Days before their Week 2 clash with the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady called it “a big week ahead.” The Buccaneers and the Falcons had contrasting fates in their Week 1 assignments, with Tampa Bay beating the Dallas Cowboys, 31-29, while the Falcons were crushed by the Philadelphia Eagles, 32-6. During his Wednesday’s press conference, Falcons head coach Arthur Smith was asked with a barrage of questions about the 44-year-old Brady and how his team plans to slow him down, per Scott Bair of AtlantaFalcons.com.
But the Falcons head coach did not take the bait, simply saying “it’s a hard question to answer." Smith said the question is kind of loaded and he insisted that he’s not going to fall for the trap and give Brady some bulletin board material to fuel him further. "There's a graveyard of guys who have popped off with arrogance about Tom Brady," Smith said, referring to other players who gave Brady bulletin board materials before their clash.
Smith said nobody has done it better than Brady so the Falcons are giving him all the respect in the world. “There's a reason why he has won seven Super Bowls. If you make mistakes, he's going to make you pay,” added Smith. The Falcons head coach further elaborated, saying Brady can immediately expose and pounce on the errors and mistakes of his opponents as he’s the best when it comes to situational football.
“He plays the situations just as good or better than anybody I've seen,” he said.
Ryan winless against Brady in five meetings
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan knows the huge challenge of going up against a Brady-led team as he is winless in five attempts against the Buccaneers quarterback who played 20 seasons with the New England Patriots before signing a two-year deal worth $50 million with Tampa Bay last offseason.
The most painful loss ever inflicted by Brady on Ryan and the Falcons happened in Super Bowl LI, where he led the Patriots’ comeback from a 28-3 deficit en route to a 34-28 overtime win. “He's mentally tough, does a great job of staying in the present and playing at a high level,” Ryan said of Brady, adding the Falcons need to play at the same level with the Buccaneers offense.
Ryan is also wary about the Buccaneers’ outstanding defense. The Buccaneers are 13-point favorite over the Falcons ahead of their Sunday’s clash.
Brady gives compliments to Falcons
During his Thursday’s press conference, Brady talked about their upcoming clash with the Falcons and facing Smith. "Smith is a really talented coach," Brady said the Falcons head coach who he has known for a long period of time, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com. Brady said Smith is a sound coach when it comes to defense, saying the Buccaneers don’t have a lot of easy plays out there.
