When the Buccaneers visit the Steelers on Sunday, there’s an interesting angle that traces to the Patriots and the Dolphins.
Steelers assistant Brian Flores, who spent a long time with Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady in New England, served for three years as Miami’s coach. After he was fired, owner Stephen Ross wanted to hire Sean Payton to coach the team, and to secure the services of Brady as quarterback.
On the same day Brady announced his retirement, a precursor to Brady becoming a minority owner of the Dolphins (the first domino that would result in Brady being under center), Flores filed his lawsuit. Whether Flores specifically filed the lawsuit when he did to derail the team’s Payton-Brady strategy, it worked. The Dolphins abandoned the plan to pursue Payton and Brady after Flores pulled the pin on class action.
So Brady eventually unretired and returned to Tampa. And Flores landed with the Steelers. And they cross paths today.
Although the Pittsburgh defense has been decimated by injury, the unit has an inherent toughness that isn’t easily turned off. And they’re not afraid to get physical with a quarterback.
This specific quarterback reacted to being roughed up last week by kicking Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, twice. And the Steelers will have extra incentive to stick it to Brady, given that he saw fit to skip Saturday morning meetings and practice.
So don’t skip this game. It looks like an easy win for Tampa Bay. But it carries a very important subplot that could play out with defensive players taking fair and legal shots at Brady.
