Tom Brady has endeared himself to coaches and teammates since joining the Buccaneers, with those in Tampa Bay often lauding the quarterback’s leadership and work ethic.
That doesn’t mean Brady won’t hold others accountable, though, just like he did for 20 seasons with the New England Patriots.
ESPN’s Jenna Laine described Brady’s time with the Buccaneers thus far in a piece published Thursday on ESPN.com. One interesting anecdote came via Bucs tight end Cameron Brate, who described the first time Brady chewed out Tampa Bay’s offense.
“Probably the first time, he didn’t really like how slow we were running into the huddle during the first scrimmage,” Brate told Laine. “That was kind of a new thing for us. It’s something that, over the years, probably a bad habit that we developed getting on and off the field pretty slow, so he got on us pretty good about that.”
So far, so good.
Not only has it mostly been kumbaya in Central Florida, with the exception of some Week 1 criticism from head coach Bruce Arians. The apparent culture change is leading to success on the field, where the Bucs have won three straight to improve their record to 3-1.
Sometimes, you need to dish out a little positive encouragement. Other times, you just need to get in someone’s kitchen. And Brady obviously is capable of both, with unprecedented results among NFL QBs.
