Wade Phillips: Tom Brady Hasn’t Lost It
October 30th, 2022
Still top shelf.
When a team is losing, it isn’t because of just one guy.
That’s how legendary NFL defensive guru Wade Phillips sees it when studying the tape of Tom Brady.
No running game is the first thing Phillips mentioned as to why Brady isn’t leading one of the top NFL offenses again. So when the Bucs have short-yardage situations and try to pound the ball to keep the chains moving, they’re screwed, Phillips said.
Phillips sees no drop-off with Brady throwing shorter passes but ha added that perhaps Brady doesn’t have as much time to throw deep. However, he doesn’t think that’s hurting Brady too much.
Phillips did say one reason Brady’s quarterback rating is down is that he doesn’t have as many touchdowns thrown, not because Brady’s skills have eroded. Joe believes quarterback ratings are one of the biggest bullsh!t stats in sports!
Phillips chuckled when he referenced Brady’s only pick of the season.
A key reason Brady is not leading the Bucs to wins is on the other side of the ball, Phillips noted. “That’s not the Super Bowl defense,” Phillips said.
Boy, ain’t that a mouthful?
October 30th, 2022 at 12:03 am
What if Tom turns it around after announcing the divorce and having the monkey off his back. We go into the bye 5-5 and the team starts lighting it up…
October 30th, 2022 at 12:26 am
It’s not a Super Bowl defense, but who gets the blame? The Two Headed Monster that coordinates the defense, or the emotionless stiff who calls the plays on game day?
Who gets the blame for the overall lack of discipline and respect for the rules? Why is there a tardiness problem? Don’t the coaches realize that letting players disregard some rules tells them that it’s okay to disregard others? Maybe that’s why Kwon White seems to be playing his own game?
Yeah. Not a championship defense. And I’m pretty sure I just explained why.
PS On the bright side, Brady will not retire after a losing season and he won’t want his story to end with “Yeah, he’s great and all, but he sure as hell got out of town after the Bucs went 4-12. What a quitter.”
He wants “Dude went through a freakin divorce, his worst season ever, he was a damn free agent, but he came back to the Bucs and won 2 more Super Bowls!”
October 30th, 2022 at 12:33 am
We will win the division. And be in playoff. Once in you never know !
You about to witness a brady lead team to 7-2 the next 9 weeks
IMO I thought his personal stuff was going to linger all season but it’s all clear out. Could be a game changer.
October 30th, 2022 at 12:34 am
Has the defense given up on Bowles? Were JPP and Suh that impactful to the attitude of this defense? Guys like Vea and White are expected to be the vets now and it’s not a good look so far. I see them more focused on celebrating minor splash plays. Hell, I saw White celebrate tackling Jackson like it was a sack when in fact it was a first down pickup. Now Shaq is gone. JTS is not that guy so far and Hicks is m.i.a. as expected. LVD, where are you!?
The offense is troubling. But the defense looked so good week 1. Now it’s to the point where the second half Thursday night was the most predictable thing I’ve seen in a while. Everyone in the building knew the Ravens were going to come out and just run the ball and we did nothing to stop it. As Buc fans we’ve smelled this stink too many times. We know when we see a team that’s given up. I just can’t believe that’s seemingly the case with this team. Never thought they’d just lay over like this.
October 30th, 2022 at 12:35 am
Also can u give The Man some receivers who have some speed…this current WR group can’t get any separation. The Goat is being wasted
October 30th, 2022 at 1:44 am
We have speed. Miller , Darden, perriman. We don’t use them. We rather give a reverse to a old one knee WR in Julio. Or the other WR that just recover from one knee.
2 WR 2 good knees. That’s what we are rolling with.
October 30th, 2022 at 2:06 am
That’s not the Super Bowl offense, either, Mr. Phillips.
Plenty of blame to go around, on coaches and players. And that includes Brady.
October 30th, 2022 at 2:07 am
I have watched Brady since his days at Michigan. There were a number of times New England got off to slow starts and people, particularly the media and former players, raised doubts about Brady and declared the “dynasty” was over. Time after time afterwards, Brady led his team to having strong season finishes and to the playoffs. Don’t forget that nearly half of his career he’s gone to Super Bowls(10). Things may look bleak now — but there’s still lots of football left.
October 30th, 2022 at 2:32 am
Something is missing
How many times has this offense seen receivers out of sync on their routes? Not Evans, nor Godwin really, but everybody else. In key situations; 3rd downs, etc.
Even the slop of task/gap assignments and tackling discipline on defense
These things just didn’t happen as frequently with BA driving things.
Maybe it’s a lack of something in the coaching; Arians might have inspired a bit more sense of responsibility to sound fundamentals and details than the same regime without him. Players were motivated to not earn his ire or disappointment. Maybe his coaches were, too.
