The “Tom Brady Effect” Is An Oversold Talking Point
August 21st, 2023
Influence still felt?
What former Bucs quarterback Tom Brady did for the Bucs may never be paid off, if Team Glazer tried to put a dollar figure on it.
Brady willed this team to a championship, playing at a championship level, practicing at a championship level.
There is no doubt Brady taught the Bucs how to win.
That message and demeanor sure seemed to have lost its luster last year. That’s why Joe is suspicious of the words that Bucs coach Todd Bowles told Albert Breer of SI.com last week when Breer visited the Bucs-Jets scrimmage in New Jersey.
Bowles said, in so many words, don’t count out the Bucs to make a playoff run because of the standard Brady set.
“He was the same guy every day and he practiced every day and showed the young guys that you’re never too big to go through your routine and practice every day and try and get better,” Bowles says about Brady. “Everybody’s talented in their own right. But his work ethic you can never question. He did the same routine every day, and he competed every day. That’s where I think some of our younger guys got something to look at.
“We had guys that did the same thing that were fine, but some of the younger guys got to see how he worked every day. They knew they got to put in the work every day and take care of their bodies. I thought that was the biggest thing.”
Bowles was careful then to add other guys to list—“it wasn’t just him. It was Lavonte. It was Chris. We had a lot of guys that put in that kind of work.” But, just as he said that, he acknowledged that seeing a guy who was, by the time he got to Tampa Bay, a legitimate celebrity around the world, doing it did set the tone that no one was above the standard.
Bowles isn’t exactly wrong and as Joe said, Brady taught the Bucs how to win. But what happened last year. There was the curb-stomping in Santa Clara, Calif. last season. Joe hates to use the word “quit,” but damn if the Bucs didn’t look as if they tuned Brady out and appeared to have thrown in the towel in that game.
The last time Joe saw the Bucs lay down like that San Francisco game was when Mike Smith thought it was a savvy move to have Ryan Smith cover Julio Jones one-on-one in a game at Atlanta.
Brady unloaded on his offensive teammates in that 49ers game. He implored them to get their heads out of their behinds. To play hard, tough football. Instead, a touchdown was called back for a dumbarse penalty when the game was still in doubt. The Bucs then had their arses rolled good and proper that afternoon.
So where was The Brady Effect then?
In the playoffs, the Cowboys alley-beat the Bucs, physically pounded their arses. It was a laugher. Over in the second quarter.
Where was The Brady Effect then? Sure looked like the Bucs already had their U-Hauls backed up and their flights booked to Tulum and the DR.
But, yeah, The Brady Effect.
Sorry, Joe will have to see a lot in the regular season to believe Brady’s voice is in every Bucs’ head if not heart, urging them on, making them play smart football, tough football, physical football, winning football.
August 21st, 2023 at 1:50 pm
We are now in The Bowles Effect.
August 21st, 2023 at 1:57 pm
Agreed Joe, the Brady Effect is dead and his groupies Gronk & AB are long gone too. Like Bowles said, we had plenty of elite talent on the roster that were already practicing and training at a championship level. We just needed a top 10 QB to take this team to the playoffs which Jameis unfortunately was not with his turnovers. Brady fit the bill for a couple years, but now we are back to square 1 looking for that top 10 QB again.
August 21st, 2023 at 1:59 pm
At least on the offensive side of the ball, I see the ” Brady effect ” being replaced by the “Dave Canales” effect. Bring positive energy, have fun, celebrate good plays.
August 21st, 2023 at 1:59 pm
If we have quitters on the team their heads should roll!!! One bad apple can riot others.
August 21st, 2023 at 2:03 pm
Anyone read the Bucs Nation article today about the Bucs QB competition?
WFLA did a poll during the broadcast… 54% said Trask should win the job.
Baker stans crying to the OU boosters over this.
Things are getting interesting…
August 21st, 2023 at 2:05 pm
Joe, was/is there any “Brady Effect” on the Buccaneers front office?
August 21st, 2023 at 2:11 pm
The majority of Bucs fans want Trask to start.
PANIC PANIC PANIC PANIC.
