After a legendary tenure with the New England Patriots that resulted in nine Super Bowl appearances and six championship victories, Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady shocked the NFL world when deciding to leave the only franchise he has ever known.
Brady, instead, wanted to prove he can win without Bill Belichick, and he got a bigger payday as well than he could've gotten in New England. The 42-year-old inked a two-year, $50 million deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After reuniting Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski again, the Bucs' Super Bowl odds have shorten to +1100 and they are now as a top 5 contender.
The Bucs instantly moved into win-now move, and you can't fault them especially with having an experienced and winning coach like Bruce Arians running the show.
The team has the talent, and they believe Brady can take them over the hump instead of their former No. 1 overall pick and young quarterback Jameis Winston.
Winston was thought to fit well in Arians' high-flying offense thanks to his arm and his willingness to take risks, but that came with a cost. While Winston led the league with 5,109 passing yards along with 33 touchdowns, he also had 30 interceptions.
Brady is known to take care of the ball, so he will be throwing much less than 30 interceptions, and probably less than 20 or even 10 picks in a season. It can drastically change how the offense will be ran next season.
However, questions remain with Brady and the Bucs. Is he really the right man, or are the Bucs wasting their time with what could be a one or two-year rental of an aging, washed-up quarterback out of his prime.
Brady did not have the best campaign last year with the Pats. After starting out so strong, they ended on a weak note. The Patriots did not get a first-round bye and were upset in the first round of the playoffs to the Tennessee Titans.
Brady threw a pick to seal the game, and it ended up becoming his final pass as a member of the Patriots. He finished the season with 4,057 yards, more than a thousand less than Jameis, and about 10 touchdowns less than Winston with 24.
Brady did only throw eight interceptions, which is much less than Winston's 30, but he had about the same completion percentage as Jameis, who had a 60.7% to Brady's 60.8%.
There's always been some concern, especially now that he's older, of Brady's deep ball. It's not the most accurate. Brady, especially the past few seasons, has thrown a lot shorter passes and is more about the short passing game.
Drag routes, dump-offs to the running back, and other short pass-play schemes have been a big part of the offenses Brady played in under Belichick and the Patriots. Many have said that Arians' offense is more vertical and high-flying. Would that mesh with Brady's strengths?
What can we expect from Brady? He will be 43 when the season begins. What if Father Time hits him like past legendary QBs? What if he completely falls off a cliff next season? Bruce Arians doesn't think so.
He's not worried about Brady's age or the perception of him not being able to throw the deep ball effectively, as he discussed with ESPN.
"I think the perception is just wrong. I thought his deep ball was outstanding last year. Through their play-action game, they hit a lot of deep balls. And our quarterback -- I thought he put it as good as anybody -- throw it to the guy who's open."Arians also addressed how his offense is ran and how it would work with Brady.
"We do have reads that start deep and come in short, but I've had a couple quarterbacks that just keep looking deep -- they won't throw the checkdown. [Offensive consultant] Tom Moore has the best saying in the world: 'You don't go broke putting money in the bank. Take the damn checkdown.'Arians has a lot of confidence in Brady. He will be able to work with his strengths and weaknesses. He has worked with other QBs such as Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck, and Carson Palmer in his past.
"We don't have to teach Tom that. But I think the freedom of looking downfield on certain routes and in certain situations, when the matchup's perfect -- take it, don't be afraid to take it -- some quarterbacks are afraid to take it. I'm not looking for a 'checkdown Charlie' quarterback."
"He can make every throw. He can do everything we want to do in our offense."There are other reasons for optimism with Brady. He doesn't have to do too much. One thing Brady always complained about was a lack of weapons in his last season with New England.
Tampa Bay has an abundance of weapons at Brady's disposal, such as wide receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Breshad Perriman.
Having an elite receiver like Evans to throw the ball up to can relieve stress. Godwin will help out a ton and is someone who can be seen racking up a lot of receptions this upcoming season. Perriman adds an extra dynamic with his elite speed.
Brady was also very successful with his tight ends in New England, and one of his favorite targets ever is Rob Gronkowski. Gronk is now out of retirement and will be joining Brady in Florida. The two have amazing chemistry and should have no problem making it work with each other.
Back on the Patriots, Brady was also very successful in the double tight end sets, like back in the day with Gronk and Aaron Hernandez. He now has a new version of it with Gronk and OJ Howard.
Having all these weapons on offense, Brady should be able to produce a Pro Bowl campaign. The Bucs even improved the offensive line and have made adjustments to their defense. They are ready to make noise next season.
Other things that could stand in their way, however, are other NFC opponents. Brady will likely have a harder path to the Super Bowl in Tampa than he did with the Patriots flying through the AFC. With the Pats, they always won the AFC East and got a first-round bye.
It is tougher this year. The NFC is tougher. His division isn't even guaranteed to win, as he'll have to face Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints twice. The Atlanta Falcons, as long as they still have Matt Ryan and Julio Jones, won't be easy either as a division rival.
In addition, the NFL is moving to a new playoff format with it being expanded to seven teams. So the only way Brady gets his coveted first-round bye is if he leads the Bucs to the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
It will be tough to do with the Saints right there and other NFC powerhouses like the San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, and more competing for the same spot.
All of this plays a role in Brady's quest for a 7th ring and the Bucs' 2020 Super Bowl championship odds. Brady has totally changed the dynamic of what people think for the Bucs, and he has almost certainly affected their bettings odds to win a championship.
According to a USA TODAY report from May 12, the Bucs were 50-to-1 odds to win the Super Bowl after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the 49ers. This was while Winston was still the quarterback.
The odds then improved to 20-to-1 and 15-to-1 during the rumors of Brady's NFL Free Agency decision and him possibly going to the Bucs. When he signed with the team on March 20, they were 10-to-1 favorites. They are now a top 5 contender.
Will the hype get to the Bucs? It may not be new to Brady or Gronk of dealing with the pressure of having Super Bowl aspirations, but how will players with much less experience deal with it? Can they handle it?
It should be interesting to see how it gets handled. Tampa Bay is a brand new team with a brand new look. So many players having things to prove.
Brady wants to show he can win without Belichick, taking another franchise to a championship, and prove he's really the ultimate GOAT. Gronk wants to show he's still the best tight end in the game over the likes of George Kittle and Travis Kelce. He could be the GOAT TE.
Arians wants to be known as a Super Bowl winning head coach. He's taken the Colts to the playoffs with Andrew Luck. He came a game away from the Super Bowl with the Arizona Cardinals and having Carson Palmer as his quarterback.
Now he has the winningest QB in NFL history and a stacked offense to go along with it. He has a defense that can carry the weight and load.
Aspirations and optimism are riding high in Tampa Bay. We'll see if Brady, Gronk, Arians, and the Buccaneers can make their fans enjoy it and deliver the city their first Super Bowl since 2003.
