Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians was highly critical of quarterback Tom Brady after the team’s stumble out of the gate in Week 1, but Rob Ryan, the brother of former Jets and Bills head coach Rex Ryan, thinks Arians needs to think twice before pointing the finger at the GOAT.
“You wanna blame somebody,” the out-of-work coach said on Sky Sports’ Inside the Huddle, via Pro Football Talk, “blame yourself because your team was outcoached.
“[Public criticism was] the wrong thing to do to Tom Brady. How about you rip yourself?”
Ryan, 57, has a long tenure as an assistant coach in the NFL. He overlapped with Brady in New England as the Patriots’ linebackers coach from 2000 to 2003. He also served as the defensive coordinator for the Raiders, Browns, Cowboys, Saints, Bills and was most recently the inside linebackers coach for the Washington Football Team.
Brady, 43, joined the Buccaneers this offseason during NFL free agency after a two-decade run with the Patriots. He completed a lackluster 23 of 36 pass attempts for 239 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in his debut in New Orleans.
“I’ve lost plenty of games in my career,” the 14-time Pro Bowler said after the game. “I know I don’t like it. But it happens. We just gotta do a better job.”
One of those interceptions was reeled in by former Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins and returned for a touchdown.
“That’s not his throw,” Ryan said of the play. “He doesn’t make those throws.”
As the six-time Super Bowl champion adjusts to his new offensive system, Ryan says Arians must “meet Brady halfway.”
The Buccaneers will face the Carolina Panthers in Tampa on Sunday at 1 p.m. EST.