🎯 Brady, Bucs Begin Season With A Target On Their Back

In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs will come into the 2021 NFL campaign with a good amount of swagger, as they should ... we take a look at why the Pac-12 needs to make a statement this weekend ... and we go inside the incredible story of Raiders tight end Darren Waller, who almost threw away his career before it even started

Tom Brady has been in a bubbly mood ever since the night of Feb. 7, and why not?

There was a lot for him to like then and a lot to still like now. There was the postgame speech where he promised to be back for more tilts at Super Bowl glory, then a riotous Tampa Bay parade where the Vince Lombardi Trophy got tossed from one boat to another over open water.

There were some fun bits of media trolling over the summer, with Brady boasting about his newly-upgraded title ring collection and getting America guessing about the identity of who “that (expletive)” was, and somewhere, amid it all, celebrating another birthday to reach the kind of age where some people (like me) are tempted to lie about their number. He’s 44 by the way, and yes, we’re counting.

It’s good to be a Super Bowl champion, even better to have seven of them, and such things tend to lead to enjoyable summers.

But as things inevitably turned more serious with the impending launch of a brand-new National Football League season ahead, there has been one point of detail Brady has been adamant to ram home to his Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates, time and again.

After seven months of fun, Brady wants this Bucs group to listen to him when he says things aren’t the same as a Super Bowl champion trying to win another one as they are for any other team trying to snag a first.

If last year was a happy little freeroll, stuff just got serious and now Tampa Bay is the sole occupier of an exalted status – as the team everyone wants to knock off.

“Tom told us this year is going to be different because everybody is going to be giving us their best shot,” Bucs wide receiver Chris Godwin told FOX Sports senior editor Sean Merriman in a recent phone conversation.

“Our success last year doesn’t guarantee us anything this year. That’s pretty obvious. This was the first time winning the Super Bowl for a lot of guys on this team and now, it will be the first time for a lot of these guys being the hunted.”

As soon as the parties subsided, the Bucs front office got to work, striving to ensure that the swath of impending free agents on their roster stuck around, including Shaquil Barrett, Lavonte David and Rob Gronkowski, still glowing from those “two tuddies” in the big game. As things stand, heading into Thursday night’s season-opening clash with the Dallas Cowboys, all 22 of the Tampa Bay players that started the 31-9 Super Bowl rout of the Kansas City Chiefs will be back, a mightily rare feat.

“I didn't know if we were going to be able to do it,” general manager Jason Licht told NFL.com. “I didn't know it hadn't been done since 1977 - I'm glad I didn't know because I would have been even more stressed out about it.”

Head coach Bruce Arians is seeking consistency and familiarity and needs no reminding about how juicy a window of opportunity he has with Brady not only in the QB position. but also situated as the ultimate recruitment tool.

Arians was positively gleeful when announcing his entire roster was vaccinated against COVID-19 last week, insisting it will only help minimize disruption as the 17-game campaign gets underway.

Furthermore, Brady will have the same key group of receivers to throw at and the Bucs will come into the campaign with a good amount of swagger, as they should.

“We can’t be dependent on our chemistry from last year or the things we did last year to just work for us again this year,” added Godwin, speaking to FOX Sports as part of the Lowe’s NFL Home Team initiative, which tackles housing community housing projects in NFL markets.

“The good thing about bringing so many people back is that we don’t have to start from ground zero. But we still have to put in the work day-in and day-out because no one is going to give us anything. Everybody is going to give us their best shot, so we have to be ready for all that.”

Thursday offers a big-name matchup but as settled as the Bucs have been, the Cowboys have endured some disruption. Offensive guard Zack Martin is out after testing positive for COVID-19, while Dak Prescott will take his first snaps since suffering a gruesome ankle injury in Week 5 of last season against the New York Giants.

Brady’s bunch are a strong favorite at -8.5, per FOX Bet. FS1’s Chris Broussard could see little value in the visiting underdog.

“There is no way,” Broussard said on FS1’s “First Things First.” “Zero, zilch, none. That’s how much of an opportunity Dallas has of winning this game. I am only a hair away from guaranteeing it’s a rout. I am willing to guarantee the Cowboys do not win this game. The Cowboys are not ready to start the season against the best team in football.”

The Bucs are indeed the hunted, that’s just the way of it. There is more expectation now and no chance to merely ease their way into the season. But while Brady is aware of the threat, he doesn’t appear to be looking over his shoulder with too much trepidation.

The Bucs, as it looks at least, are squaring up to be just as good or better than a season ago. And if Brady tells them they’re up for the challenge, they’re going to listen, because following his lead has worked out pretty well so far.

Here’s what others have said ...

