Stephen A. Smith believes Bruce Arians handed Tom Brady a wakeup call
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has come under criticism from ESPN's Stephen A. Smith. Smith said on First Take on Wednesday that he believes that former Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians was right to be critical of Brady.
Arians said that the veteran quarterback was playing poorly at the start of the season, which caused the Bucs issues. Smith said it was seen as a wakeup call for the quarterback and apparently he and the Buccaneers are better off for it.
Smith said:
"We heard more criticism from Bruce Arians, when he was the head coach talking about Brady, than we ever heard from Bill Belichick talking about Brady in 20 years."
.@stephenasmith says that Aaron Rodgers could have a more compelling turnaround this season than Tom Brady.
Thoughts? 🤔 https://t.co/3XoBea4ZxT
Smith continued by saying that it was unusual to hear a coach call the quarterback out after all of these years in the NFL. He then went on to say that when Arians, who is now an assistant to general manager Jason Leicht, said last weekend was the first time he saw the quarterback smile this season.
Smith said:
"So we get to this ship. This is Tom Brady we're talking about, right? Tom Brady's got the personal issues. Tom is clearly distracted. They just sat up there and talked about how seeing Tom Brady smile. That's the first time they had seen that from him all season long."
Tom Brady calls himself the "EPCOT" of NFL quarterbacks
On this week's episode of the Let's Go podcast, Tom Brady spoke about his experience playing in Munich, Germany last week. The Bucs defeated the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday for a two-game winning streak. He has now become the only NFL player to win games in four different countries.
The quarterback joked that the international success that he has had makes him the "EPCOT center" of quarterbacks. A reference to Disney World's EPCOT theme park that features countries from around the world.
Brady said:
"I think it's pretty cool. I've been around long enough to see these international games take place. It's like I’m the EPCOT Center of quarterbacks. And it was really fun to be a part of it."
Brady (on his "Let's Go" podcast) on being first QB to win a game in 4 different countries: "It's like I'm the Epcot Center of quarterbacks. ... I'm hoping I can get to go to play in the CFL at some point and see what I can make of myself up there." #Bucs
The quarterback then joked that he is hoping for an opportunity to play in the Canadian Football League in the future. He said that he wants to see what he can do on the field in yet another country.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit First Take, Let's Go, and H/T Sportskeeda