians has been clearly adaptable.
Now I am concerned with the defensive backs. I am hopeful they will be good. But really once there is more tape on the young guys, can they be exploited a little more.
Yet the one thing we all know as well, confidence in sports makes a difference. At the end of last year, those guys were playing with great confidence.
April 14th, 2020 at 8:31 pm
Tex I think you missed my point. Sarasota was saying the Bucs brass are talking about taking a right tackle in the draft. My point is they aren’t saying anything. The fans and posters are talking a lot about but right now we have no idea what the front office is planning to do because they aren’t talking.
April 14th, 2020 at 8:34 pm
When you’re right, you’re right, Joe. The Bucs need to trade Brady and sign Winston to a ten year deal. He’s the only QB capable of getting us to the Superbowl. Luckily for us, no other team has picked up on this fact. Interceptions are truly meaningless.
April 14th, 2020 at 8:43 pm
The only way I see Brady on a football field this year is on a Madden video game. Get real people.
April 14th, 2020 at 8:44 pm
Screens and bunch of actually running the ball will keep a qb clean…he can throw to tight ends so that goes along way too…
Keep in mind brady has weapons in all levels off the offense and his skill set is making reads and dissecting the defense at the line.
My point here is this…deep ball will be attempted but when it is the defense will be in the box or blitzing which brady will read from a mile away.
Will brady get touched or sacked? Yes
Will it be as bad as winston? No
Brady will throw it away and chew some1 out rightfully so
Will you see much more dunks and screens? You really should
Will defenses stack the box against are run? At this point thats a big no-trade the center for rb at jaxs..frees the money up and draft a center brady loves-center is the easy job on the line hike the ball and help the gaurds..only on dive runs does a center control the play
Does are 2ndary haft to step up? Yes very much so
We need a hawk in the back end-draft a guy who moves and can catch
I would go on record saying we probably have the best inside team
Dline and lbs in nfl as a whole…so we need big play from the back end
I believe are corners are on the right track if they can start getting the picks and press at right times to give the dline more time to get home
Safety oline and rb is are weakness and we still can use a new wideout that can take the top off a def and return punts
With 7 picks and no rush to get the qb of the future now i say we can get everything we need
Keep in mind as the market drops for free agents and they have roster cuts to get to a 53 man squad
We will have a chance to steal some cheap good players for depth or competition at few spots. Such as rt fs rb rg and 3 wr spot
In bucco bruce and brady we trust
Build the playbook in these tough times
April 14th, 2020 at 9:02 pm
More motivation for Brady. Brady is so accurate that they can leave a RB or TE to chip
April 14th, 2020 at 9:03 pm
Look at BigHog, taking shots at a Bucs QB! Hypocrite much, do ya?
April 14th, 2020 at 9:41 pm
Hey…if it’s not on satellite XM radio, or AM radio….all laying around, then hey. Ain’t nuthin like sky high fruit to warrant, a real column 🙂 🙂
April 14th, 2020 at 9:42 pm
Should have kept JW3
April 14th, 2020 at 9:46 pm
The eye in the sky doesn’t lie. There were multiple cases of Brady hitting the ground before he took the hit or throwing the ball while flinching down towards the ground to avoid the hit. He looked scared in those instances. Was it the hard hitting D, his poor O-Line or him just trying to avoid a hit?
April 14th, 2020 at 10:03 pm
Ok so we can’t win with Jameis or Brady. Makes sense. The 30th ranked pass defense is idiotic. He clearly never watched any buc games or the last 6 weeks.
April 14th, 2020 at 10:09 pm
Don’t want to be a Negative Nancy but I will be surprised to see a Super Bowl berth this year. Still too many holes on this roster. It’s a bit of a stretch to think we can fill these holes in the draft with rookies that will be expected to play like vets. Also considering that there will be little to no time for them to learn the playbook and become acclimated to the pro game. This will be the year this team will grow and gel. While the Super Bowl is within the realm of possibility, I think 2021 is more realistic. It will take two good drafts to fill holes and to provide needed depth but 2021 is looking really good.
April 14th, 2020 at 10:10 pm
If we have the cap space signing 1 good CB seems like the best return on investment in the short term.
April 14th, 2020 at 10:16 pm
it never gets away from Jason
April 14th, 2020 at 10:31 pm
Amazing…you guys put so much trust in a 6 game improvement from the defense but dont take into account that weve been fooled by this before in 2016?
The stretch in 5 game stretch in 2016 that the defense had was 10X more impressive than what happened last year because it was actually against quality opponents.
April 14th, 2020 at 10:55 pm
BradyBunch
I was not referring to you, but I am referring to those who think Winston is the sole reason we went 7-9 last year. Now a former player feels the same way and the those same “fans” attack Sharpe. TB is accurate but without a full training camp he cannot get into lock step with receivers, and in the NFL QB’s have to throw before a WR makes his break. Our WR’s are not precise route runners and TB will not be able to show his accuracy.
April 14th, 2020 at 10:58 pm
Down the stretch of last season and vs Tennessee in the playoffs, defenses consistently ran a form of Cover 0 against NE. Bracketing Edelman, playing man to man against the rest of NE’s receivers.