It’s still conceivable this same team could catch some momentum if they can find that motivation despite the culture drop-off in this coaching staff without its actual coaching leader.
October 30th, 2022 at 4:45 am
No, Brady hasn’t lost it. But he has lost time in the pocket, and confidence in his supporting cast. And it does seem that he has lingering injuries that are affecting his throwing. Look at the film, his mechanics are off. He is a stickler on those mechanics, so something is wrong.
The problems go far beyond Brady, who is probably the one reliable factor in this whole mess. That itself is a sad testament.
October 30th, 2022 at 5:58 am
i’m kinda glad there’s no game today…
i can’t take another zombified loss…
us fanboys deserve a mini-buy as much as anyone
October 30th, 2022 at 6:05 am
Joe … ‘Like when a team is losing, it isn’t because of just one guy.’
Truer words were never spoken Joe. I was so proud; I thought you finally got it. Well, until you ended with a flourish with Phillips quote … ‘That’s not the Super Bowl defense’.
I love the strategy; let’s crucify the defense to divert attention away from the fact that our offense is a disaster. You & others spend so much time propping up Brady (is, ‘Tom Brady Hasn’t Lost It’?) that it’s resulted in scapegoating of the highest order.
What we’re experiencing is a TEAM FAILURE. There are no heroes in that failure. In the flying business we would’ve referred to it as a ‘death spiral’. And guess what, it’s not just the pilot who augers in; everyone onboard does too. The others may have been just passengers, but they didn’t save the plane either.
The Bucs’ defense flat got worn out in the 1st half of the Ravens’ game. Our offense started off so good: 8-play, 75-yd drive for a TD eating up over 4 minutes, followed by a 10-play, 50-yd drive for a FG eating up almost 5 minutes. Bucs owned the 1st qtr with those 2 nice drives; they looked like a respectable offense. That 1st drive for a TD featured 5 runs by Fournette & 4 passes by Brady (2 complete, 1 of those for 44 yds to Godwin).
The 2nd drive for a FG featured 2 runs by Fournette (netting 1 yd total) & 7 passes by Brady (5 complete, 1 of those for 23 yds to Evans). Bucs had a 1st down at the Ravens 11-yd-line and ended up kicking a FG … from the 13-yd line. Reflective of our troubles this season … Brady throws short to White for MINUS 2 yds; Brady throws short to Evans incomplete; Brady throws short to Otton incomplete; Succop kicks FG.
That series was followed by FIVE Bucs’ punts in a row over the next 2 qtrs. FIVE. Those 5 drives consisted of a TOTAL of 19 plays (our first 2 drives had 18 plays). Those 5 drives covered a TOTAL of 6 mins & 46 secs. Baltimore had the ball for 6:57 on ONE drive in that span … and the Bucs’ defense held them to a punt.
The final TOP ended up being Ravens 38:23 to the Bucs 21:37 … an advantage to the Ravens of almost 17 MINUTES. Part of it is the defense’s own fault; they couldn’t stop the run & thus couldn’t get off the field. Why don’t folks ask instead “WHY couldn’t our defense stop the Ravens’ running attack in the 2nd half?’ And please, no more of this ‘Fire Bowles & this defense will all of a sudden catch fire & start stopping the run’. There are REASONS why the #23 run defense got run over by the #3 rushing offense.
October 30th, 2022 at 6:17 am
If Wade says it, I believe it. He’s not a BS artist, and he’s given Brady hell as a DC. His Rams and Broncos defenses have played Brady the toughest in his career. I think I’ll take his observation over some posters on this board who want Brady hung at the stake for having the unmitigated gall of throwing some bad passes.
Brady’s been a little off, but he’s far from washed and not this offense biggest problem. I still think his finger and shoulder might still be bothering him. He and Evans are off because Evans doesn’t have a high football IQ. He doesn’t read defenses well and he gets lazy on his routes. This has been a problem for years. He’s left Winston out to dry at times. His errors are just being magnified because Brady is throwing him the ball. It has nothing to do with chemistry with him and Evans. Mike just isn’t that smart.
The NE offenses that he ran required the receiver to really think like a QB. It took a smart receiver who understood the importance of reading leverages. Godwin is ok, but Brady doesn’t have that guy. Gronk had a fantastic football IQ and he knew how to find the weaknesses in a defense. Believe it or not, I would say the guy who hasn’t been here the longest in Julio has the highest football IQ of this receiver core. AB for all his clownish acts is very adept at reading coverages. He and Tom had very little time together and yet they had a good chemistry.
