As criticism of the Buccaneers’ offense continues to mount following their 27-24 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday, Tom Brady is rising above the blame game.
The veteran quarterback was asked Monday during his weekly Westwood One spot about how Arians has never been shy about publicly criticizing his players, including himself.
“I’ve got a great relationship with B.A., and we talk every day,” Brady said on his regular “Monday Night Football” pregame segment, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for him and how he runs the team and so forth.”
Arians has been blasted for utilizing an offensive scheme that appears to be ill-suited for Brady, who has 11 interceptions in 12 games. The 43-year-old QB has not thrown more than 11 interceptions since the 2011 season.
“Any time you lose games, a lot of people want to place blame, especially in the media, and they want to pit one player against another player, or a player against a coach and so forth,” Brady said. “That’s not been my style. … And I just think about it from a player’s standpoint. I always think about what I need to do better, and I certainly haven’t played to my level of expectation, and I’ve got to do a better job, and that’s what it comes down to for me.”
While Brady has not publicly replied to Arians, those around him may be trying to get a message of frustration out.
“It’s a great way to deflect blame from Arians,” a source close to the quarterback told CBS Sports of the coach’s frequent criticisms. “Keep everybody asking about the quarterback so they don’t focus on the limitations of the scheme or the lack of adjustments being made.”
Rob Ninkovich, who played with Brady in New England, said last week that Arians is the root of the issue for Brady and the Bucs. When asked about it after Sunday’s loss, Brady responded before ending his press conference abruptly.
“It’s just external noise that when you’re losing that’s what you deal with,” he said. “You know I love to playing for the guys that I play with, the coaches, the whole organization has been unbelievable. And I think what, you know, just gotta go out and I certainly do a better job over the last four weeks of the year.”
