Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians has been in the NFL for a long time but he admits that he’s still learning on the job. During an interview with Peter King of NBC Sports, Arians said he has learned a lot from 44-year-old Tom Brady, during their time together since the quarterback signed a two-year deal worth $50 million last offseason with the Buccaneers after a 20-year stint with the New England Patriots. “I was reaffirmed, more than learn, that preparation is the key,” said Arians, adding that Brady prepares himself physically and mentally as good as anybody he has ever seen.
Arians added that Brady is such an unbelievable coach to younger players, not just on the field but off the field. “With TB12 and some of the things that he does to teach young players how to do it the right way and he embraces that,” he said. “I never knew that about him. It’s probable the most positive thing I can say about him,” Arians further said, per transcription of the YouTube video of the interview.
Arians says Brady very familiar with the offense now
Last season, Brady admitted that he worked through the first half of the regular season unfamiliar with the Buccaneers’ offense due to lack of training camp and preseason games. But he adjusted just in time to lead the team to eight straight wins and to its first Super Bowl title since 2002 with a 31-9 win over the then-defending champions Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.
Now, Arians said Brady is now very familiar with the team’s offense. “The terminology, it just flows now. He’s seeing pictures in his brain, when he calls a play, he knows the picture in his brain,” said Arians. Last season, Arians said it was just a bunch of words until probably Week 9. “It was just a learning process and us learning him and how to make him comfortable,” said Arians, adding offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich has done an incredible job in guiding Brady.
Arians says dozen jobs still up for grabs
The Buccaneers were scheduled to play the Tennessee Titans in their second preseason game. The starters won’t play in this game, giving the backups a chance to show their wares and to earn their spot on the 53-man roster. Per JoeBucsFan.com, Arians said there are still 10 to 12 jobs that are up for grabs.
“It’ll be big in this game,” Arians said, adding that he will play the starters in their last preseason game against the Houston Texans next week.
Arians lauds new addition Bernard
After they signed all of their 22 starters for this season to chase back-to-back Super Bowl titles, the Buccaneers didn’t make any significant move in free agency, signing just running back Giovani Bernard to a one-year deal. The move seemed to be paying dividends as Arians said that Bernard has been “more than pretty good”, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. The Buccaneers signed Bernard because of his ability to catch passes, thus giving Brady another target off the backfield. Aside from Bernard, the Buccaneers have Ronald Jones, Leonard Fournette and Ke'Shawn Vaughn from last year’s team.
