Dan Orlovsky doesn't like the way the Bucs are playing and their chances of making the playoffs.
The outcome of next week's game against the Atlanta Falcons won't have an effect on the playoffs, but the plan is for the starters to play.
"We can get better at a lot of things, so right now, we plan on playing him." We don't need our foot off the gas because we can get better at a lot of things.
After struggling to protect Brady, push the ball downfield and put points on the board all season, the Bucs' offense put together arguably one of its best performances of the season Sunday, defeating the Carolina Panther 30-24 with Brady accounting for four touchdown Mike Evans, the franchise record holder in just about every receiving category, had not caught a touchdown in four weeks.
When Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen and left guard Aaron Stinnie went down with knee injuries, the offensive line was in a state of disarray. The All-Pro right tackle returned from an ankle injury and reaggravated it last week against the Arizona Cardinals, while the left tackle missed two games at the beginning of the season with an elbow injury. Josh Wells was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury.
"We don't have a lot of offensive linemen to start with." It's not the same as a training camp where you have 80 guys. We are limited to begin with, but we will progress and make decisions as the week progresses. Everyone has to plan on playing.
It's risky to start a 45 year old quarterback in a meaningless Week 18 game. In last year's playoffs, Brady started in Week 18.
Brady has never missed a game due to injury. He missed the 2008 season and the first four games of 2016 because of a suspension. He admitted that he would be disappointed if he didn't play.
Playing Brady and the rest of the starters could ensure the Bucs finish the season with a winning record, something they experienced when they won eight straight and captured aSuper Bowl in 2020.
Over the past two seasons, Brady's quest for an eighth Super Bowl ring has been affected by injuries. The tight end had to line up in the slot in last year's playoffs because their receiver situation was so bad. They have missed a lot of games this season. Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and Anthony Nelson are the only healthy outside LBs. The blind side of Brady was protected last week.
It's a sport. You can't play 16 games and worry about the 17th. It's not possible to play three preseason games and 16 games and practice every day and say you might get hurt on the 17th game. It's possible to get hurt the first week. Training camp can cause injury. You are likely to get hurt if you worry about that.
We agreed to play and coach football. We are going to do that. Everybody will play the game if they love football. There are going to be injuries. It doesn't mean it happens in the playoffs or preseason. You need to coach it and play it. You don't need to be playing a sport.
When asked if he would consider pulling players in the second half, he said that it was possible and that the staff would discuss it. The Bucs did that in 2020 in a Week 16 win over the Detroit Lions, and Brady started the next week, in the final game of the season, and finished that game.
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