Getty Image / Kevin Sabitus
Things are not off to a good start for Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After their 27-22 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football, they are now 3-5 and are staring at not making the playoffs dead in the face. Of course, news about Brady’s marriage has dominated the news lately, and that’s certainly a distraction. But, there’s more than that going on and this team is not clicking on either side of the ball. It’s a roster with a ton of talent, but they’re seemingly getting worse every week.
First-year head coach Todd Bowles appears to be in over his head in this role. Similar complaints were lodged when he was fired as the head coach of the Jets in 2018. And, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich’s star has significantly dimmed as the offense has struggled, especially in the red zone, all year. But, something else might be going on that could explain the struggles on that side of the ball for the Bucs.
Tom Brady might be tipping what kind of play is being called by his foot position in the shotgun
During Thursday night’s game, NFL writer Paul Atwal tweeted out a shocking revelation about the GOAT.
Every time Brady has his right foot forward in gun, it’s a handoff or screen.
I charted it last year and it was over 80% run iirc.
— Paul Atwal (@AtwalNFL) October 28, 2022
he expanded on it further.
From charting, I found 19 snaps where Brady used a squared shotgun stance this season.
17 runs. Two WR screens.
QBs have reasons for using multiple stances in a game, so it’s not necessarily JUST a tell — but the frequency has been out of whack. https://t.co/yTuxXjYtbm
— Paul Atwal (@AtwalNFL) December 28, 2021
Charted even stance last year, not right forward. There was rt forward last yr, but it was noisier.
Also, it's not that he has his right foot forward and/or even stance on every gun run, but that every right foot forward gun snap is run or screen.https://t.co/4Wan3F1fkc
— Paul Atwal (@AtwalNFL) October 28, 2022
Wow. Could this explain why the Bucs can’t run the ball effectively?
Some #Bucs data of note:
6th in dropback EPA/play
32nd in rush EPA/play20th in neutral first down pass rate (42%)
— Paul Atwal (@AtwalNFL) October 17, 2022
That’s a shocking stat for a team that ran the ball well the last two years. It’s even more shocking that someone as smart about the game of football as Tom Brady is could be the one tipping plays. I have to wonder now what teams have noticed it and are scheming accordingly.
Imagine if this was the entire key to turning the Tampa Bay season around. This writer who covers the team for a Buccaneers-dedicated site would have literally won the team a Super Bowl.