Sharpe is correct, Brady was flinching against the extra blitzers and was throwing the ball up for chance In nonexistent windows.
On paper that defensive strategy is tough to run against the Bucs. Wanna bracket Mike. Godwin, Brate, (maybe?Edwards-Helaire, Gronk) are going off
April 14th, 2020 at 11:20 pm
As nice as it would be… hopefully we don’t do as good as the hype. I want my championship home grown. Not one won on the BRADYWAGON. Buying a championship in the NE way.
April 15th, 2020 at 12:13 am
Does that make us an average defense? Cus I’ll take it with Brady and our receiver’s.
April 15th, 2020 at 2:19 am
Six rings
April 15th, 2020 at 2:49 am
I’ve been saying this over and over. We haven’t gotten better. We “upgraded “ QB ? Only.
No safety. No vet CB. No run blocking tackles. No RB. No kicker . No punter.
And we think we are going to the SB ? Lol.
Brady will get hit no doubt about that. Will he hold up. Idk. Don’t think so.
April 15th, 2020 at 5:36 am
they will grab ruggs
April 15th, 2020 at 6:31 am
Bucs need a top speed wideout that Brady can count on.Our weapons are great but they need a tyeek hill type guy.Id like to see Scotty Milller fill that void hes proven to be a burner, but he has also proven to be injury prone so far.
April 15th, 2020 at 6:55 am
I have read the “advice” for the Bucs to draft a wide receiver in the first round. Do you really want to spend a first round pick on a receiver, who at best is the third option?
This is the same thinking that cost us a shot at Delvin Cook, Alvin Kamara, or Kareem Hunt back in 2017. Then and as some are advising now we solved a problem we didn’t have by drafting Howard when the year before Cam Brate had led the league in TE TD Receptions.
We need to seriously consider a QB in this spot. Brady will be 43 at the beginning of the season, he may be the “greatest of all time” but he is not the “greatest of right now” and wont be “the greatest of the future”
April 15th, 2020 at 7:08 am
TB didn’t flinch as hard as Shannon does every time he walks into the room… Sharpe is a loudmouth – all of his takes are deliberately abrasive so he can create an argument and run his mouth some more… The Bugs defense is gonna be top 5 this season and the offense is still gonna put up 30pts per game – guaranteed
April 15th, 2020 at 7:39 am
Mr. Sharpe was a great player, but he likes to hear himself talk a lot..Everybody has an opinion, just like something else we all have…
April 15th, 2020 at 8:34 am
It’s a given that Arians knows what to do. As far as the DB’s go they are good, however, there is enough time from the draft to game 1, to possibly upgrade.I say bring Jameis back at a backup rate to learn from Tom for two years and grow. TB/GM said JAMIES WAS NOT A BUST. After Tom wins at least one SB, Jamies will be a more well rounded QB, learning for TWO YEARS from the GOAT!
H O W A B O U T T H I S I D E A *****************************
April 15th, 2020 at 9:12 am
Filed under “guy that last watched a Bucs game in 2005 that is now an expert on all things Bucs because Brady signed”
Pfft.
April 15th, 2020 at 9:48 am
007, Brady will have unlimited audible abilities, as he has for decades now. Are you serious?
April 15th, 2020 at 10:11 am
The offense will be blended to take the best of BA’s scheme and play calling, and combine it with TB12’s knowledge, skills and abilities….to create a hybrid offense that will feature a great QB, a creative and aggressive play caller, and more offensive weapons than Brady has probably ever had at his disposal before.
I’m excited to see this all come together.
April 15th, 2020 at 10:30 am
The defense will have to consider Brady knows how to read them a lot better than our last QB and will make them pay if they try to get cute with there Blitz’s etc. Bucs are better with Brady get over it..
April 15th, 2020 at 10:55 am
I have no issue with what he said. However I think only people that watch the Bucs saw the the defense improve the last 6 weeks. Now I can’t speak about the 1st 10 games. This will be interesting to watch how this unfolds. However I’m still not sold on the defense but I think having JPP back a full 16 games will help Shaq out on the other OLB spot. Now I can’t ignore Brady’s play started to fall off. I now everyone claims he didn’t have any records. Lets not overlook that they started 8-0 and no one was saying he had no weapons then. They still finished 12-4 and won the AFC East. I still think the question is can he take a hit behind this offensive line.
April 15th, 2020 at 12:48 pm
The Bucs offense was elite last year, and that’s even with throwing so many pics, and the defensive front seven for the Bucs is extremely good. Yes, we have a young secondary, but they are improving, and hopefully will get some reinforcements this offseason as well.
April 15th, 2020 at 2:27 pm
Facts.
April 15th, 2020 at 5:16 pm
Look I’m not saying we are Super Bowl bound next year, but it’s clear as day from those comments that Mr. Sharpe didn’t watch one minute of the Bucs last season. If he did, he’s know that the pass defense during the last 6-8 games was not the same 31st ranked pass defense from the beginning of the season.
April 15th, 2020 at 5:37 pm
I see a 10 win season maybe better. First a defense cannot do it’s job when they are on the field more than the offence against short fields, they actually did quite tell. We even lost several games because of our licking leaving points off the board! As for Shannon. here’s my take opinions are like the crack in your pants, we all have one!