Buccaneers’ Tom Brady stands by ’embarrassing’ effort comments

Quarterback Tom Brady didn’t back down from calling the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ game-day efforts “embarrassing” earlier this week. 

“What can we control? We can certainly control our attitude, our effort,” Brady said Friday when asked about comments he made during his “Let’s Go!” SiriusXM show and podcast, per the team’s website. “I think everything has been below the line this year – we’re 4-5…I don’t think there’s any reason to be happy about anything we’ve done. Obviously, we’re not playing to our standards – we’re not there from an effort standpoint, execution standpoint, emotional standpoint. We’ve got to figure it out – this is a good place to do it.”

For the podcast released Monday, Brady remarked after Tampa Bay’s come-from-behind win over the Los Angeles Rams that “probably the most embarrassing part of our team” this season has been “our effort level on game-day” that is “something we better fix.” The Joe Bucs Fan website noted that head coach Todd Bowles praised the team’s effort against the Rams during his midweek Buccaneers Radio Network show, but offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich later took Brady’s side.

Also on Friday, Brady was asked about dealing with “different emotions this season” presumably related to frustrations over the team’s play and his divorce from Gisele Bündchen after 13 years of marriage that they confirmed on Oct. 28. 

“You just do the best you can do,” the 45-year-old explained. “You do the best you can do every day. That’s what I’ve been trying to do — be the best I can be for my family, for my teammates. We all have our challenges — life is challenging for everybody. We just do our best.”

For at least the third time this fall, Brady also insisted he has “zero” regrets about ending his short-lived winter retirement to play in at least one more season. 

“I returned because I felt like I wanted to compete and I spoke to the team about it and they were excited to have me back,” he said. ” I don’t really regret those types of things — I think when I commit to it, I mean it and I do my best and try to give everything I can to this particular opportunity. I think the frustrating part is we just haven’t played to the way we’re capable of playing — that’s for a number of different reasons.” 

Brady and the Buccaneers face the 6-3 Seattle Seahawks in Munich, Germany, this Sunday.