Bruce Arians: Buccaneers' Tom Brady 'was playing bad'

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians has offered a brutally honest take on quarterback Tom Brady while defending offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich.

“I don’t think it was fair to Byron,” Arians said about criticisms of Leftwich made during Tampa Bay's offensive struggles this fall, per Ira Kaufman of Joe Bucs Fan. "Nobody is going to say that Brady was playing bad, but he was playing bad. We also had growing pains on a young offensive front and we weren’t running well. There comes a time as a play-caller when you’re losing yards running the ball and you say, 'Forget this, I’m putting the ball in Tom’s hands.'" 

Arians, who coached Brady during the 2020 and 2021 seasons before he stepped down to become a senior advisor with the organization this past March, is hardly the first person to bash the 45-year-old's on-the-field performances throughout the campaign. It was pointed out in October that some Next Gen Stats indicated Brady routinely missed open receivers over the season's first seven games, and former NFL quarterback Chris Simms said just last week the future Hall of Famer is "not very good anymore."  

Of course, those takes failed to mention the Buccaneers are now second to last in the entire NFL with an average of 70.7 rushing yards per game, according to ESPN stats. That figure rose dramatically after Tampa Bay accumulated 161 yards on the ground in this past Sunday's 21-16 win over the Seattle Seahawks.

ESPN numbers show Brady began Tuesday 13th among eligible quarterbacks with a 91.9 passer rating, 14th with a 54.5 total QBR, and second with 2,805 passing yards this season. In 10 games, he's thrown 12 touchdowns and two interceptions. 

Interestingly, Arians noted during the discussion that "Tom smiled at practice last week for the first time this season." For what it's worth, Brady recently poked fun at himself over his facial expressions during games played amid his divorce from Gisele Bündchen that the two confirmed on Oct. 28.  

"He’s going to be fine," Arians added about the seven-time Super Bowl champion. 

Brady and the 5-5 Buccaneers are enjoying their bye week and will next play at the Cleveland Browns (3-6) on Nov. 27.