Tom Brady Effect still felt.
When Tom Brady came to the Bucs in 2020, it marked the end of the Lost Decade, though Joe didn’t know it at the time.
From the day Chucky was fired until Brady walked through the front door of One Buc Palace, the Bucs, but for two playoff-less seasons, knew nothing but losing. Some seasons required every ounce of strength and alcohol available to get through a game.
Not only did Brady bring credibility, but he showed the team what it takes to be a winner. He set a standard that, it appears, still lingers.
Albert Breer of SI.com spoke with Bucs coach Todd Bowles this week. And Bowles said the work ethic and standard Bucs veterans have established has definitely rubbed off on backups and younger players.
The coaches see [the success] as a sign of the standard the veterans are setting.
“The maturity level of the older guys, making the young guys accountable, with the way they come to work every day, has really been a joy to see,” coach Todd Bowles told me. “That really has been giving us the edge to scratch out games, and fight for our lives. Now, even though the games are close, we don’t feel like we are fighting for our lives, we feel very confident, those guys feel very confident they can make plays to win the game.
“And there’s a lot of trust.”
In other words, it’s Mike Evans and Chris Godwin setting the bar for rookies such as Emeka Egbuka and Tez Johnson, or Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke showing the way for Charlie Heck, or Mayfield playing at a level that compels everyone to hold the rope.
Those veteran Bucs (with the exception of Luke Goedeke) were with the Bucs when they won the Super Bowl in February 2021. And there are more, like Lavonte David, Antoine Winfield, Vita Vea and Jamel Dean.
Brady seta standard. The young players then who learned from Brady are current Bucs’ veterans.
Joe could argue the spirit of Brady remains with the organization.
Todd Bowles is all of us watching this play 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Vcwwx7LWnI
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 14, 2025