Is Brady’s mojo good for two more Super Bowls?
TAMPA, Florida – You need not drive here for any significant amount of time before your eyes are slapped with a giant-sized reminder that you’re in Titletown. Building-side banners celebrating the success of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Tampa Bay Bucs are nearly as common as billboards for Morgan and Morgan, Hooters or Publix. Pity the poor Rays. All they managed was an American League pennant.
They win a lot around here these days.
And they’re not afraid to show it. One might say: “Act like you’ve been there before.”
But they haven’t.
Tampa Bay, which is literally a body of water, has never enjoyed such a flood of success. It’s high tide. The surrounding region has celebrated winning two Stanley Cups, a Super Bowl and an American League pennant in just the 18 months since Tom Brady departed New England and brought his winning mojo to Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Brady has used his new-found freedom in the Sunshine State to build a team in his image. A marked contrast to life under Bill Belichick in New England.
How critical were the Bradydriven acquisitions to the Bucs last season? The three offensive players Brady pushed to bring to Tampa Bay – Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski and Leonard Fournette –scored all four of the Bucs touchdowns in their 31-9 spanking of the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 55. In contrast, none of the players Belichick brought to Foxboro last year scored any touchdowns in the playoffs for New England.
Brady did not do all this on his own. Tampa Bay’s defense was ferocious. It knocked Patrick Mahomes II on his rear end often in the Super Bowl and menaced Washington, New Orleans and Green Bay in the postseason along the way. The same detractors who wanted to acknowledge Belichick over Brady for the Patriots’ success over the first 20 years of this century have found a similar out with the Bucs defense.
“Keep it up,” Brady might say. “More motivation to go 20-0 and win my eighth Super Bowl.”
Or just check his Instagram feed. Earlier in August, Brady shared an image of himself holding up two fingers with the caption “Me Telling Coach How Many More Super Bowls I’d Like To Win.”
Now we know, the magic number is 9.
Oddsmakers peg the Bucs as the second pick to win Super Bowl 56, behind the Chiefs. Brady threw for 4,633 yards, 40 TDs, 12 picks and posted a 102.2 QB rating in 2020 en-route to Seventh Heaven. The Bucs return all 22 starters from last season. They are the first Super Bowl championship team in the free-agency era (which began in 1994) to do so and the first overall since the 1977 Raiders.
The first three months of Brady’s time in Tampa Bay last season played out like an arranged marriage that neither spouse wanted to consummate. Tampa Bay fell to 7-5 at the bye after a 27-24 loss to the Chiefs at Raymond James
Stadium on Nov.
29. The Haters flirted with euphoria. Highfives were everywhere ... at least in Belichick’s office. Brady and Bruce Arians were scheduled to play together in a charity golf outing during the bye week. But the NFL’s daffy Covid-19 protocols prevented them from golfing together. Instead, the QB/GM/Head Coach and Head Coach spent more than an hour together in deep conversation on the phone, trimming the playbook and adjusting the offense to suit Brady’s style and preference. (Yes, Arians is the official head coach. At least on paper.)
The Bucs haven’t lost since. The Bucs won four postseason games, three on the road. In the loss to the Chiefs, Brady and the Bucs outscored Kansas City 17-7 in the second half. They have beaten the once-invincible Chiefs 48-16 combined over the past 6 quarters.
Brady turned 44 on Aug. 3. He taunts Father Time with a combination of otherworld genetics, Alex Guerrero’s sorcery, hydration and, of course, pliability. He also has Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, who are among the top 1-2 receiver tandems in the NFL. And Brown. And Gronk. And a loaded defense. Don’t be surprised if Julian Edelman shows up in Week 10.
If they gave out a “12th Player Award” in Tampa Bay, it would have been bestowed upon linebacker Devin White last year. In just his second season, White stockpiled a stifling 140 tackles, nine sacks, 15 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and four breakups. White is a true play-wrecker. His “everywhere at once style” helps offset some of the age elsewhere on the defensive side of the ball.
Repeating in the NFL is nearly impossible. The last quarterback to repeat as Super Bowl champion was a 27-year-old, sixth-round draft pick out of Michigan who did it while playing for the Patriots 16 years ago. The Bucs face multiple challenges in the NFC this season. Chief among them are the LA Rams, who seek to be the second team to win a Super Bowl in their home stadium on Feb. 13. Injuries are always a danger, especially on defense and with the always-breakable wideouts.
Then there’s complacency.
That obstacle won’t be a problem for Brady.