"There's no hiding it" - Tom Brady warns teammates that they will be called out if they are found slacking
Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers find themselves in first place in the NFC South after five weeks. Their 3-2 record is enough to keep their rivals at arm's length. However, it hasn't been an easy journey to get there.
Brady's work ethic is legendary and with very little time remaining in his career, he's not interested in losing. Other players working hard and doing the right thing is paramount to his ambition of winning another Super Bowl.
He discussed this on the Let's Go! podcast with Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray:
"So, you know, it ebbs and flows over the course of the season. And some guys can gain a lot of confidence. And you can, you know, I believe you really only get confidence from practicing what you're supposed to be doing at a high level and execute at a high level in order to say God, I can do this."
The legendary quarterback went on to say that his teammates must be at their best:
"And [say] I can do this repeatedly. And win play after play after play doing the right thing, and making the right decisions. And then ultimately, when you know, I've got to make the right throw or make the right read and the lines got to make the right blocks and receivers got to run the right routes and make the catches you know all those things have to come together at a really high level."
It takes a lot to win at the NFL level, and that's what Brady has done and intends to do until he retires. If his teammates are working hard and doing what they need to to win, then it'll show. If not, then it'll be painfully evident, according to Brady:
"And that's what the good football teams do. And over the course of this season, how much confidence you have and your ability to execute and all of the really sustainable traits of great football teams come through, there's no hiding it, at the end of the day you're going to be able to see exactly."
The Buccaneers will look to continue their winning ways next week over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Are Tom Brady's teammates doing enough to get them to the playoffs?
Right now, FiveThirtyEight has the Buccaneers in good shape to make the playoffs. Due to the overall lackluster play in the NFC South, they have an 85% chance of winning the division.
They have an overall 90% chance to make the playoffs. In terms of winning a Super Bowl and getting a first-round bye, they're not where Brady would like them. Those chances are 8% and 9%, respectively.
Tampa Bay may be on track, but they are lucky to be so. They have been very fortunate thus far. They played well against a Dallas Cowboys side that seemed unable to get going in Week 1 (19-3). In Week 2, they scraped past the New Orleans Saints (20-10), largely due to the ejection of Marshon Lattimore in the fourth quarter.
The Tampa Bay offense didn't really show up in the Week 3 defeat to the Green Bay Packers (14-12). Week 4 saw the Kansas City Chiefs in control of the game and the Buccaneers were unable to change the course of the match (41-31). They limped across the finish line against the the Falcons (21-15) due to a very fortuitous call. They've had some injuries, but they just haven't looked dominant.
With so much on the line on what could be Tom Brady's last ever season, we will see if he can get his team firing on all cylinders. He will have to if he is going to lead the Buccaneers to glory.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit the Let's Go! podcast and H/T Sportskeeda.