Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady once said he would retire when he was no longer effective in playing the game of football. I paraphrase of course, and when he said it, it essentially lit a fire among everyone in search of signs of his professional decay.
Chris Godwin has been in the NFL for three years, and has probably gotten better by leaps and bounds each season. In his third year, the former pick of the third round picked up 86 balls from Jameis Winston and turned them into 1,333 yards and nine touchdowns. In return, he received his first Pro Bowl selection and a spot on Second-Team All-Pro list.
Entering his fourth season, you can imagine he had some questions about his new quarterback’s arm, given all the talk in the football atmosphere about Brady’s arm decay. Now, after some time to train with the legendary quarterback, Godwin’s experiences with Brady should put some of those worries to bed.
“In the last few years, you’ve heard people on TV talking about Tom, and they love talking about how his arm is dying, or he’s not what he used to be,” Godwin said while reporting from Buccaneers, Casey Phillips speaks. ‘Because of that I was just expecting to see, did you not know, that great of poverty or whatever. But we go out and start throwing and he lets that thing rip. Like he lets it fly. There’s a lot of speed on the ball, a lot of touch and there’s a difference, you know. I’m glad people are talking about it because I know the truth about it, and I’m excited about what’s coming. ”
In his five seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Winston was known for his ability to get the ball underfield and come up with great plays. Unfortunately, he was also known to get the ball more often in the hands of defenders than acceptable, which allowed the team to move in a different direction in the 2020 off-season.
With Brady coming in, excitement was to be expected, but many have questioned whether the expected drop in revenue will also come with a drop in productivity. The often-nominated ‘Greatest Of All-Time’ quarterback may not have the cannon on his shoulder that Winston does, but if Godwin’s words really sound – and he would know it better than the rest of us – every arm difference is not enough to be worried about.
Yet some will remain skeptical until they see it with their own eyes; something was made more difficult due to COVID camp coverage restrictions and lack of pre-season games. Of course, even if we all see Brady’s arm live in action for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the question that remains will be more about how well he holds up for a full year.
For now though, Godwin’s confidence in the capabilities of his new quarterback will have to serve as the best evidence we have of doubts about Tom Brady’s capabilities.
Watch the full conversation between Casey Phillips and Chris Godwin!