August 21st, 2023 at 2:17 pm
Trying a 55 yard FG early in the 49er game when the outcome was still in doubt was one of the more foolish coaching decisions I have witnessed in a long time and gave the niners the ball at the 45 yard line.
August 21st, 2023 at 2:17 pm
>>> The majority of Bucs fans want Trask to start. <<<
#CollapseForCaleb 🙂
August 21st, 2023 at 2:22 pm
The only people talking about the Brady Effect is JBF. The rest of us are tired of hearing about Brady. If you wanna live in the past, count on the past magically improving your chances this year, you’re wasting your time.
August 21st, 2023 at 2:30 pm
Neither Joe nor Albert Breer was quoting Joe. They were quoting Todd Bowles. Nice try.
August 21st, 2023 at 2:39 pm
It’s the coach, not the player.
August 21st, 2023 at 2:40 pm
to take the ball out of Brady’s hands in the Browns game , or to attempt a 55 yrd field goal in Niners game more than offset any Brady effect —the team saw the bowle’s effect
August 21st, 2023 at 2:50 pm
KC Buc – Seriously, Gronk a Brady “groupie”? The best baller we ever had at the tight end position in Bucs franchise history?
That’s just plain stupid and moronic.
Yes there certainly was a Brady effect. But a team cannot coast on such a thing. The Bucs have to find it in themselves to be the best performers they can.
And oh, by the way, Brady didn’t go 34-0 in his first two regular seasons with the Bucs – he as well as his teammates had off days too. Or are you forgetting the two regular season losses to the Saints in our Super Bowl season? Brady even lost to the stinkin’ Bears, with Mitch Trubiskey under center, for god’s sakes! And we also lost to both the Rams and you know, that same team we kicked the butt off in the Super Bowl, the Chiefs.
If a single game or even several games nullifies the effect of Tom Brady winning us a Super Bowl that year, that’s just plain dumb. JBF has to do a lot better than that.
August 21st, 2023 at 2:55 pm
*That* was inexcusable beyond words. On several levels.
August 21st, 2023 at 2:59 pm
Bowles never even spoke to Brady and more than offset the Brady effect with the Bowles effect. What a loser.
August 21st, 2023 at 3:19 pm
All these stats coming out about how bad the Bucs offense was last year. I have a sneaky suspicion the take away this season is gonna be just how bad leftwich was.
last year Bowles was a defensive coordinator that forgot he was the head coach who decides how the offense should be run
August 21st, 2023 at 3:28 pm
You don’t realize what you have until it’s gone.
August 21st, 2023 at 3:34 pm
Amen!
August 21st, 2023 at 3:36 pm
“The last time Joe saw the Bucs lay down like that San Francisco game was when Mike Smith thought it was a savvy move to have Ryan Smith cover Julio Jones one-on-one in a game at Atlanta.”
And I thought I hated Ryan Smith more than anyone else on this site.
August 21st, 2023 at 3:36 pm
As long as Brady was on the top of his game the Brady Effect was real.
When The Goat was not playing like The Goat, no Brady Effect.
It’s over.
Now we’re dealing with the Bowles Effect.
August 21st, 2023 at 3:39 pm
The issue last year was the Bowles effect. He’s just a loser coach. How does the team not quit when the idiot head coach is taking the ball out of Brady’s hands at the end of a game like that moron did in Cleveland. I wasn’t totally in on the Bowles bashing last year until that play. Sure, I knew he wasn’t good, but I figured the team could live for a year just off the rep of Arians, but the combo of incompetence, Bowles+Leftwich, well, it was too much for even Brady to overcome.
August 21st, 2023 at 3:42 pm
Bring on the regular season please!
Don’t care who’s QB1. I wanna know if we’re going to be competitive this year. We have no clue what kind of product we’re going to see on the field. I was predicting us to be the surprise team of the year before hearing that Ryan Jensen is not going to be playing. He’s not coming back. Now it’s just a matter of how bad are we gonna suck.
