Linebacker Lavonte David praises the new offensive of his Tampa Bay Buccaneers and compares the new system with the one of the past years. Can the statements be interpreted as hidden criticism of Tom Brady?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers not only fired offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich in the offseason, but also had to deal with the retirement of quarterback Tom Brady.

If Lavonte David is to be believed, this doesn’t necessarily change the offence for the worse.

On team channels, the linebacker said, “They [the offensive players on the team] are challenging us as a defence, something we haven’t been used to in a while. Bruce Arians’ offense tried to go deep more often. Now they take what the defense gives them.”

Former head coach Arians had brought in Leftwich, who was fired, when he took over, and he was unable to maintain the level of play he had in previous years this past season.

Criticism of Arians – and Brady?

David’s statements went beyond comparisons with the past: there was a lot of movement on the other side of the ball and different combinations of players were used, the 33-year-old enthused.

The words of the long-time Buccaneer have to be understood as criticism of Arians and Leftwich, but Brady is also likely to feel addressed.

For the 45-year-old was also reportedly heavily involved in the design of the attack.

Moreover, with Cleveland Browns flop Baker Mayfield and Kyle Trask, two playmakers are currently battling for the starting job who would actually be rated significantly weaker than the “Goat” – even at his advanced age.

New OC comes from Seattle

However, the Buccaneers were surprisingly eliminated early in the Wild Card Round by the Dallas Cowboys in the last playoffs, which was also due to only a meagre 14 points by the Brady-led offence.

With Dave Canales, a promising new offensive coordinator has now been brought in. The 42-year-old was partly responsible for Geno Smith’s comeback miracle last season as quarterbacks coach of the Seattle Seahawks.

Still, it’s hard to imagine the notoriously ambitious Brady not taking his former teammate David’s comments personally.