Tom Brady practiced in front of the media for the first time as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer
The Buccaneers held their first practice open to the media on Tuesday.
Tom Brady has entered his 21st NFL training camp, his first as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, and the media got to see him in action for the first time on Tuesday.
ESPN’s Jenna Laine shared a glimpse of the quarterback’s training camp practice, noting that he did not seem to have missed a beat. According to Laine, Brady demonstrated “strong ball placement and timing,, spending most of the practice at the goal line and working on downfield throws.
His workout group, which was made up of only 23 players due to social distancing, included LeSean McCoy, Mike Evans, Cameron Brate, Justin Watson, O.J. Howard, Ronald Jones, Blaine Gabbert, Ryan Griffin, and none other than former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.
This is what watching training camp in 2020 looks like. Physical distancing at its finest. But you can see Tom Brady connecting deep on that first pass. Second pass timing was a little off. pic.twitter.com/T9bmHfNaIS
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) August 4, 2020
Laine spoke with members of the team, who raved about Brady’s athletic ability. McCoy admitted that he was impressed by Brady’s ability to throw “perfect slants.” He even chatted about Brady’s work ethic with Gronk.
“They looked good. They looked real good,” McCoy said of Brady’s throws. “As he was throwing the ball, I hear a couple of the guys whispering, like, ‘Dang, how many years do you think he’ll keep playing?’ That’s how good he looked, seriously. Me and Gronk talked about it, like, his will to win, his will to go out there and still keep doing it — once you see a guy like that kinda display that attitude, you want to be part of it. It’s like, ‘Man, how much longer can I do it?'”
Brate said he noticed how prepared Brady was coming into training camp — but that doesn’t mean that the quarterback hasn’t had to adjust to a new team and different terminology.
“He was really on top of it in the spring,” Brate said. “It’s all the same game — everyone runs, essentially, the same plays. You just have different verbiage for it. Just making those connections for him in his head because he was in New England for 20 years. He said it was definitely weird calling things [with] different terminology for him, but I think he’s going to be up to speed in no time.”
Tom Brady and Bucs receiver Mike Evans.
Brate said he admired Brady’s “meticulous” approach to the game.
“It could seem like a perfect pass, a great ball — everything seems spot on — but if he doesn’t feel it’s 100 percent crisp, exactly where the ball should be placed, if you weren’t efficient at the top of your route, you’re going to run it again until you really perfect it.,” said Brate. “He definitely is meticulous in the way he goes about his business.”
https://twitter.com/JennaLaineESPN/status/1290673279842361346?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1290673279842361346%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsports.yahoo.com%2Ftom-brady-looked-first-bucs-152610573.html
Laine also observed a developing chemistry and sense of camaraderie forming between Brady and other players on the Bucs. Brady was spotted on the field hugging McCoy, fist-bumping Evans, and encouraging his receivers. McCoy compared Brady to a “general…leading the troops,” and said that he was very vocal about what he wanted on the routes.
While many Bucs have enjoyed learning from Brady, others are still starstruck that they get to play alongside him. Linebacker Chapelle Russell even tweeted his excitement about the time Brady said hello to him.
Tom Brady said what’s up to me today.. yea that’s the tweet 🤣🤣💯
— Chapelle “Deuce” Russell (@DeuceRussell36) July 28, 2020
Meanwhile, rookie offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs said Brady once laughed at their age difference and the 20 years he has on him both in age and experience.
“The first time I met him, we were just coming around a corner and met each other. He said, ‘What’s up, big dog?’ I thought it was kind of crazy because he’s Tom Brady,” Wirfs said. “Then he asked me how old I was, and I told him, ’21,’ and he kind of started laughing. He said something like, ‘You think you have experience? I’ve got double your experience.’ I was like, ‘Yeah.'”
For his 43rd birthday on Monday, Brady tweeted a photo of all of his different hairstyles throughout his career. That includes the shorter “Rookie” haircut from his first season with the Patriots when they won Super Bowl XXXVI, “The Timberlake” hairstyle that mimics the N-Sync singer and actor, the scruffy “Caveman” hair-do and beard from age 30, “the Dynamo” at 35, and the “Derby Special” at age 40 that features the Derby hat he wore during last season’s preseason game against the Panthers.
Brady’s current haircut is coined “The Florida man” — a nod to his new home.
There can only be one. And it’s THIS ONE.
(Photo by my esteemed colleague @MikeReiss) https://t.co/7N5kWm7bLn pic.twitter.com/6ryxqX9LIi
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) August 3, 2020
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