Tom Brady's shaky Bucs debut left his coach perplexed

If you, somehow, need proof that Tom Brady's time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be markedly different from his two-decade stint with the New England Patriots and Bill Belichik, his new coach's post-game approach should do the trick.

Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians is known for being candid, unlike the taciturn Belichik, and he stayed true to that Monday when discussing Brady's Bucs debut. The future Hall of Fame quarterback had a bit of a shaky performance Sunday, and Tampa Bay lost to their division rival, the New Orleans Saints, 34-23. Brady certainly wasn't awful, tossing for 239 yards and two touchdowns and adding a patented sneak for another score. But he did throw two interceptions, including a pick-six, and was uncharacteristically sloppy.

Some people will chalk it up to the fact that Brady is still getting used to a new team and a new division, but Arians said he looked great in practice and the Saints "didn't do things that we didn't get ready for," gently suggesting that Brady's miscues were his own doing.

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Perhaps the 43-year-old Brady really is slowing down, and his post-Patriot career won't live up to the excitement it generated this offseason. But sports often breed overreactions. As ESPN's Mina Kimes saw it, Brady's performance was in line with the previous season, when the consensus was that he had regressed slightly, but was still capable of leading a team into the postseason. Tim O'Donnell