Tom Brady raves on Bucs, rebuts Baker Mayfield in return to Tampa

TAMPA BAY, Fla. — He made his heralded return to Tampa with the NFL world again focused on the sharpness of his delivery, albeit in terms of his voice instead of his velocity.

For the better part of three sweltering hours Sunday, Tom Brady was crisp, even clairvoyant. In only his fourth week as a Fox Sports analyst, the seven-time Super Bowl winner showed progress in his fledgling new career.

He praised — and even predicted — Mayfield’s decision to go to Mike Evans on the game’s first play. He called out the Eagles secondary for playing too far off Tampa Bay’s receivers, then watched it go man-to-man shortly thereafter. He repeatedly hailed Chris Godwin and Lavonte David.

But amid the plaudits was some pushback. At one point in the first quarter, the greatest quarterback in Tampa Bay lore let it fling one more time inside Raymond James Stadium.

His target: Mayfield.

Credit the “NFL on Fox” production crew for bringing up Mayfield’s recent comments suggesting the Bucs locker room had become too stressful with Brady, who led the franchise to its second Super Bowl title and three consecutive playoff berths. It even flashed a graphic with Mayfield’s direct quote:

“They wanted me to come in, by myself, bring the joy back to football for guys who weren’t having as much fun.”

And credit Brady for responding with a candor rarely seen during his initial weeks at his new gig.

“I thought stressful was not having Super Bowl rings,” he said.

“So, there was a mindset of a champion that I took to work every day. This wasn’t daycare; if I wanted to have fun, I was going to go to Disneyland with my kids,” he said.

At that point, play-by-play veteran Kevin Burkhardt pushed his booth partner to elaborate.

“There’s a way to approach this game, and it’s ... with the right mindset and try to push each other outside of our comfort zone, and great teammates do that,” Brady added. “I have someone like (Rob) Gronkowski, I have someone like Evans. There’s high expectations for us; we’ve got to make sure we go out there and deliver.”

Such was the salvo that resonated throughout the NFL like a Raymond James Stadium cannon. While justifying his well-documented demanding nature, Brady’s unabridged rebuttal also revealed a rookie broadcaster growing more comfortable in his role, more likely to occasionally let it fly in lieu of conservatism.

While still frequently stating the obvious and eliciting too many sophomoric exclamations after big plays (like “whoa-oh-oh” and “wow”), Brady’s boundless knowledge of the sport he dominated for more than two decades was reflected in his analysis Sunday.

After Evans had gone mostly invisible the previous two games, Brady said at the broadcast’s outset: “If I’m Baker Mayfield today, I’m throwing it to him on the first play, early and often, because when he gets going, he’s the home-run hitter.”

Evans finished with a game-high 94 yards on eight catches, including an 8-yard reception on the opening play from scrimmage. Brady also correctly indicated that receiver Chris Godwin (six catches, 69 yards) would be a “good mismatch all day,” and that the Eagles’ defensive front — upon which Philadelphia’s entire defense is predicated — would succumb to the 108-degree feel-like temperature on the turf.

And while mildly reticent to be critical during his initial broadcasts, Brady called out Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts late in the game for not being cognizant of the Bucs’ relentless blitzing.

“Just needs better pocket awareness,” Brady said after David’s third-quarter strip sack of Hurts, who was sacked six times. “Huge mistake there by Hurts. ... I’d like to see his urgency improve as he develops.”

Meantime, the development continues for the planet’s most scrutinized football analyst. On Sunday, Brady made an observation of Bucs first-year offensive coordinator Liam Coen’s play-calling that also could be applied to his own new occupation.

“It’s a skill set,” Brady said. “And the more you do it, the better you’re going to be at it.”

____