“I Was a Little Surprised He Didn’t Return on a Private Plane”: Sean Payton Provides a Coach’s Perspective on Tom Brady Attending Robert Kraft’s Wedding Mid Season

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Pittsburgh Steelers game is a bitter memory for many Bucs fans. An upset defeat by the hands of a backup quarterback is not an ideal outcome for the former Super Bowl champions. Especially when the man leading your team is a legend of the game. And the mid-game meltdown of Tom Brady did not help things either. Especially when reports of him missing Saturday’s practice to attend a wedding are in the spotlight. But one analyst is “surprised” at how things turned out.

Sean Payton, an NFL analyst, appeared on ‘The Herd’ show, hosted by Colin Cowherd. Cowherd’s first question was regarding Brady missing Saturday’s walk-through with the Bucs, as expected. But Payton, however, doesn’t go all berserk on Brady. Instead, he seems to give a “coach’s” answer.

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“I don’t think we’d even discuss it or flinch at it if not for the 10 days already missed at training camp. And look, he’s earned the right for personal days. …… You have a large roster of 65 guys and coaching staff…. Every year there are funerals, there are weddings, there are births…. We’d have a plan in place if it was in season.”

“I was a little surprised that he didn’t return, you know, on a private plane right so but he may very well had something that he needed to tend to there. And that would be between Tom and Todd, you know….. It only becomes um newsworthy because of the training camp days missed and then you know they lose the game. If he had played well yesterday, we’d be on the topic B right now. We wouldn’t even be playing, you know, addressing topic A. And that’s part of the business that we’re in.” He added.

Tom Brady and the Buccaneers off to a rough 3-3 start to the season

Tom Brady is facing a lot of criticism for his performances through the first 6 weeks of the season. Especially amidst the drama surrounding his marriage. Many believe that the ‘privilege’ Brady receives because of his superstar status is part of the reason why the Bucs are failing. But the head coach Todd Bowles was quick to shut this down.

He says that attending weddings or taking a leave to deal with personal issues is not preferential treatment.

But Brady’s performance this season has been on a different end of the spectrum altogether. His lower touchdown percentage has together brought down the average points the Bucs scored in 6 games this year, compared to last year.

There is a lot at stake for Tampa, especially when their next game is against a 1-5 Carolina Panthers. A loss here could be devastating for their morale and will cement them as a non-threatening team this season.

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