Well, I know that we give this topic an awful lot of traction, but I'm just telling you what the people in the building say.

And the people in the building there in Tampa are adamant that Tom and Bruce get along very well and get along very well to the point where, over the by weekend they had a tee time set up, along with Ronde Barber and Clyde Christensen to play golf together.

The NFL nixed the idea, which again Bruce Arians comment in which kind of ridiculous in the sense that you could be on the practice field for a couple of hours of the player you could be in meetings with a player, but you can't ride in separate golf, golf carts and a golf course together, and so they couldn't get to play golf together as they wanted to and plan to during the bye weekend.

And again, if you didn't like somebody, would you be playing golf with them during your free by week?

I mean, just a logical question I've played a lot of golf of people I can't stand, but that's a whole other topic for a whole other time.

Lewis come to you because the the overriding point is a good one.

We have sat and set.

Spend so much time psychoanalyzing these two and this relationship and everything else as we sit here with three weeks left in the season.

Luis Riddick, How do you assess where the Buccaneers are right now and where they can be when the playoffs start?

Well, I think where they are right now is a team that although Bruce says that they could do whatever the hell they want.

I think that was exactly what he said.

As far as their identity is concerned, I think, yeah, they can try to do whatever they want.

I think that they are.

They're still trying to find their way as we head into late December and early January and we know that what they need to do, we know that they need to be more bounce.

We know that they need to let the offense run through the passing game.

To some degree, we know that they need to let Tom Brady attacked the middle of the field and emphasize the short intermediate passing game.

When they do those things, this offense looks much more efficient when it's bombs away and lots of drop back past five step drops than just throwing the ball down the field.

That's when they get into trouble.

That's when Bruce starts making comments like Tom was getting confused reading coverages.

Tom's not taking care of the football.

That's when the extremes coming.

That's when that's when we start psycho analyzing them on the defensive side.

Look, this is a team that has a young secondary.

That's all I'm gonna say.

You gotta You gotta watch this secondary as they get into the playoffs and they play against the high power teams.

You saw how they melted down against Kansas City.

Todd Bowles has his work cut out for him against the better passing teams.

So I think the really the book is still out.

I think we got to see what this team is gonna be because I don't really know.

You know, Dominic, they've been the most interesting team in the NFL, basically since March, right from the moment Tom Brady decided to go there now we're really getting to the time where the rubber meets the road.

What do you see in them and where will they be a month from now?

Yeah, I mean, I think the inconsistency is a problem.

They will not be in the championship game.

It's not out of the question that they could win a playoff game or two, but I don't see them going to the Super Bowl.

This team is far to inconsistent, and the question that Bruce had received was about the team's identity.

And it seems like when you say we could do whatever we want, suggest that you don't have one thing that you feel like you're gonna hang your hat on.

So I think Bruce Arians recognizes that right now is the time to build up the confidence of his team at their heading into the final stretching in the playoffs.

And that's why he's saying what he's saying.

But I think in an honest moment he doesn't feel as confident as he wanted to.

Um, this preseason, when he brought in Tom Brady, they started bringing in all these star big name players.

I think he would have thought that he would feel a lot better about the playoffs right about now.

But that is the point you were making at our meeting this morning.

Was that that the comments feel like a coach who's getting his team ready for the stretch run, right?

That that maybe we should not pay so much attention to it because they feel like a lot of things we hear a lot of coaches say in the beginning of December.

Absolutely.

I think that one thing I like about Bruce Arians and it seems like he understands when he's talking to the media is not his job.

To give the media the sound bite that they want is his job to accomplish some sort of goal.

I think early in the season his purpose was to bring Tom Brady down to the level of all his players and also kind of humble the team, break him down if you will and right now we're in the build your team up phase.

So I respect the way that Bruce Arians handles the media and I respect what he's just done.

Though I don't agree with him, I think it's the right thing to say and the right thing to do is you're heading into the playoffs.

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