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Brady squashes blowback over Arians’ criticism
Kevin O'Donnell reports
TAMPA, Fla. - Tom Brady is putting an end to the outrage over his first game performance being criticized by Coach Bruce Arians.
“He’s a coach and I’m a player, just trying to win a game," Brady said.
He's moving on with his attention fully on the Panthers. This is just the fourth time in his career that he's lost a season opener.
In the three previous seasons, Brady went on to the Super Bowl, winning MVP twice. He knows how to bounce back.
"Winning the game is a byproduct of doing a lot of things the right way," said Brady. "That goes all the way down to your practice, your preparation, your attitude, your teamwork, your commitment, your discipline, your determination, how tough you are mentally [and] physically. Are you making the right plays on a daily basis? All those things come up [and] we’re going to improve them. We see they’re not right and we’re going to try to improve them.”
As far as the apparent miscommunications that led to his first interception -- it's a work in progress.
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Arians criticized for criticizing Brady
One game into his Buccaneers career, the Tom Brady talk has turned from Super Bowl expectations to demise. Coach Bruce Arians has heard it, too, and said he just has to laugh.
"We’ve got to put ourselves in a good position on every play to figure out exactly where we’re going to be, so we can all play with confidence and anticipation," said Brady. "You can practice and then I think that leads to great execution. You have confidence in one another, and once you have confidence in one another, you can really anticipate and you will make good plays.”
One of the positives that came from game one was Brady's connection with Scotty Miller. Brady told the FOX Sports broadcast team that really likes Miller, and while most people may not know much about Miller now, they will by the end of the season.
"He’s working hard at the right things; he’s focused on the right things," said Brady. "His priorities are in line with what his goals are. He wants to be a good receiver, so he’s really focused on being a good receiver, which means he’s putting the commitment into the game physically. He’s learning more about the game mentally, he asks great questions, he’s on it. I have no doubt he’s going to keep making plays for us."
Brady and the Bucs have a very good chance at a feel-good game on Sunday against a Panthers team that doesn't come close to stacking up to the Saints.