Shaughnessy: Tom Brady has just “gotten pouty”

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-5) have lost three of their last four games, and Tom Brady is not happy about it. The 43-year-old abruptly ended his press conference following a 24-21 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs this past Sunday, apparently not wanting to discuss the “noise” that comes with losing.

Did Brady ever act this way in New England?

“Only at the end,” Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy said on The DA Show. “A little bit of that last year and occasionally leading up to that. By and large, no, he was always gracious and had time. Never said a lot, but that was okay. He was smiling through it and wasn’t in a hurry. But there was more of that last year. He was clearly unhappy with not having receivers and the offense that they had and the direction they were going in, and all the other things with Tom and Bill [Belichick] or Tom and Bob [Robert Kraft] and all the nonsense around here. I think it got harder for him. In general, it had run its course here.”

It’s been an up-and-down season for Brady and the Bucs. They lost their season-opener in New Orleans but then won six of seven. They were 6-2 and looked very much in contention for a playoff bye. After dropping three of four, however, the Bucs have tumbled to sixth in the NFC.

Brady has had some curious moments along the way, too. Like forgetting what down it was in crunch time against Chicago. And not shaking hands with Nick Foles and Jared Goff after losses to the Bears and Rams, respectively. 

“I just think he’s gotten pouty and not accountable,” Shaughnessy said. “He never admitted he forgot how many downs there were. That’s okay. We all do that, make mistakes. But the notion that you don’t have to face up to it or admit it, it’s just weak. You got to do better than that. Same thing with Goff and Foles. Don’t pretend that you didn’t notice that. That stuff’s important to him.”

Lately, Brady’s behavior reminds Shaughnessy of another famous Tom.

“There’s a little bit of the Tom Cruise element with him, that he’s going to be vaulting off the couch next weekend with Oprah,” Shaughnessy said. “I don’t know whether it’s the TB12; it’s just real important to him, that legacy. I wish he had stayed [in New England]. I wish the whole thing were still going here. As boring as it was with them winning the AFC East every year, it was pretty amazing, and it was more challenging to do now, no question. Buffalo has gotten better, Miami’s gotten a little better, and the Patriots have gotten worse. But they would be better with him, [and] in some ways, he would be better with them. He’s going to make the playoffs, and they’re not, so I guess you’ll have to say that’s a victory for him.”