🤔 Who’s To Blame for Tampa Bay’s Week 1 Loss?

Tampa Bay’s Week 1 loss to New Orleans shows us that the Buccaneers are far from unstoppable. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: No one can agree upon who is to blame for Tampa Bay’s ugly Week 1 loss to the Saints... we take a look at how the New England Patriots are showing they are ready to adapt in the post-Tom Brady era ... and Ezekiel Elliott shows off his incredible “Feed Me” tattoo. As you already know by now, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost on Sunday. And as we are about to find out and experience all season long, whenever Brady and the Bucs lose, the Great TB12 Divide will get wider. It's a funny old thing and it started up years ago around the age-old discussion of how much credit for all those championships with the New England Patriots should be Brady’s alone, and what portion was a result of him playing in a superb system behind a brutishly brilliant offensive line. Since his big summer migration to Tampa, the divide is different now in that it hinges around a blame game. A single defeat on the road to the New Orleans Saints does not spell doom for the six-time Super Bowl champion and his new brigade of Floridian pals, but everyone saw enough to indicate that the Bucs aren’t capable of going on an unstoppable tear through the winter months. [STORY IMAGE 1] They’re going to lose sometimes, perhaps as frequently or more so than they win. This means it will either be Brady’s fault or it won’t, he’ll either be past it or not, and will be cosseted or unfairly maligned, depending upon which side of the divide you happen to pitch your tent. “It took officially two minutes 12 seconds until all of a sudden we were to the point of the season where (people were saying) Tom Brady doesn’t have enough help,” said [FS1’s Nick Wright on First Things First](. “Where the interceptions were not on him. Of course, they are not on him, (people say) they are always on the receiver.” Wright has long argued that Brady is judged by an easier metric than other QBs, simply because of his standing in the game. For others, however, the opposite is the case, that Brady’s lofty career exploits mean that magic is expected to spring from his fingertips every time he touches the ball and that any blips are immediately seized upon. “It is only Week 1,” [responded Wright’s co-host and former NFL wide receiver Brandon Marshall](. “Continuity versus a lot of change. We saw that show up play after play. Tom Brady is going to be fine. The Bucs are going to be fine. The biggest issue, it really is that offensive line.” [STORY IMAGE 2] There is no disputing that it was a messy afternoon for the Tampa Bay offense, and not the kind of outcome Brady was hoping for in his shiny new uniform. The first interception thrown by Brady in his team’s 34-23 defeat was intended for wide receiver Mike Evans, but instead ended up in the hands of Saints’ corner Marshon Lattimore. That result meant that even Bucs head coach Bruce Arians was drawn into the blame game, absolving Evans – who correctly stopped rather than continuing into a deep route - of fault. And therefore, despite otherwise praising his signal-caller for his afternoon’s work, blaming Brady. The second interception was a telegraphed pass that allowed Janoris Jenkins to jump the route and return the pick for a touchdown and a quirky bit of trivia: making Brady the first NFL quarterback since 2013 to throw a pick-six in three straight games. “On paper, the Brady-led Tampa Bay offense looked potent,” [wrote Yahoo Sports national columnist Dan Wetzel](. “In practice, well, it needs practice.” [STORY IMAGE 3] The practice part was supposed to be where the Bucs had an edge, or at least mitigated the disadvantage of having a brand new quarterback. Brady and his group got out there early, putting in work at a high school in the third week of May, while most of the country was totally locked down. Glowing reports of not only his propensity for training field effort but his growing connection with his receivers flowed freely through the press as the campaign opener neared. Ultimately, as was made painfully obvious, there is no substitute for having a settled combination in place, like the Saints and Drew Brees – the one NFL quarterback who is nearly as old as Brady. “It is the same old story for some reason or another, whether it is in New England or Tampa,” Wright added. “When Brady plays terribly, it is the pieces around him as opposed to maybe, just maybe, the oldest QB ever is playing like it. Maybe there is a reason no other QB has ever started a season at age 42 and now into 43.” [STORY IMAGE 4] To be fair to Brady, he wasn’t among those trying to shift blame from himself and took full responsibility. “I just made some bad, terrible turnovers and it’s hard to win turning the ball over like that,” he told reporters. “I obviously have to do a lot better job.” The Bucs are perceived to have a relatively soft schedule, with a home date against the Carolina Panthers coming up next week. Maybe that gives him some time to fix things, maybe there are things that can’t be fixed. Whether Tom Brady is still “Tom Brady” is going to be one of the seminal questions of this NFL season, but if things continue to turn sour, no one will be able to agree on an answer. Because no one can agree upon who's to blame. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Dan Wetzel, Yahoo Sports: “No one should write off the Brady-Bucs Era quite yet. Please be reasonable. There are still a lot of weapons there. It was their first game together. The lack of a preseason didn’t help. New Orleans is the bully of the NFC South for a reason. Besides, this is Brady. He always makes a comeback.” Conor Orr, Sports Illustrated: “One would like to think that Tampa Bay is not nearly as bad as the team appeared on Sunday and will be able to scheme a blend of Brady’s most comfortable throws to elevate the talent around him. But maybe the overreactors are right.” Kaelen Jones, The Ringer: “Tampa has surrounded Brady with a star-studded cast, an offensive upgrade from his situation in New England that was supposed to help the aging star capture whatever remains of his legendary skill. It didn’t appear to consistently make a difference on Sunday. There were several moments when Brady looked like the same declining passer who faded on his way out of New England last year.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Ron Rivera has challenged Washington QB Dwayne Haskins to become a leader this season. [Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer]( explains how Haskins is responding to the challenge. - The Denver Nuggets are proving they are more than “a good story.” [ESPN senior writer Brian Windhorst]( looks at why the Nuggets are handling this pressure better than the Clippers. - Cam Newton wasted no time in reshaping the Patriots' offensive identity. [The Ringer’s Kaelen Jones]( writes that New England is showing they are fully ready to adapt in the post-Tom Brady era. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( It was hard to pick just one great moment to highlight from this past weekend, but when Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott revealed his new “Feed Me” tattoo on Sunday Night Football, there was no way we weren’t going to feature this. Check out this ink on Zeke’s stomach, which also features a spoon next to the text. We already know Elliott loves to sport the crop top during games, which makes the placement of this tattoo so perfect. While we’ve seen some great tattoos across multiple sports, this one could be the best yet. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET) Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to New York to take on Saquon Barkley and the Giants. Oakland Athletics at Seattle Mariners (FS1, 8 p.m. ET) Matt Olson and the Oakland Athletics go up against Kyle Lewis and the Seattle Mariners. WWE Monday Night Raw (USA, 8 p.m. ET) WWE Champion Drew McIntyre will go one-on-one with his friend and training partner, Keith Lee. Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET) Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans battle Drew Lock and the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by FOX Bet Pittsburgh Steelers at New York Giants: Steelers -6 After missing most of the 2019 season, Ben Roethlisberger returns to the field as the Steelers take on the Giants on Monday Night Football. When healthy, this Steelers offense has the potential to be explosive with James Conner at running back and the duo of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson at wide receiver. On the defensive side of the ball, this is a unit that ranked fifth in the NFL last season in total defense, allowing just under 19 points per game. While running back Saquon Barkley is certainly a dynamic playmaker, the Giants are rebuilding with a young quarterback and a first-year head coach. At -6, it’s hard not to like the Steelers in this one. [WHAT THEY SAID] "When you're GOOD at something, you'll tell everyone. When you're GREAT at something, they'll tell you." — Walter Payton [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2020 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. 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