TAMPA, Fla. — A bye-week doesn't necessarily mean an off-week for Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.
"It’s football season, we’re football players. You’re thinking about football most of the time," Brady said after Thursday's practice "There are games on, they’re talking about football, so it’s not like you go on vacation."
The seven-time Super Bowl champion said it's nice to relax and spend some more time with his family, but it also feels good to get back to work.
"You know there’s a lot of things ahead of you. So, it’s not like your body’s going to chill out. You’re gonna stay working out, stay on top of your studying, and before you know it you’re back at it."
Last season, the Bucs closed the season on an 8-0 run after the bye in Week 13. Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich said there are no magic words to get this roster to play its best football.
"It wasn’t nothing special or unique. The switch has always been on with this group," Leftwich said. "You know, you don’t have to ask this group to go. This group is gonna go. So now we’ve got to structure how we’re doing it."
Part of that structure is cutting down on costly turnovers and cleaning up penalties on both sides of the ball.
"I don’t think there’s one area where we can’t be better," Brady added. "Everything I think we can improve. A lot of it is just communication. That’s being on the same page. You just gotta continue to talk through things. As much as we think we’ve been together, we really haven’t been together that long."
Brady is 15-4 as a starter coming off a bye week.
The Bucs (6-2) travel to Washington (2-6) for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Sunday.
