Captain Fear
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- Mar 20, 2019
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Tom Brady was able to choose his own destination this offseason, but the offense he runs this season won’t be his alone.
Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen told Bob Kravitz of TheAthletic.com that Brady has been open to learning a new system in Tampa Bay after a career in New England, and seems to fit what they are looking for.
Christensen worked with Peyton Manning in his prime in Indianapolis, and said this transition is different than when Manning went to Denver for a final act and took his playbook with him.
“You’re right, Peyton took his playbook and his way of doing things and when he looked at possible destinations in free agency, one of his priorities was to find a place where he could keep things the same,” Christensen said. “I’m sure there were some little changes, but for the most part, it was the vernacular he was used to. I think what we’ll see here [in Tampa] is Bruce’s offense with a Brady influence. Bruce wants to keep the offense the same. We did some good things last year.
“Tom has been terrific as far as saying, ‘Just tell me what you want to do.’ And honestly, there’s a lot of carryover from all these offenses; it’s just what you call certain things. We’re looking forward to seeing how he can influence the offense. He’ll make it better. That’s what the great ones do. He’ll have some great ideas so we’re anxious to get his take on things.”
Of course, Arians’ offense is significantly different than what Brady’s been running, and there will be more demands on the six-time champion to move the ball downfield more than he did a year ago. Christensen has seen nothing to suggest that’s an issue.
“I looked at every pass he threw for the last four years,” he said of Brady. “It was interesting because you had the possibility of [Drew] Brees, [Philip] Rivers, [Andy] Dalton, all those guys had a chance of becoming available, so we looked at all of them. And I’m telling you, anybody who says he’s lost arm strength, all I know is I must have missed something. Remember, they didn’t have those kinds of receivers [in New England] who could get deep. It wasn’t about anything that he couldn’t do.
“I thought he played last year at a high, high, high level, still light’s out. He comes here, we’ve got the two outside receivers [Chris Godwin and Mike Evans], you think back to what Peyton had in Denver and he goes out there and sets the NFL record for touchdown passes and reaches two Super Bowls, wins one. I think that’s very attractive to Tom. Peyton had fun at his second stop. He was able to turn that place around. I think Tom’s excited about what he can do with those two cats [Godwin and Evans].”
He may also enjoy the Arians lifestyle after years of rigidity, but the upgrade in skill position talent around him is clear. We’ll see at some point in the fall (or more tellingly the winter) how good of a fit Brady actually is.