Tom Brady’s Buccaneers debut was a bit of a dud on Sunday. Sure, he rushed for a touchdown and threw for two more, but he also had two interceptions, a pick-six, and three sacks, with much of his production coming when the outcome of the game had already been decided.
JR SportBrief, however, isn’t worried – at least not yet.
“You can sound alarm bells on what Tom Brady did [Sunday], and you can say Tom Brady is old, which he is relative to football,” JR said on CBS Sports Radio. “But the fact also is he’s playing with a whole new team. He’s playing with a new offensive line. He’s playing in a new system. We can’t just expect greatness from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers right now this minute in Week 1, especially when we have not even had a preseason game. There’s nothing to go ahead and draw a conclusion from in one game.”
To be fair, some players were already in midseason form in Week 1. Russell Wilson, for example, had as many touchdown passes as incompletions against Atlanta, and DeAndre Hopkins had 14 catches for 151 yards in a win over San Francisco. There were some impressive individual performances, no doubt.
“Folks looked pretty damn sharp,” JR said. “Go ahead and tell me that Russell Wilson and his four touchdowns didn’t look sharp. Tell me that the Cardinals and DeAndre Hopkins and his 14 receptions and his 150-plus yards did not look sharp. We had plenty of players that looked amazing [Sunday], and I will continue to say this: I believe offenses will be ahead of defenses. That’s just what it is, especially if you’re talking about young, fresh, super-athletic players. But to me, it’s no surprise that two of the oldest quarterbacks in the game didn’t look all that damn fresh.”
Indeed, while Brady didn’t look great, neither did Saints quarterback Drew Brees. The 41-year-old finished 18-of-30 for 160 yards and two touchdowns against Tampa Bay.
Both quarterbacks will likely fare better as the season goes on.
“Do I expect more from Tom Brady? Yes,” JR said. “Do I think he’s done? No, not at all. But this is not 2007 Tom Brady. This is not Tom Brady from ten years ago. This is a 2020, 43-year-old Tom Brady playing on a team that he has never been on before. Give the Buccaneers some time. Is Tom Brady old? Yes. Is he done? Absolutely not, I don’t think so. But time will tell. That’s why they play games week-to-week. Let’s have this conversation when he finishes up with the Panthers.”
The Buccaneers (0-1) host Carolina (0-1) this Sunday. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET.