Giants Not Taking Struggling Tom Brady-led Bucs Lightly

Tom Brady and the Bucs have hit a mini skid in their defense of their Super Bowl championship. But don't expect the Giants to be smelling blood in the water.

 

Although Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has illustrated signs of his humanity in back-to-back performances with two interceptions in each game, the living legend that many call "the greatest of all time" is still very much the same dangerous player he always has been.

At age 44, Brady has still managed to produce at a dominant level, ranking first in touchdown passes before this week (27), first in yards per game (318.9, a career-high), third in the league in total passing yards (2,870), and third in passer rating (106.1).

“When you look just on paper in terms of the age and the level that anyone at that age is playing, yeah, that seems kind of crazy,” said Giants head coach Joe Judge, who witnessed Brady's greatness during his tenure with the New England Patriots from 2012-2019.

“You have to understand what he does every day to put himself in that position. We talk to our young players and we use him and a couple of other guys as examples early when we get these guys in the spring and say if you want to have these long careers, you want to play 10-15 years in the league, you’ve got to start now at a young age – how you eat, how you sleep, how you train, how you prepare, what you do off the field, your level of preparation on film to make sure you start your career out the right way to give you an extended career. So what he does on the front end really is giving him this back end.”

Brady’s work ethic and preparation are only one of many influential components contributing to his success. Another important element that Brady possesses- which has only gotten better over the years- is his knowledge and understanding of the game.

“He's a very, very smart quarterback,” said Pro Bowl cornerback James Bradberry. “He has an elite brain, and obviously he uses it well playing against defenses. That's why he's been able to play so long.”

A significant factor of Brady's comprehension comes from his astute vision and ability to pick apart opposing defenses with his reads. Cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, who has faced Brady three times in his career, knows firsthand just how challenging that can be to face.

“I’m going to say yeah,” said Jackson when asked if he thinks Brady sees things that most quarterbacks usually don’t pick up on. 

“Just by speaking off of the things that he’s accomplished, the numbers that he has put up and different things that he’s able to do. I feel like he sees the game at a different level. That’s why he’s considered elite, and one of the greatest quarterbacks to play the game.”

En route to his seventh Super Bowl ring last season, Brady and the Buccaneers played against the Giants in Week 8, winning 25-23 in what was a nail-bitingly close game. Entering halftime with a 14-6 lead over the Buccaneers, the Giants let the game slip away in the second half, allowing Brady and his offense to score 19 points.

“Tom’s going to figure it out,” said Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who is tasked with trying to come up with ways to keep Brady guessing.

“I mean, you look back at the tape to try to have a reference point because, again, most of their offense is the same offense. They’re the only team in the league to come back with all 22 starters. There are some different pieces, so you look back to have a reference point there, but each game is so different and Tom, (Buccaneers Head Coach Bruce Arians), (Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator Byron) Leftwich--they’re all treating it as a different game. But you do look back to see what worked, what didn’t work, maybe incorporate some of that in the game plan or what would they be anticipating.”

Before playing the Giants last year, Brady and the Buccaneers were on a two-game winning streak. This season the Buccaneers are coming off back-to-back losses, with Brady throwing two interceptions in each game. 

Though facing Brady alone is a challenging feat to begin with, playing him following two losses could be a far more challenging endeavor for the Giants to overcome.

“Tom’s going to respond,” said Graham, who, like Judge, was an assistant coach for the Patriots that got to witness firsthand the greatness of Brady.  

It's up to the Giants to figure out how to keep Brady and the Bucs from doing so against them on Monday night.

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