Bruce Arians says he and Tom Brady will ‘meet in the middle’ with offense
Tom Brady and Bruce Arians are two of the great offensive masterminds in football, and that understandably has Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans excited about what’s to come. But will it be Brady or Arians who has to learn a new system after doing things a certain way for many years?
Perhaps both.
Michael Silver of NFL.com recently asked Arians about how he will incorporate Brady into his offense, and the coach essentially said he will leave that up to Brady. Arians also admitted there will likely be some compromise with terminology and other things.
2) To paraphrase, Arians said he would ask Brady if he wanted to master the Bucs' scheme… or if the QB wanted 20-plus players (some of whom, perhaps, were less gifted when it comes to football intelligence) to figure out the one to which he was accustomed. Fair question…
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) March 18, 2020
3) "We'll probably meet in the middle," Arians concluded. He wasn't stressed about it. Having coached a pair of future Hall of Fame QBs (Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger) with very strong ideas about how things should be run, the coach wasn't worried about bonding with Brady…
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) March 18, 2020
Some skeptics have pointed to the fact that Arians typically uses deep drops and long throws down the field with his offenses, whereas Brady and the New England Patriots thrived with short passes and getting the ball out quickly. Arians is confident that won’t be an issue, and he said he is willing to adapt to Brady’s strengths.
4) When I asked Arians about the notion that some viewed Brady as a poor fit for his offense–because the coach likes using seven-stop drops, deep throws and other routes that don't always develop quickly–he shrugged and said it wouldn't be an issue…
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) March 18, 2020
5) Again, he seemed willing to adapt his approach to Brady's strengths, and to the things with which Brady is most comfortable. He viewed it as a collaboration. And he thought Brady would be excited by Mike Evans, Chris Godwin & the Bucs' other weapons…
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) March 18, 2020
Arians and Brady are obviously aware that they have some differences in offensive philosophy. If they weren’t confident they could successfully mesh their ideas, Brady would not have signed a two-year deal with the Bucs.
The coronavirus outbreak could further complicate things, as it may delay offseason workouts and training camp. That would give Brady and his new teammates less time to work with one another, but the four-time Super Bowl MVP seems to already be trying to account for that.
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