Tom Brady‘s personal and professional struggles took center stage in Tampa on Thursday as the Buccaneers quarterback discussed balancing the two aspects of his life.
‘I’ve always tried to do the best I could do here, and then when I leave here I try to do the best I could do,’ Brady said when asked about his life-work balance.
As most of humanity has heard by now, Brady and wife Gisele Bündchen have recently divorced, but that’s hardly the end of his problems.
The 45-year-old has struggled on the field in 2022 as the Bucs sit at 3-5 in the miserable NFC South. Brady ranks just 14th in quarterback rating and 17 signal callers have more touchdown passes than his nine for the season.
‘We just haven’t put four good quarters together,’ Brady said. ‘Yeah, it’s frustrating because in order to win games you have to play well consistently throughout the game. We just haven’t done that. It’s tough getting up here every week figuring out how to not be overly disappointed in what we’re doing, but we’re fighting hard and we’re going to try to make it better.’
Tom Brady ‘s personal and professional struggles took center stage in Tampa on Thursday as the Buccaneers quarterback discussed balancing the two aspects of his life
As most of humanity has heard by now, Brady and wife Gisele Bündchen have recently divorced, but that’s hardly the end of his problems
Ever the optimist, Brady argued that the Bucs could easily have a much better record this season.
‘I think that, eight games, whatever, you could be 7-1 and be one game out,’ he said. ‘You could be the record we’re at, but the reality is there’s a reason why we’re 3-5. You’ve got to fix the reasons why you’re 3-5. It’s one game, but it’s not like we have a huge margin of error when we take the field.
‘We don’t, so we’ve got to make the plays that are winning plays. There’s winning plays and there’s losing plays. There’s winning football, there’s losing football. We just haven’t been on the right side of winning very much this year.
‘I’m sure everyone sitting in this room, everyone sitting at home is trying to wake up every day doing the best they could do for their families and their career, and I’m no different. Just do the best you can do every day. That’s what we certainly try to do.’
Brady also hinted at his ongoing divorce earlier in the week when speaking with Jim Gray on his SiriusXM podcast.
‘I think there’s a lot of professionals in life that go through things that they deal with at work and they deal with at home,’ Brady said. ‘Obviously, the good news is it’s a very amicable situation, and I’m really focused on two things: taking care of my family and certainly my children, and, secondly, doing the best job I can to win football games.
Brady and the Bucs face an old rival in the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
When Brady ended his brief retirement in March, citing ‘unfinished business’ as motivation for continuing his record-breaking football career, losing to the Rams in last season’s playoffs was still fresh in his mind.
Brady and Bundchen confirmed their divorce in Instagram statements on Friday. She said her priority had ‘always been’ the children, but said the pair had ‘grown apart’. In his statement, Brady said the decision was ‘painful and difficult’
The Buccaneers have lost five of six following a 2-0 start. Brady has dropped three straight starts for the first time in two decades, and the seven-time NFL champion has been unable to beat the Rams since moving from New England to Tampa Bay in 2020.
The Rams (3-4) are also below .500, searching for answers to turning around a slower than expected start after ending Tampa Bay’s bid to repeat as Super Bowl champs last January and going on to win the Lombardi Trophy themselves.
‘It’s tough getting up here every week figuring out how to not be overly disappointed in what we’re doing. But we’re fighting hard and we’re going to try to make it better,’ Brady said.
‘There’s a lot of football to play, and we’ve got to play better,’ Brady added. ‘That’s just the reality of the situation we’re in.’
Brady just as well could have been speaking of the challenge the Rams also face moving forward.
The Bucs have gone 3-5 this season as entire team has struggled to perform and win games
Injuries have been a factor. But much like the Bucs, a sputtering offense and inconsistent defense have contributed to the woes.
If there is some good news for Brady, it’s another approaching milestone for the future Hall of Famer.
Brady, the NFL’s career passing leader, enters Sunday needing 164 yards to reach 100,000, including the postseason.
‘For me, it’s a credit to all the guys that I’ve played with, who have blocked for me, have caught passes. I think all those things are a great celebration of all those guys. I can’t do (anything) in this league without guys doing what they’re amazing at, too,’ Brady said.
‘They’re great achievements,’ he added on the milestone ‘But as much as people want to say, ‘Oh, this is what Tom Brady did,’ in my mind, this is what myself and all these other people that have contributed to my life have done as well.’