Tiki Barber knows Tom Brady very well. The former New York Giants running back was playing when Brady was in the early stages of his career. Brady is now 43 years old and has led the Tampa Bay Buccanneers to its second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history, which fans can watch for free on the CBS Sports Network. PopCulture.com recently caught up with Barber, who talked about why he’s not surprised Brady was able to lead the Bucs to the Super Bowl in his first year with the team.
“When you listen to [Buccaneers coach] Bruce Arians talk about Tom Brady, he says, ‘I allow him to do things that maybe he wasn’t able to do in New England, like coach and be that player that not only provides that leadership and example but draws on his experience to lift and grow those guys around him,’” Barber said on our PopCulture @ Home series. “Over the course of a 17-week season, you saw it. In the last eight weeks, they have been exceptional offensively. Hasn’t been perfect, but they have been exceptional. And they know how to win, which is the trait that we used to see in New England.”
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Brady spent 20 seasons with the Patriots and won six Super Bowls. Barber went on to mention that Brady and the Patriots won their Super Bowls by field goals because they were able to manage situations well. He goes on to say that the Bucs are finding ways to win, which is a “testament to leadership.”
“Am I surprised? A little bit because it’s his first year,” Barber added. “But when you think about it, no, not really at all because it’s Tom Brady and that’s what he’s been known for two decades now.” While Brady has been a big key to the Bucs success, Barber also gave credit to the coaching staff. He praised Arians for how he handled everything all year and also gave credit to offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles for the work they did during the season.
“It’s a testament to the coaching staff in Tampa,” Barber said when talking about the Bucs’ slow start to the year. “[Arians] has hired this amazing staff…They’ve all grown, expanded and fine-tuned their skill over the year, which is hard to do sometimes because you get injuries, a couple of bad weeks and you get discouraged, but they found ways to keep themselves together.”