Colin Cowherd, The Herd: “Tom Brady has moved into a category that defies explanation. It's extraordinary."

Skip Bayless, Undisputed: “This team is going to be very good, at the least. I think it’s going to be an all-time great. Tom Brady will go undefeated in Tampa this year.”

LeSean McCoy, NFL Free Agent: “He’s the only player I’ve ever played with where he can convince you to walk on water and you’ll be okay, and it’ll happen. He has a thing about him where he makes you believe.”

Raiders tight end Darren Waller is one of the NFL’s best players, but he almost threw away his career before it even started. Anna Katherine Clemmons details Waller’s incredible journey in this piece.
Down 1-0 to Honduras, the USMNT mounted an epic comeback thanks to the bench and an 18-year-old, writes FOX Sports Soccer Writer Doug McIntyre.
If the Pac-12 is going to make any noise in 2021, FOX Sports College Football Writer RJ Young says the conference needs to make a statement Saturday.

Las Vegas Raiders TE Darren Waller is one of the best players in the NFL, but it wasn’t always that way. In fact, Waller, who joined the Raiders in 2018 after being claimed off the Baltimore Ravens’ practice squad, almost threw away his NFL career due to a substance abuse problem. Our FOX Sports Digital Team tell Waller’s incredible story in an upcoming feature titled "Human: The Darren Waller Story." Check out this sneak peek before the full feature comes out this Friday across all FOX Sports digital platforms. One word ... incredible.

Chicago White Sox at Oakland Athletics (ESPN+, 3:37 p.m. ET)
Reynaldo Lopez takes the mound for the Chicago White Sox, who take on Sean Manaea and the Oakland Athletics.

U.S. Open Tennis (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET)
Leylah Fernandez takes on Aryna Sabalenka in a women’s singles semifinal matchup at the U.S. Open.

Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NBC, 8:20 p.m. ET)
Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys open the 2021 NFL season against Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Odds provided by FOX Bet
Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mike Evans, Amari Cooper and Chris Godwin 50-or-more receiving yards each: +300

Earlier this week, we took a look at FOX Sports Betting Analyst Jason McIntyre’s pick for Thursday night’s Cowboys-Bucs Game. With the game set to kick off at 8:20 p.m. from Raymond James Stadium, let’s go ahead and focus in on a fun bet for the season-opener. FOX Bet is offering a wager for Chris Godwin, Mike Evans and Amari Cooper all to have 50-or-more receiving yards at +300. Let’s start with the fact that there will likely be a lot of passes thrown in this game. Dallas has one of the weakest defenses in the NFL, ranking 23^rd in total defense last season, so expect Tom Brady to target Evans and Godwin early and often in this one. On the other side, Tampa Bay featured the top run defense in the NFL last season, which means the Cowboys will look to attack their defensive backs. And it’s very possible the Cowboys could be playing from behind, which means more passes for Cooper. Go ahead and lock this in.

“I think sometimes in life the biggest challenges end up being the best things that happen in your life.” — Tom Brady

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🏎️ Alex Bowman Trying To Find His Way

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After finishing a miserable evening at Darlington Raceway, Alex Bowman saw a tow truck heading toward him Sunday night as he conducted post-race interviews following the NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener.

"If I get run over, my night might get better," he quipped.

He then added: "You might get run over, too, if you’re near me."

For those who worry that Bowman might be jaded after a frustrating Darlington, don’t sweat it too much. Bowman has a tendency to not sugarcoat things. He is definitely a glass-half-empty guy when frustrated.

And for the record, he tried to be optimistic moments later:

"Hopefully I make it home safe," he said. "No tickets – just walk in the door, dogs will be happy to see me, week resets, and everything is good."

Bowman got home fine, and he will try to rebound, as he is used to doing in the NASCAR playoffs. He has had three previous playoff appearances and advanced out of the first round each time. He advanced to the third round last year.

He should have the experience to push Darlington — a race in which he wrecked the car early, had radio issues, had engines issues and finished 26th — aside. He enters the second race of the three-race playoff round tied with Tyler Reddick for the final spot at the current cutoff.

The four drivers who are winless in the round and lowest in points will be eliminated following next week’s race at Bristol.

The fact that he is at the cutline could be a little bit of solace to Bowman, who won at Richmond earlier this year, considering how much he struggled at Darlington and the fact that he could have found himself in a deeper hole.

"We had a really fantastic race car at Richmond, and I’m excited to go back there," Bowman said. "I don’t think I’ve ever said I’m excited to go to Richmond before."

You see – there’s a little positivity.

"I’m definitely trying to keep the team pumped up, but at the same time, I think everybody on the team knows how strong we can be each and every place we go," he said. "We just had a bad day.

