James Jones believes Ben Roethlisberger was totally off the mark with his Week 6 assessment of Tom Brady.
Roethlisberger tried to read into Brady's body language as the former Pittsburgh quarterback took in the Steelers' win over the Buccaneers from Acrisure Stadium. As Tampa Bay's offense struggled and the legendary signal-caller took out frustration on his offensive line, Roethlisberger thought Brady "looked like he didn't want to be out there."
Jones, a nine-year NFL veteran who now works as an analyst, believes Brady's actions in Pittsburgh said the exact opposite about the 45-year-old. The former Green Bay Packers wide receiver also thought the remarks were ironic coming from Roethlisberger.
"I wish I was sitting there watching the game with Big Ben because I would've said, 'Big Ben, shut up!'" Jones said Wednesday on FS1's "First Things First," as transcribed by MSN. "Because if there's anything we know about Tom Brady, Tom Brady's gonna give you everything he's got. If he didn't care, he wouldn't be yelling at his linemen, dropping all those F-bombs and all of that. And for Big Ben to say that -- you are the king of looking like you don't care out there.
"Every time you get hit -- every time something goes bad -- your body language is the worst out there. I've seen it with my own two eyes on the same field competing against you. For him to say this about Tom Brady knowing that .... it ain't about the passion that Tom Brady plays with. So for Big Ben to say that, that's crazy."
Criticisms of Brady are warranted as the Bucs continue to struggle, but doubting the future Hall of Famer's passion for the game feels foolish. The seven-time champion has been a repeat offender of sideline tantrums throughout his storied career, so we're not sure why Roethlisberger is sounding the alarms after a run-of-the-mill TB12 outburst.
Brady's body language should look better Sunday when the Bucs visit the lowly Carolina Panthers.