August 21st, 2023 at 4:00 pm
The brady effect went out the door when Bowles started playing NOT TO LOSE A GAME INSTEAD TO WIN…you saw brady fight being quenched with interfering coaching calls games where brady was literally stopped ” from doing his thing” ..a coach who played into his injuries znd in turn started playing into his age …an OC who still thought it was the 1990’s.. and Brady who had to be pushed in the 2020 season to take over the play calling NOT WANTING TO GO OVER HIS COACHES because of optics ….yeah the brady effect is not a taught behavior it WAS BRADY AND HIS PRESANCE IT IS HIS ENERGY HE BRINGS …it doesn’t mean you don’t lose it means you will keep fighting …but a coach once said” coaches don’t win games but they sure as hell can lose them”….they won SB 55 because they took the game from the coaches…according to players on different podcast TOM BRADY WAS THE ONE THAT DID THE FILM WORK and the game plan was based off that…that was stopped the next year!!!!!
…
August 21st, 2023 at 4:04 pm
Duane – I’m not questioning Gronk’s HOF talent or contributions – that would be moronic, you missed the point. The point is Gronk never comes to Tampa without Brady, he tagged along to continue playing with his elite QB buddy for a coach that wasn’t Belichick. Gronk represents the Brady Effect too, and he’s long gone.
August 21st, 2023 at 4:19 pm
Bowles’ incompetence evaporated any residual Brady effect. As long as Bowles is HC, Bucs are doomed.
August 21st, 2023 at 4:30 pm
I foresee the Bucs developing IBS as this crappy season unfolds
(Irritable Bowles Syndrome)
August 21st, 2023 at 4:42 pm
The Brady Effect never ends. It’s like an eternal blessing.
*Deep sigh*
August 21st, 2023 at 5:21 pm
That’s the issue, we went to from the Brady effect to ultra conservative Bowles and everyone tuned out
BA carried the wood, Todd carries flypaper
August 21st, 2023 at 5:51 pm
I just want to see a sideline fight between our HC and DC. Bam? Sock’ POW!
August 21st, 2023 at 6:01 pm
Brady has moved on. They love him over in Birmingham City. Brady is doing for them what he did for the Bucs. Brady gives the fans hope. This is Brady’s new passion. Now Brady is gone we shall see what the Bucs do. High School teams in Florida have more buzz than the Bucs. I guess thats the Brady effect
August 21st, 2023 at 7:20 pm
Brady was the greatest thing holding the team back. It doesn’t take a football genius to know that Brady refused to run the plays called in and audibled to smoke screens and prematurely checked down because he was scared to stand in the pocket until quarter number four. BTW, he was the least sacked QB in the league… don’t blame the o-line for Brady’s loss of his sack. Blame Gisele.
August 21st, 2023 at 9:16 pm
OMG u r not bucs fans u sound like a bunch of PMs that time of month knucklheads.so give trask the job when it hits the skids u will blame bowles it’s just u r way u guys r soooo smart u need to be the big guru coach rite that wouldn’t last 1 quarter so shut u r nu knowledge big mouths & watch BAKER do his thing life is to short to act like u so called fans u big mouths r fake fans u r probably really from Cleveland fans
August 21st, 2023 at 9:17 pm
I’ve waited for the right article to say this. The Brady effect has no effect on losers. The championship year was all adrenalin. Because of that last season I threw my new found Tampa team to the curb. They were gutless from top to bottom. They were also the reason Brady retired.
August 21st, 2023 at 10:06 pm
The Brady Effect followed him right out the door. But they got a taste of winning and that sh!t tastes pretty damn good. We still have a solid core of vets who won the Super Bowl and I highly doubt that they won’t try to taste that again. Really it’s up to them, do they keep fighting like h@ll and playing winning ball or do they go back in their shells and become a doormat again
August 21st, 2023 at 10:49 pm
You know Joe, I can’t praise you enough when you make statements based solely on reason and logical thinking.
August 22nd, 2023 at 12:16 am
Warren Sapp may have over-estimated Buc fans’ average IQ.
August 22nd, 2023 at 1:47 am
Oversold talking point. Talking point? That is a cliche created by the media that they themselves perpetuate. The masses can be so easily manipulated these days.
Go Bucs!