"Going forward, to a place like Richmond, where we won in the spring, I think everybody is pretty positive that we can go there and have success and be strong."

Bowman has won twice since that race at Richmond; he won at Dover in May and Pocono in June. But since that Pocono victory, he has just one top-5 and four top-10 finishes. He has just one top-10 in the five races since the two-week break that coincided with the Olympics.

"This sport comes and goes, and it’s got ups and downs," Bowman said. "When you’re consistently running well, you can do no wrong, and you’re always fast. Then you fall off and try to get it back. ... I’m confident we can go to Richmond and have a good day.

"We struggled at Darlington in the spring quite a bit, and Dover was the race after that, and we went and won. I’m not worried about where we’re at. I’m not worried about how many top-10s we have since the Olympic break."

Early in his career, Bowman might have stressed and analyzed the standings for hours. The 28-year-old Bowman, who signed a two-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports earlier this year, has learned that does him no good.

He will try to take the approach that got him to the semifinal round last year.

"You can stare at the points sheet and know exactly how many points you have to beat so-and-so by, but it doesn’t help you any," he said. "Then you’re just more stressed out about situations you can’t control.

"I think the best thing you can do for yourself is to go drive the race car as fast as you can. ... I did a really poor job on Sunday night, and I’ve got two weeks to make up for it. I’ve just got to go maximize both races.

"Last year during the playoffs, I wasn’t looking at points. I wasn’t worried about it."

Looking ahead, he knows he was strong at Richmond in the spring. But teams make improvements throughout the year. There have been 18 races since that event.

What worked well then, and will it work well Saturday night?

"I hope so because I haven’t ever had anything work at Richmond before the spring," Bowman said. "So that’s all I’ve got that works."

You see – Mr. Positive.

"I feel like I drive that place incorrectly to a point, and I ask some different things out of the race car that kind of a lot of the normal guys that grew up racing stock cars on short tracks don’t do," said Bowman, whose roots are in sprint-car racing.

"So going there has always been tough for me. I think [crew chief] Greg [Ives] finally hit on something that worked really well for me. So hopefully we can get it to work again. You never know until you get there, and without practice, it’s hard to say. But I’m pretty confident that we’ll have another great race car this weekend."

Thinking Out Loud

Well, sometimes my initial thoughts don’t pan out. As avid readers know, I predicted that Kyle Busch wouldn’t be penalized for the way he drove into the garage area at Darlington.

NASCAR decided to penalize him $50,000, a fine that he certainly can afford and that doesn’t impact him in the playoffs. My guess is that NASCAR thought it could get his attention with this fine enough to annoy him and remind him to be careful — but didn’t penalize points because it thought that would have been too steep a penalty for the violation.

Maybe if NASCAR had practice, it would do the ol’ call-the-driver-to-the-hauler right before practice and have Busch sit in the hauler for 10 minutes of practice to think about his actions the previous week. With no practice, NASCAR obviously needed another way to get its message across.

NASCAR needs to take a bit of ownership in the situation and reevaluate the number of officials it places at the garage entrance to help alleviate potentially dangerous situations. It might also want to reevaluate those cones, which were there to encourage drivers to swing wide when entering the garage so their transponder would register crossing the timing line on pit road used for the start-finish line when cars are on pit road (and therefore score them for that lap).

The cones gave the impression that cars shouldn’t enter that area, yet that was the only garage entrance. People should have been constantly expecting and looking for cars coming in.

Reader Mailbag

Have a question? I will answer a couple of questions every week. Respond to this Twitter post with your question.

Here are this week’s questions and my answers:

Any predictions surrounding next year's schedule? - @Jkraus_12

As has been reported by The Athletic, the L.A. Coliseum potentially playing host to the Busch Clash in early February is a possibility. As reported by the Sports Business Daily, a Cup race at Gateway, possibly at the expense of a Pocono race, also is a possibility. Beyond that, from what some tracks have posted about their dates, Homestead potentially could move later into the season. Expect to see a schedule in the next week or two.

Any predictions on who gets the #20 Xfinity ride not named Gibbs? - @RandySmith_Web

It is still TBD as JGR typically takes drivers who have some sponsorship. Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones are still determining whether to return or take funding they have to do some Cup races next year, so JGR could have more than one car available. But it also doesn’t have to field four cars. Expect Ty Gibbs in a full-time Cup ride next year. Expect John Hunter Nemechek to remain in a truck for one more season. So who does that leave? Ryan Preece and Matt DiBenedetto are both trying to find funding to race somewhere and obviously have run for JGR in the past.

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They Said It

"Made way too many mistakes. That’s what you deserve when you make that many mistakes." — Chase Elliott after a crash ended his day early at Darlington

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