TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Many people experienced shipping delays on presents this holiday season, and Tom Brady was no different.
He had planned to give his offensive linemen each an IWC watch for Christmas, as a gesture of appreciation for all their hard work this season. That, however, turned into a pre-NFC Championship game gift, nearly a month later.
“Those guys have worked their tails-off,” Brady said. “There’s a lot of guys that have been in and out of the line-up. We’ve had different guys step-in at different times.”
Even with the shuffling of the guys up front, they have come together to play some of their best football since the bye week. In the 7 games since the bye week, the offensive line has superb giving-up 0.7 sacks per game, as opposed to the 1.3 sacks per game that they were giving-up in the 12 previous games.
“I’m just appreciative of those guys for their commitment,” Brady said. “It’s a great group of guys. Great line coaches.”
That coaching could be the secret weapon to the offensive line’s success too. The Bucs’ Assistant Head Coach/ Run Game Coordinator, Harold Goodwin, or “Goody” as Brady calls him, was a teammate of Brady’s at Michigan. Who better to know how to protect Tom Brady than someone who’s done it before?
