Tom Brady/Tampa Off-season thread

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Tom Brady on Bruce Arians: Great motivator, great feel for the team​

Posted by Michael David Smith on April 7, 2021, 12:11 PM EDT

Super Bowl LV


In Tom Brady‘s 21-year NFL career, he has played 20 seasons for Bill Belichick and one for Bruce Arians. Reflecting on that one, Brady said Arians has been great to play for.

He’s a great motivator — he’s got a great feel for the team — a great pulse for what’s going on in a locker room, great intuition, great evaluation of talent,” Brady said on Good Morning America. “When you’re in one place for 20 years, you think that’s the only way, and I think when you go to a different place you realize, ‘wow — there’s another way that people do things.'”

Late in Brady’s tenure in New England, reports began to surface that he had grown tired of Belichick’s approach. Arians and Brady seemed to see eye to eye last year.

The 43-year-old Brady and the 68-year-old Arians won’t be together for anything close to the 20 seasons Brady and Belichick had together. But they’re heading into Year 2 both feeling good about where the Buccaneers are and where they’re going.

 
Julian Edelman didn't marry one of the world's most famous models and he wasn't accused of and ultimately.(incorrectly) found guilty in a cheating scandal and he was a 3 SB winner vs. a 6 SB winner. No comparison, in my opinion. I travel alot in the US and I can say without reservation that Belichick was the #1 hated Patriot followed closely by Brady. Tompa Boy became a human being to those outside of NE the moment he left NE.
 
LOL, you're unnecessarily complicating this. He was hated because he was a NE Patriot. Nothing more, nothing less...

If you can’t tell by now, Middie (I50) cannot let ANY hint of a slight be directed at his One and Only God.



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Yes, you're correct about the fact that I originally said Brady was hated only because he was a Patriot and that was a case of oversimplification on my part. I believe that was far and away the main reason and the other factors I cited just added to the degree of hatred he engendered in others. But, your theory about him being freed from Belichick's indentured servitude and suddenly blossoming into a beautiful flower his previous haters could suddenly adore is wishful thinking and nonsense. His change of uniform was by far the principal reason many outside of NE changed their opinion of him.
 
Sure. But he is from Buffalo. I don't blame him though for wanting to get a place in Manhattan. Although I would not want to live in NY city right now.
 
Licht has been killing it in the draft since 2015. Landed him third on this list ranking NFL GMs.

Bucs’ Licht Finishes Well In Ranking Of NFL’s GMs​

A year or two ago, you probably wouldn’t have found Bucs’ GM Jason Licht high in any rankings of the NFL’s 32 GMs. But as Licht’s draft picks have blossomed and his moves in free agency have proven to be extremely shrewd, respect around the league has grown by leaps and bounds. This past week, NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal slotted Licht third in a ranking of the league’s GMs. The rankings were based solely on the drafting success (or lack thereof) of each GM since 2015.

The only GMs to finish ahead of Licht were Colts’ GM Chris Ballard and the Steelers’ GM Kevin Colbert, widely considered two of the best GMs in the game. Still, with a list based solely on drafting since 2015, it is tough to understand how those two could be ahead of Licht.

Ballard had that amazing 2018 draft with OG Quenton Nelson, LB Darius Leonard and OT Braden Smith. But the Colts’ shot caller had four second round picks that year, with two of them flopping so far (EDGE Kemoko Turay and EDGE Tyquan Lewis), and all three of his second round picks in 2019 have been disappointing (CB Rock-Ya Sin, EDGE Ben Banogu, WR Parris Campbell). Ballard’s 2020 draft class showed promise this past season (WR Michael Pittman, RB Jonathan Taylor, S Julian Blackmon, but if you’re comparing four years of drafting to Licht’s six, they better be four incredible years. Really only one of Ballard’s drafts matches that criteria.

As for Colbert, there is no doubt he’s done a stellar job of keeping Pittsburgh relevant despite aging stars, but he can’t hold a candle to what Licht has done in the draft. General mangers are more responsible for franchises’ first round picks than any other selection, and Colbert’s had some underwhelming ones to be sure. EDGE Bud Dupree became a quality starter, but he took years to develop into a competent player after being a first round pick. In 2016 CB Artie Burns was a complete bust despite repeated efforts to make him a regular starter. T.J. Watt in 2017 headlined a terrific class, but since then Terrell Edmunds and Devin Bush have yet to make good on their draft pedigree.

When you stack that group up against TE O.J. Howard, DT Vita Vea, LB Devin White and OT Tristan Wirfs, I’m not sure how you can rank Colbert over Licht based on the past six drafts. Although Colbert has added impressive talent like WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, CB Cam Sutton, RB James Conner, DT Javon Hargrave, WR Diontae Johnson, WR Chase Claypool and EDGE Alex Highsmith in the second and third rounds, Licht has matched and passed him with OT Donovan Smith, OG Ali Marpet, WR Chris Godwin, CB Carlton Davis, OG Alex Cappa, CB Sean Murphy-Bunting, CB Jamel Dean, S Mike Edwards and S Antoine Winfield Jr.

Consider that Licht lost two very promising day two picks to freak career-ending injuries in S Justin Evans and LB Kendall Beckwith, and his hit rate is even more impressive. As much as I appreciate Ballard and Colbert, there is little question in my mind that Licht is the best drafting GM in the NFL over the past six years. His top three ranking here is admirable, but the Bucs exposure on the national stage is still new enough that nobody wants to put Licht on top just yet. That will change soon.

Even if I may squabble with Rosenthal’s rankings, he does tremendous work and is a great follow on Twitter. You can read Rosenthal’s complete ranking right here: General Manager Power Rankings: NFL draft edition!

FYI: Bill came in at #18
 
Who will TB be targeting in draft
Right now the draft is a luxury for them given they resigned all 22 of their starters from last year and have a ton of players still on their rookie contracts. I would think they would look at DL with their first round pick because Suh is on a one year deal and may retire after and JPP is going to count 12.8 against the cap next year. All their other picks will be purely for depth. I would also think they would look at a QB in rounds 2 or 3. Would be good to get a young guy in now that can learn from Brady.
 
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Right now the draft is a luxury for them given they resigned all 22 of their starters from last year and have a ton of players still on their rookie contracts. I would think they would look at DL with their first round pick because Suh is on a one year deal and may retire after and JPP is going to count 12.8 against the cap next year. All their other picks will be purely for depth. I would also think they would look at a QB in rounds 2 or 3. Would be good to get a young guy in now that can learn from Brady.

I don't see the need for a QB for the Bucs. Brady hasn't even turned 50 yet, still a lot of tread on those tires. :jester:
 
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