Pressure!
May 10th, 2020
In the eyes of one famous NFL observer, park-violating, home-invading Bucs quarterback Tom Brady is going to be sweating when the Bucs travel to New Orleans to open the season.
And it won’t be because someone gave Brady a wrong address or a park ranger is snooping around the Bucs’ team hotel, or because Brady eyed one of Bill Belicheat’s spies in the lobby.
Recently on BSPN, a gaggle of analysts were asked by former Rays sideline reporter Laura Rutledge — Laura Rutledge! — who will feel more pressure in Week 1, Saints quarterback Drew Brees or Brady?
Naturally, screaming’ Stephen A. Smith had a quick response. And he believes Brady will be feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Well, I definitely think it is Tom Brady, there is no question about that,” SAS said. “I mean, the fact of the matter is Drew Brees is Drew Brees. … He’s not the one that joined a new team. He’s not the one that is 42 going on 43 in August claiming he’s still got it.
“He’s got Mike Evans now. He’s got Chris Godwin now. He’s got O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate now. And, he convinced Rob Gronkowski to come out of retirement.
“This is a top-three offense he took over. It’s not like [the Bucs] wet the bed.”
Joe believes all this talk about this evaporated offseason is legit. If it is not, someone has pulled off a helluva con job of how offseason workouts are so critical.
SAS’s points are deeper than just OTAs and dudes pumping weights under the same roof. Let’s be blunt here: The Bucs, as SAS insinuates, are making a helluva gamble. The team is openly talking about Super Bowl. That’s usually a death wish.
And Brady knows all of this, he’s not naive.
So yeah, Brady is under a lot of pressure, SAS is right. And usually Brady thrives under pressure.
May 10th, 2020 at 10:08 am
The key word here is thrives under pressure, instead of exploding under it. 9 super bowl appearances gives me confidence Brady will handle the season opener just fine.
May 10th, 2020 at 10:12 am
I’ll take this kind of pressure and excitement it generates vs a fake narrative spewed by national writers that the Bucs were exciting/entertaining because of our erratic, maddening, gut-wrenching QB play.
It was torture. Not excitement. It’s over now, bring on the Real America’s QB and his brand of entertainment.
In BA I Trust!
May 10th, 2020 at 10:14 am
We need this offensive line to play like 5 bouncers in a nightclub…
If we get solid play up front every team on our schedule is in trouble…
May 10th, 2020 at 10:19 am
I read all these articles wondering how someone will be able to twist it in such a way that they can use it to trash Jameis.
May 10th, 2020 at 10:21 am
Brady isn’t about feeling pressure…he’s about applying pressure. He wants defenses to feel the pressure of all the talent around him. We want to frustrate them by checking down when they blitz and then ripping their hearts out with big play after big play. He want them to understand that they have no power and all their efforts will end in frustration. He wants them to cry in the locker room about the bully who took their lunch money. Pressure only polishes diamonds but crumbles sandstone….Brady’s a diamond.
May 10th, 2020 at 10:40 am
Stan – isn’t it fun! You manifested it and it worked. Now manifest a SB!
In BA I Trust!
May 10th, 2020 at 10:51 am
Oklahoma Man Uses AR-15 to Kill Three Teen Home Intruders.
All in good fun.
May 10th, 2020 at 11:07 am
Stan I liked JW but what Sport said is true. The up and down between excitement and agony was gut wrenching and lead to so many losses!
May 10th, 2020 at 11:10 am
Oh yeah Stan you’re right too. These losers who bash JW relentlessly are such hypocrites. Let anyone any of JWs supporters bring him up they all come out crying about it. It’s so ridiculous!
May 10th, 2020 at 11:25 am
If the question is about who is under more pressure to win week 1 @ New Orleans, the answer is Brees and it isn’t even close. Saints will be favored at home against a team with a built in excuse needing more time to adjust to a new QB; meanwhile the Saints will be universally said to have an advantage. It’s a perfect way to open the season. If Brady & the Bucs lose it’s expected, if we win it serves notice there’s a new sheriff in the South!
