There were few people who expected Tom Brady to leave the New England Patriots, but after the 2019-20 NFL season, there were some indications were shown that his time with the Patriots and their head coach Bill Belichick were coming to an end. How the Tampa Bay Buccaneers convinced Brady to sign with them and then lead them to their second Super Bowl championship is described in this very good book by Lars Anderson.
Unlike many books that are about one particular season (no matter the sport), this one doesn’t spend a lot of time with game-by-game accounts nor does it spend a great deal of time discussing other issues of the time such as social issues or politics. Given that this book was about a season (2020) during a global pandemic, one would expect that more of this would be discussed, but Anderson sticks with strictly matters affecting the Buccaneers, Brady or head coach Bruce Arians. If the pandemic is mentioned, it is how it affects the football team, such as not being able to conduct face-to-face meetings. The best of these references is a well-known story in which Brady goes to the wrong house soon after signing to pick up the Tampa Bay playbook from the offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich.
Most of the text in this book would be considered character-driven if this were a fictional novel as there are plenty of stories and information about people. The main two characters are in the subtitle – Tom Brady and Bruce Arians. Readers who did not know a lot about the personalities of these two men will get to know them well by the end of the book. Anderson also does a terrific job of telling the reader how the relationship between quarterback and head coach evolved, including Brady’s relationships with his teammates and his other coaches. Leftwich was a quarterback who faced Brady several times in his career, but that was put aside and Brady made sure to listen and learn from his offensive coordinator.
The 2020 season for Tampa Bay is reviewed and important games are described in detail. Of course, these include the victories in the playoffs and Super Bowl, but also some key defeats as well, such as the 38-3 loss to the New Orleans Saints that left the Buccaneers at 7-5 and in danger of missing the playoffs. From there, the reader is taken on a great ride of success and hard work to achieve the ultimate goal for any football team. It should be noted that Brady is praised by many, friends and opponents alike, for the amount of work he did during that season. It didn’t matter that he already had six championships, he made sure to put in the work he felt was needed to get his seventh and first one outside of New England. This is a book that pro football fans will enjoy no matter their rooting interest or even their admiration or loathing of Tom Brady.
I wish to thank William Morrow and Custom House for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.