“I Thought Stressful Was Not Having Super Bowl Rings”– Tom Brady Responds To Baker Mayfield During FOX’s Bucs Broadcast

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had never won a Super Bowl before Tom Brady's arrival, and in his first year there, despite all the adjustments he had to make on his first new NFL team including a worldwide pandemic, he delivered a Lombardi Trophy. I think Bucs fans and players probably didn't mind a little edginess from the GOAT to get everyone in line. Nevertheless, Baker Mayfield spoke out this week about how tense things were when TB12 was in the building. "The building was a little bit different with Tom in there. Obviously, playing-wise, Tom is different. He had everybody dialed in, high-strung environment, so I think everybody was pretty stressed out." Now in his new gig as a FOX broadcaster, Brady was on the call for the Bucs' game on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. He made zero apologies for how he carried himself. https://twitter.com/NFLSTROUD/status/1840443697084915735 https://twitter.com/SavageSports_/status/1840446191961592286 Look at Mike Evans and all the other Bucs stars greeting Brady with open arms before kickoff: https://twitter.com/Buccaneers/status/1840419522085290303 None of this takes anything away from what Baker has done and how he's revived his career in Tampa. It's one of the best stories going in the NFL. They're absolutely nuking the Eagles today and I can't emphasize enough just how happy that makes me. But Baker commenting on Brady in the first place felt a little unnecessary. There's still a little bit of that brash, outspoken nature in Baker's mental makeup. If you ask me, there were multiple factors in the Bucs organization to make me believe Brady was 100% justified in going off or doing whatever it took to win from a leadership standpoint. First of all, the Bucs had a trash running attack for the vast majority of Brady's tenure. He knew there was zero margin for error in the passing game. Secondly, Bruce Arians ran one of the loosest, player-friendly environments in the league. He was famous for knocking off early to enjoy some cocktails. No, seriously. You wouldn't catch Brady dead with a Mich Ultra in his hand during football season. And again, the Bucs had one of the worst legacies in all of major North American professional sports. They tolerated Jameis Winston as their franchise QB. He threw 30 freaking interceptions in his last year as a starter before Tampa Bay finally came to its senses and got Brady in free agency. In a way, any less high-strung environment the Bucs enjoy today is largely thanks to Brady's impact. He set a new, championship standard in Tampa, so without him there, anything feels less intense by comparison. Because nobody was as competitive or demanding of perfection as Brady. That's why he won seven Super Bowls. Nice to see Brady getting a little fired up in the booth! You tell 'em, Tom!