May 10th, 2020 at 11:29 am
I hope with the stupid “park violating, home invading” garbage, that this guy never answers a single question of yours.
The team hired the most decorated QB in NFL history and already you want to be a douchebag. Big surprise.
May 10th, 2020 at 11:29 am
It’s usually easier to “thrive” under pressure when you have all the answers to the test!!!!!!!! We will see what it looks like without that “competitive edge”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s time to herd the sheep, and put them back in the pen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
go bucs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 10th, 2020 at 11:51 am
Honestly, I don’t worry about Brady and pressure. He has had pressure on him since the day he was drafted and no lock to make the Pat’s team. Some thrive on pressure and it brings out the best of them. If you want to worry about Brady, worry about what he has left in the physical tank…not if he can handle the pressure.
May 10th, 2020 at 12:04 pm
I just hope that Brady, Evans, Godwin, etc accidentally run into each other at a local field a few times per week.
May 10th, 2020 at 12:16 pm
First post in quite some time, but noticed something a little “off” here.
JayMiss was “America’s QB, Pro Bowler JayMiss Winnone” and the G.O.A.T Tom Brady is “park violating, home invading”????
Seriously?
Peace, out.
May 10th, 2020 at 12:16 pm
Never understood why they can’t get together and throw the ball to each other Luke 10-40 yards from each other. That would be social distancing at its finest!
May 10th, 2020 at 12:25 pm
Sport- It works every time. You aren’t alone, it seems to be the go to around these parts.
May 10th, 2020 at 12:47 pm
I think the Bucs D-line will be more ready than the Saints O-line.
That is enough to give Brady an advantage, shorter fields to work with. Who he does the magic with will probably change every week, there are enough weapons on the Bucs offense to keep other teams guessing.
If the Bucs spread the field there will almost always be someone open. The rare plays where that doesn’t happen will go to Evans, he is always open in some way or other.
May 10th, 2020 at 1:30 pm
After reading yesterday’s NFL directive on reopening the facilities, they could start practicing as early as June 1. It depends on the states that have teams and if they extend beyond May 31st closures.
May 10th, 2020 at 1:48 pm
OK Brady gets the park violating and home invasion bucs QB but Winston got America QB plus etc. wow you are making it hard to take JBF as a place to get the bucs news, sorry Joe but it is true
May 10th, 2020 at 2:01 pm
Better pray our O line is nothin short of Outstanding. Brady cannot run 5 yrds and has trouble even getting to the sidelines when pressured. He is only one big hit away from rehabbing and collecting that free money like Sweezy did.
May 10th, 2020 at 10:40 pm
JBF calling TB12 ‘park violating and home invasion’ has a motive, is to stir up you guys emotion, having NDog and Rod Munch as sidekicks (I think JBF is paying them and if not, both of them should get JM agent to contact JBF for a cut of revenue) to add fuel to the fire, just look at the advertisements in this site…Joe just sit back, kaching and laugh his way to the bank. If no traffic visits this site, da thunk the advertisers are dumbass to come here??
And this Stephen chap said pressure will get to TB12, perhaps Stephen has short memory, back when TB12 was a very ‘young’ 4th string QTR and when Bledsoe (highest paid QTR at that time) got injured, TB12 got his opportunity of a lifetime and if he screwed it up then, he would be a forgotten player sent packing and never to be heard of again, and as an ‘old’ man in SB LI against Falcons trailing 3-28 and came back to win a game that had never happened before that any team has ever come back to win SB trailing such a wide margin and if TB12 has lost that game, JG would have replaced him, that is pressure in the highest order, and TB12 was cool in the last 4 minutes when NE was still behind.
The Saints is favored to win the Division, has better odds of winning SB than BUCS, so which team is really under pressure (Saints) and which team is the underdog (BUCS) and TB12 has been chewing pressure for lunch ever since he was drafted 199 and till today, not many people especially this blogger respect him.