by Nikki Adams
Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are eying a second straight Super Bowl triumph after defying the odds last season as champions. And oddsmakers give them a solid chance to pull off the feat.
Winning back-to-back Super Bowls is no mean feat, but if there’s one player that knows how to do it, it’s Tom Brady. The 40-something veteran signal caller was the last quarterback to accomplish the feat in the league when he led his former team, the New England Patriots, to the double between 2003 and 2004. Not to mention, he’s the most winningest quarterback in the league with seven Super Bowl victories under his belt.
Few gave Tom Brady enough credit last season when he made the shocking move to Tampa Bay in the offseason. His entire career, Brady was unfairly dismissed as a system quarterback. A by-product of Bill Belichick’s precise and dogged coaching methods that provided the foundation for the so-called ‘Patriots’ way’ and that led to the emergence of the Patriots dynasty.
What the pair accomplished together was indeed something to behold. They exacted a domination over the AFC East for almost two decades. They were formidable, unbeatable and set the standard for the league with their excellent play and a fruitful head coach and quarterback relationship that was exemplary. However, truth be told, many would have likely attributed a generous portion of New England’s success to Belichick rather than Brady; well, that is, until last year.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ NFL odds instantly improved when news broke of Brady’s move. His experience and championship credentials underscored those odds for good reason. But nobody, not even Brady, could have scripted his first season with the Buccaneers any better than it actually unfolded as it did, culminating in a Super Bowl triumph at Raymond James Stadium.
On the other side, Belichick’s Patriots whimpered to a 6-10-0 SU record and third place in the AFC East, marking his worst record in two decades. If the Tom Brady vs. Bill Belichick debate hinged merely on last season, then the answer is clear which is the winner, Tom Brady. But it’s never that simplistic, is it?
Bruce Arians spoke about the impact of Brady on the team after the Buccaneers clinched SBLV. Talking about the 2019 Buccaneers, he reminisced what “a very, very talented football team” they were the year previous. ”But we really didn’t know how to win,” he concluded.
In the same statement, Arians called Brady a “winner” who ran the ship for the team and described his leadership as having “permeated through our whole locker room.” And that experience and knowledge was invaluable because “knowing that he’d been there and done this, our guys believed it. It changed our entire football team,” Arians said.
It wasn’t smooth sailing, of course. There were growing pains along the way for both Brady and Co., Brady wasn’t always on his best form, the team had its fair share of struggles and head coach Bruce Arians wasn’t always best pleased with his sides performance. However, it all came together in the end, with a fantastic fairy-tale ending befitting of Brady’s legacy and enhancing what he brings to the game. It was also a just reward for Bruce Arians, who’s waited a long time to lift a Lombardi Trophy and, and a deserved victory for all concerned.
Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl boat parade said it all…..
Arguably, winning a seventh Super Bowl ring with Tampa Bay may be the best achievement of Brady’s decorated career because he did it under the extreme conditions with a global pandemic raging in the background. The unprecedented public health crisis brought about unimaginable challenges, from training camps being abolished, preseason cancelled, team practices curtailed to the virtual realm and other covid-19 mandates providing a slew of other restrictions that affected all aspects of team activity and preparations for the 2020 NFL season.
Brady got unparalleled support from the organisation. The kind that any quarterback would dream of having. What he wanted, he got. They coaxed Rob Gronkowski out of retirement at his behest and were the only team bold enough to take a chance on the mercurial Antonio Brown. Both investments paid dividends because each scored in Super Bowl 55 to lift Tampa Bay to the comprehensive 31-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Tampa Bay is bringing back all 22 starters that played in Super Bowl 55. This move gives them in their eyes and, even, according to odds makers the best chance to pull off the repeat. Tampa Bay is the second-best bet after the Kansas City Chiefs to win SBLVI.