Buccaneers’ Brady Loses Cool After Panthers Loss
There is one thing that a great many bad losers have in common, especially when it comes to the most legendary of sports stars, and that’s the fact that they so rarely end up on the losing side.
45-year-old Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Tom Brady has hit so many highs during his glittering NFL career that one wonders if the seven-time Super Bowl winner even understands the concept of losing. One thing is for sure; it’s an act he doesn’t want to see happen very often again this season.
Now that the Bucs have slipped to a 3-5 start to the regular season, you can expect the betting lines to reflect a slump in odds for Tampa; indeed, if you glance at www.sidelines.io/nfl/odds, you’ll see Brady and his team-mates have slipped down to (+2000) with most sportsbooks.
Brady returned to the Buccaneers after a brief retirement and did so off the back of a very successful season, from an individual point of view, but this time around, he isn’t hitting his usual heights, and as a result, Todd Bowles is struggling to get the most out of his team.
He’s managed nine touchdown passes from the first eight games of the season and is just over 2000 yards thus far; both metrics would be deemed acceptable to most but are some way below what Brady would expect of himself.
The former New England Patriots man didn’t hold back when discussing the way things are going following their most recent defeat, a poor 3-21 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
“No one feels good about where we’re at,”
“No one feels good about how we played or what we’re doing. We’re all in it together, and we have to pull ourselves out of it.”
Things could and should have turned out differently. Brady put in a touchdown pass early in the game, only for Mike Evans to drop it, and it set the tone for the entire match.
Brady looked to draw focus away from the error;
“It’s one play,”
“There’s a lot of other plays, too. It’s never one play. It’s a lot of plays.”
On a personal level, this is the first time in 20 years that Brady has a record of under .500 after seven games. This is a testament to his consistent form over the span of more than two decades, and he’ll need his team-mates to muster up some mental strength, a point hammered home by Bowles;
“We’re not coaching well. All around,”
“We’re not scoring enough on offense. We’re not stopping them enough on defense. So, as a result — we have to wear this on our sleeve. We’ve got to be grown men.”
“We’re going to see what we’re made of — how many people can handle adversity? This is as dark as it’s going to be right now.” Bowles added.
Tampa’s next challenge? Well, they host the AFC North leaders Baltimore Ravens at the Raymond James Stadium and will hope to get back to winning ways.
