Bruce Arians Criticizing the Bucs During Their Midseason Struggles, Just Like Last Year

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Washington Football Team, 29-19, on Sunday. It was their second consecutive loss and they now sit at 6-3 on the season. After the game Tom Brady cut his press conference short and Bruce Arians expressed some concern about the way the defending Super Bowl champions were preparing for games. Via ESPN:

"It's very disappointing," Arians said. "It's very alarming to watch the energy at every practice and show up with a lack of execution and energy that it takes to win on Sunday. We've got a lot of soul-searching to do."

This is a far cry from how Arians felt about the team heading into their game against the Patriots, which they won, 19-17. Via Buccaneers.com:

"A hell of a week of practice," said Head Coach Bruce Arians. "You could really feel the difference in intensity this week. It doesn't have a damn thing to do with [Tom] Brady, it has to do with losing. I like the way we bounced back on the practice field."

So this is not something you expect from a coach who famously gives veterans days off during the week for maintenance. If the Bucs don't focus they're going to end up just like last year's team which went through a similarly embarassing November. You might recall they started 6-2 and lost three of five games in November.

We're just about a year removed from Bruce Arians saying Tom Brady was misreading coverages and getting confused. A few weeks later they wanted to play golf together. A few weeks after that they won the Super Bowl. So, just don't pay any attention to anything the Bucs do or say for the rest of the month. Not even next Monday against the Giants.