Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 3-3 through the first six weeks of the 2022 season; head coach Todd Bowles on Tom Brady: "He works as hard as anybody"; Brady: "I think we're all playing less than what we're capable of. We've all got to look at ourselves in the mirror and figure out why"
Tuesday 18 October 2022 10:04, UK
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles has defended his management of quarterback Tom Brady, saying the seven-time Super Bowl winner does not receive special treatment.
Brady missed the team's walk-through practice on Saturday, prior to their 20-18 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, as he was allowed to attend New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft's wedding in New York on Friday.
The 45-year-old Brady has also been granted Wednesdays off this season as a 'rest day' and he took an 11-day break during the team's preseason training camp for personal reasons.
The Buccaneers are 3-3 after the first six weeks of the season, Brady's worst start since the 2012 New England Patriots had the same record at this stage. It's only the fourth time in his entire NFL career that he has started .500 or worse through six games (2002, 2005, 2012, 2022).
"He works as hard as anybody," Bowles said. "Special treatment? There have been a few guys that have missed meetings and some practices for some special thing. It just doesn't get publicised because they're not him.
"It just kind of comes with the territory. You don't worry about it too much."
Then asked if Brady is as "locked in" as he has been in the past, Bowles answered, "yes."
The Buccaneers head coach, in his first year leading the team, also added that Brady was "totally healthy", when asked whether injuries to his right shoulder and ring finger sustained over the first six weeks of the season were affecting his accuracy.
Brady led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title in his first season with the team in 2020, but they exited the playoffs in the divisional round last year with a 30-27 loss to the eventual champions, the Los Angeles Rams.
With Brady having then retired and unretired over the offseason, many are expecting this to be his last season - but it has got off to a disappointing start, with the offense held to 21 or fewer points in five of six games so far this season. Tampa scored 21 or fewer points just five times over the prior two seasons combined with Brady at the helm.
Brady, who was seen raging at his offensive line on the sideline during their latest 20-18 loss to the Steelers on Sunday, said after the game: "We didn't earn the win. It's a game of earning it and it's a game of playing well and performing well and we're just not doing a good job of that.
"I don't think we've done it for six weeks. I think we're all playing less than what we're capable of. We've all got to look at ourselves in the mirror and figure out why."
He then took to Instagram on Monday, saying the team were not playing like they're capable of, and that they would "turn it around."
Bowles, meanwhile, has said that if any of his players are still living off their Super Bowl success from two seasons ago, they are "living in a fantasy land."
"We didn't take them lightly," Bowles said of the Steelers defeat. ""You've got to get your hands dirty and go to work like everybody else.
"I think guys that are living off the Super Bowl are living in a fantasy land. Nobody's gonna give us anything. Nobody's gonna feel sorry.
"We've been working hard, but we've got to work harder. The time for talking is over. You've either got to put up or shut up."
Fortunately for Tampa, they are still tied for the division lead in the NFC South despite their stuttering start. The Atlanta Falcons are also 3-3, with New Orleans Saints (2-4) and Carolina Panthers (1-5) trailing behind. The Buccaneers go on the road to Carolina on Sunday.
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