Tom’s eleven day absence from training camp has been filled with disingenuous misinformation. It was an easy narrative to throw out if this team struggled. The facts are that prior to Brady leaving he got work in with Gage, Jones, and Evans. Godwin was still injured. While Brady was on his absence, Evans, Gage, Jones were out with injuries. Evans had his yearly hamstring injury. Perriman, Gage, and Jones were out with hamstring injuries, and Godwin was still recovering from his knee injury. How much time did Brady miss with his receivers? Zero! How valuable would it be for Brady to take snaps with guys who most likely wouldn’t be on the team to start the year. When Brady returned, Evans and Godwin returned. Gage was still injured and Jones was in and out of the lineup. That’s not Tom’s fault. Meanwhile, Trask got more reps in, which wouldn’t have happened if Brady was at camp.
October 30th, 2022 at 7:12 am
Seems like the scripted plays on offense start out with a bang and then the offense fizzles out and Lennies runs seem to be less productive.
October 30th, 2022 at 7:13 am
so no britt for a while and no shaq for the season…
we might need to somehow get a backer in here before the trade deadline…
gonna need some licht magic right about now to bolster some team weak spots
October 30th, 2022 at 7:16 am
Been watching brady since he was a rookie yes he has missed some throws this year but a lot of those throws especially low are on purpose just throw aways to avoid sack or interceptions he used to be able to carry a team think he needs more help now ..
October 30th, 2022 at 7:48 am
Hope and dreams Tom Brady is not got to the playoffs this year they suck. Players have more power than the coaches. The team is messed up due to everyone wanting power Brady a player and arians in another position. Trade Sean Murphy bunting you have gotten calls about him from Minnesota. Reset this year get a head start
October 30th, 2022 at 8:02 am
Joe always finds someone in the woods to say what Joe wants to hear.
October 30th, 2022 at 9:02 am
If the ground was a receiver TB12 would have a passer rating over 200
October 30th, 2022 at 9:58 am
Lol that was good one Big Mac but ok would u rather interceptions as I watch Russell Wilson throw another one that hurts your team ? Brady deserves responsibility also for this teams play but he’s further down the list ! The play calling is predictable no team speed and they have lost to many key guys to injury retirement while the replacements haven’t worked out ! Next year u will have trask as QB and all will be well 👍
October 30th, 2022 at 11:08 am
Stop putting all the blame on the TB12 The entire team is not doing the job. No protection. no defense no running game and no WR that catches
the ball. There is a lot of blame to go around. The entire team should look at themselves and do their job.
October 30th, 2022 at 11:13 am
The brain trust of this team is delusional. They are all drinking the we are good with who we have cool-aid. I seriously doubt they are bringing any linebackers in or tight ends or pass rushers. The fans screamed all pre-season to sign an edge rusher. Joe Tryon is just not good right now as an edge rusher. So we will see if the Bucs are serious about challenging for a title or not. If they can’t trade for an edge rusher then the defense doesn’t stand a chance. Say what you want about the problems on offense but if this defense can’t play much better whatever the offense does won’t make a difference. Back to the days of being out of it by half way through the season.
October 30th, 2022 at 11:31 am
The defense is not the problem. Aside from the KC game, our defense has kept us in every game. They certainly could be better on 3rd down and stopping the run, but the offense IS the problem. Constantly going three and out puts too much pressure on the defense. Until we can sustain drives and score points, the defense will consistently wear down. I am not optimistic we’re going to see a sudden change in our record without a change in talent on the offensive line. Brady needs more time in the pocket. It’s that simple! If the Bucs don’t make a move before the trade deadline, our focus should shift to next year’s draft.
October 30th, 2022 at 11:53 am
@DefenseRules
“ Only God above, the Hugh Hefner on high, can make it for ya! … Do you love Him? Do you feel joy? Say “Joy”! Joy! Can I get an “Ahe-men!”
October 30th, 2022 at 12:45 pm
Wow I agree on the celebrating wow. They celebrate everything hey we ate losing by one 14 let’s celebrate holding the back to just a 9 yard carry on first down. I don’t have an issue with a touchdown celebration but wow they celebrate getting something to drink and especially a timeout. Maybe there should be more emphasis on doing their job well. But as celebrations go I give them a 9.5.
October 30th, 2022 at 4:59 pm
A key reason Brady is not leading the Bucs to wins is on the other side of the ball, Phillips noted. “That’s not the Super Bowl defense,” Phillips said.
———-
That’s a bad take. While I agree Brady hasn’t lost it, I’ve seen no signs of that, it IS the offenses fault they’re not winning.
If you had the Arians-led offense from either of the last two seasons with THIS defense, even with all the injuries, the Bucs would be 7-1 right now, only losing the KC game.
It’s 100% on the offense being the issue this season – but it’s not Brady. It’s the God-awful talentless and clueless Leftwich who has no idea how to call a game, has no feel for the game, and has nothing to offer Brady as a coach.
November 1st, 2022 at 7:29 am
Josh McDaniels should be available really soon given his team’s record and he could take over from Lefty and give this offence some pizzaz. He and Brady were magic in NE.