"Not both of them” - Buccaneers HC Bruce Arians oddly backtracks on criticism of Tom Brady
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians placed the blame on his quarterback, Tom Brady, for both of his interceptions following Sunday’s shocking loss to the Washington Football Team. One of those interceptions came from a hit applied to receiver Jaelon Darden and was intercepted by CB William Jackson III.
The next day, Arians made a complete 180 on those comments.
MAKE IT QUICK.
Got to love how ANGRY this man is about losing a game to Washington in November. No clue where he's going to channel this energy when (if?) he retires.
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Bruce Arians on Brady: "Not both of them”
The Super Bowl-winning head coach told journalists on Monday that he did not think the first interception that Brady threw was an interception. Arians stated that it was a fumble.
The second interception of the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback was a pass that sailed over receiver Mike Evans’ head and an interception by cornerback Bobby McClain.
“Someone asked me what the second interception was, not both of them.”
Immediately following the loss versus Washington, that is not how the Arians press conference played out. When Arians was questioned about Brady’s two interceptions then, he said that “it’s the second straight week that Brady’s had multiple interceptions.”
The Buccaneers head coach was then asked “Can you just speak to what was going on maybe with the receivers and his performance?” His response was: “No, it had nothing to do with the receivers, it was him [Brady].”
Bucs coach Bruce Arians on the 2 INTs by Tom Brady Sunday. “That had nothing to do with receivers, it was him,'' he said. One clearly bounced off Jaelon Darden's hands.
The adage "time heals all wounds" rings true in this situation. It appears that Arians was able to take some time after the game and perhaps he had a chance to re-watch the interceptions.
Or maybe he was pressured into falling on the sword the following day by a close friend or loved one in order to keep a happy home with his star quarterback. With the personality of Arians, that seems highly unlikely.
Bruce Arians said he was asked about Brady's second INT. "I didn't consider the first one (to Jaleon Darden) an interception. To me, that's a fumble. In my mind, that wasn't an interception. The other one just sailed over (Mike Evans') head.''
Is Tom Brady on the same page as Bruce Arians?
Given the amount of bitterness that Brady showed during his postgame press conference Sunday, chances are he does not think highly of being called out publicly by a head coach (sounds vaguely familiar, doesn't it?).
Arians blamed Brady for several issues last year in a public setting and Brady accepted the criticisms in stride. Of course, that was before Brady won his seventh Super Bowl ring and a second for the organization.
This year, the three-time NFL MVP may justifiably have less patience for Arians’ public beratings.