Jason Garrett added his name to the list of observers offering takes for why quarterback Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have lost four of five games to fall to 3-4 on the season.
"I think trust is the issue," Garrett explained about Brady and the Tampa Bay offense while serving as an analyst for NBC's "Sunday Night Football" coverage, per the Joe Bucs Fan website. "I just don’t know that he fully trusts everybody around him. Sometimes you gotta throw the guy the ball. Sometimes you gotta count on the guys in front of you to make the block. And once [the Bucs] get that back, even in small increments, I think they can get themselves started."
Garrett made his comments after the Buccaneers suffered a 21-3 defeat at the hands of the Carolina Panthers that featured star wide receiver Mike Evans dropping what should have been an easy touchdown:
— highlight heaven (@lowdarkhell) October 23, 2022
That, of course, was only one play and tells only part of an overall story about the Buccaneers' woes. ESPN stats show Tampa Bay is responsible for the NFL's worst rushing attack that's averaging just 64.4 yards on the ground per contest and 3.0 yards per attempt.
Brady, meanwhile, is ninth among eligible signal-callers with a 92.8 passer rating, 14th with a 53.2 total QBR, and sixth with 1,942 yards through the air on the campaign. However, he's thrown just eight touchdown passes in seven games and failed to guide the Buccaneers into the end zone against a Panthers team that fired head coach Matt Rhule on Oct. 10 and started third-choice quarterback P.J. Walker because of injury setbacks.
There are suggestions from noteworthy members of the NFL community that Brady could retire before the end of the season, in part because of Tampa Bay's struggles. For now, he and the Buccaneers will look to turn things around when they host the 4-3 Baltimore Ravens on Thursday evening.
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