Trust me: Nobody knows better than NFLbets about modern sports fandom’s mordant over-obsession with throwing the “GOAT” label around. Having said that, Tom Brady has got to be the GOAT disappearing GOAT in sports history.
As the story goes, Brady showed up to Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp a few days later than protocol might otherwise insist, only to depart again on August 11 to attend to personal business or something similar. Since then, not a word – except from folks who NFLbets isn’t sure would really have any idea that he and his wife are absolutely fine, yes, siree.
And all that stuff about collusion with the Miami Dolphins, about getting Bruce Arians fired? Small potatoes for a guy who survived Spygate, Deflategate and openly backing Donald Trump’s campaign for the presidency!
None of the creating-your-own-schedule would be so concerning with any other NFL superduperstar, but this is Touchdown Tom here. This is a guy who not only talked Rob Gronkowski into coming out of retirement but also into attending secret practices while Covid-19 was in full bloom in 2020. This is the only veteran in the NFL not on Hard Knocks who probably actually looks forward to training camp.
As it stands, NFLbets’d say this is Brady’s last season. Whether or not he returns to practice next week, (as some are speculating based on purely nothing in most cases), next month or just in time for a playoff run remains to be seen. But we’re definitely taking the Buccaneers under-11½ wins in the “Over/Under Total Wins” proposition bet.
As for preseason week 2, the line is currently at
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +3 at Tennessee Titans, over/under 40 points
One preseason game is hardly enough sample size to glean any real usable information, but Byron Leftwich as offensive coordinator will bear scrutiny in the short term in any game that Brady doesn’t play. After going 7-9 SU/5-9-2 ATS in 2019, the Buccaneers then went 29-10 SU/22-17 ATS in all games with Brady aboard.
In their first preseason game, the Bucs lost to the Dolphins, 26-24 (O sweet irony!), and 2021 NFL Draft second-rounder Kyle Trask turned in a solid stat line at 25-of-33 passing for 258 yards and one TD against one interception. Trask and the Tampa Bay offense looked good enough to precipitate many a “Quarterback of the Future” proclamation from Buccaneers Country.
So, we’ll take Leftwich’s game-planning seriously as well as Trask’s commitment to winning the Bucs starting QB job until the Golden Boy returns. Against a degenerating defense like the Titans’, you’ve got to take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers +3 at Tennessee.
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