Thought Process Behind The Schedule
May 20th, 2021
History in New England.
Look, Joe fully gets, understands and in many cases, welcomes the soap opera drama that is the NFL. It’s what makes it such a compelling game and interesting year-round.
(College football used to be that way, especially in Florida when you had Jimmy Johnson and Bobby Bowden and later Steve Spurrier trading one-liners while fans of Florida, Florida State and Miami would holler at each other 365 days a year. Then you had SEC types always claiming Foghorn Leghorn in Tallahassee and Nevin Shapiro in South Beach were bribing players to leave SEC footprints to play ball. At least with Shapiro, those charges weren’t empty words. This college football drama in the Sunshine State started to die down when Jimbo Fisher quit lifting players from under Nick Saban’s nose and the well of Hurrigangstas ran dry in Miami).
But Joe has about had his fill of this greatest-game-in-regular-season-history drumbeat some are calling the Bucs-Belicheats in Week 4.
Darren Hartwell of NBC Boston thinks the league had its eye on the Week 4 matchup between the two teams because a league passing record could be broken in that game by park-violating, home-invading, NFLPA-ignoring, down-forgetting, handshake-stiffing, jet-ski-losing, biscuit-baking, tequila-shooting, smartphone-phobic, waffle-grilling, trophy-throwing, roller-coaster-scared, numbers-rules-peeved, Bucs-Super-Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady.
The 43-year-old quarterback enters the 2021 season with 79,204 career passing yards, which is 1,154 yards behind all-time leader Drew Brees, who retired this offseason. So, if Brady averages 288.8 passing yards per game over his first four contests, he’ll surpass Brees’ mark of 80,358 in Week 4.
So on the “Ross Tucker Football Podcast” — maybe the best pure football podcast that is sort of under the radar — Tucker interviewed NFL vice president of broadcast planning Mike North (no, not that Mike North) asked him if there was an ulterior motive for scheduling the Bucs at the Belicheats so Brady could break the NFL passing record in New England, Brady’s former house.
North didn’t exactly deny it, but North said the main reason the game was scheduled in Week 4 was the NFL wanted the game to be about Brady and Belicheat rather than the Bucs and the Belicheats.
If the game was scheduled later in the season, the game would be more about the teams and perhaps the teams’ playoffs chase, North detailed.
You can see and hear North’s explanation in the video below.
Personally, Joe thinks the Bucs’ game the previous Sunday in Los Angeles is a much bigger game. The winner of that may very well host the NFC title game.
But Joe’s thinking about this like a football fan, not a TV network suit.
Did the NFL intentionally schedule Brady in Foxboro in Week 4 so he could break the record vs. the Patriots? pic.twitter.com/bcMga8ff1P
— Ross Tucker Podcast (@RossTuckerPod) May 13, 2021
May 20th, 2021 at 9:21 am
Brady is the GOAT. All NFL scheduling revolves around him (which makes the wannabes like A. Rodgers & R. Wilson furious).
May 20th, 2021 at 9:39 am
Its still feels odd to be in this enviable position, I still pinch myself sometimes. All the focus is rightfully on the Bucs and Brady, and our potential. What a GLORIOUS day to be a Bucs fan. All the mud and broken glass that we have been made to crawl through…we have come out the other end with a Shiny new Trophy and the Team to excite and enthrall every Buccaneer fan this fall. I watched the Superbowl LV video AGAIN last night, 3rd time through already! I almost can’t stand the wait!
GO BUCS!!!!!!!!
May 20th, 2021 at 9:45 am
I absolutely believe it was intentional for this very reason. I can’t wait to see the game stopped in Foxboro to honor Tom Brady when he breaks the record. The crowd noise will be deafening. Bank on it.
May 20th, 2021 at 9:53 am
Hope TB is careful…..they will be gunning to take him out at all costs.
May 20th, 2021 at 10:34 am
SOOOO….. Now that the schedule has been released, when do they start selling individual game tickets? Because all I see available are resellers. A friend and I are planning to drive down from Virginia for the Buffalo game on December 12th, and getting tickets doesn’t seem promising as yet
May 20th, 2021 at 10:49 am
L..A has a new QB. He is no Brady. I dont see what all the fuss is about. They’ve been losing good players and high draft picks a couple years now. No depth. If the stars align perfectly maybe. I could see them at 8-8 easily too.
May 20th, 2021 at 10:54 am
Breaking the record in week 3 is very possible with this offense.
Week 3 @ LAR
May 20th, 2021 at 11:19 am
You know what? The best coach that the Patriots had signed with the Bucs last season to play QB.
May 20th, 2021 at 11:33 am
Beeej – I’ve been in talks with ticket office…..looks like there will be very few, if any, individual game tickets available. Season ticket holders came in strong this year.
May 20th, 2021 at 11:34 am
Beeej
The Bucs are selling individual game tickets on Buccaneers.com but it does redirect you to Ticketmaster. Very few tickets remaining except in West side (Bucs side) Club, which are expensive. According to my Rep the stadium is considered sold out and as of now they are planning on 100% capacity this fall.
May 20th, 2021 at 11:38 am
Tom won’t be averaging 288 because the running game is going to go off. He’ll throw for 225, maybe 250 a game average, so those waiting for him to break Brees’ yardage mark will need to wait until week 5 or 6. I expect the Bucs to be averaging at least 120 – 130 yards on the ground next season, barring OL injury.
May 20th, 2021 at 11:45 am
Bill Belichick is still sweating bullets for releasing Brady. His legacy was dampened by Brady winning the Super Bowl. Now people are questioning whether the Patriots’ success was more Belichick coaching or Brady’s QB skills. love it!
May 20th, 2021 at 12:32 pm
I do believe it is more Brady than Belichick, but to be fair, you cannot compare. Brady got to a loaded team, Belichick dealt with a decimated one last year with no offense, no QB and a bunch of defensive starters opting out. If the roles were reversed, I do not think even Brady could have salvaged that situation in New England.
May 20th, 2021 at 12:38 pm
Ain’t it funny how we haven’t had a game in Europe or a 7 game stretch without a home game since Brady arrived?
May 20th, 2021 at 2:22 pm
Funny how that works.
If memory serves, didn’t Brady and the Belicheats play the Bucs in a London game? May have been the debut of leaky, sleepy Josh Freeman?
May 20th, 2021 at 4:55 pm
I question whether Patriot players would have opted out last year if Brady was under center. Coincidence?
May 21st, 2021 at 8:19 pm
The fans also loved Gronk at Gillette Stadium.