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Brady: I was still trying to figure out Bucs' plays midway through season

Matthew Stockman / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Tom Brady can make almost anything look easy, but he admits transitioning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was harder than it appeared.

Brady, who joined Tampa Bay during the 2020 offseason after 20 campaigns with the New England Patriots, says it took him a while to fully grasp his new club's playbook.

"Midway through the year, I was still trying to figure out how to call plays," Brady said on "Hodinkee Radio."

"I would just read off my wristband and try to visualize what was going to happen.

"It’s like learning a completely new language. You’ve spoken English for 20 years, and now of a sudden someone's like, 'Hey man, let’s speak some Spanish.' And you are like, 'Huh? That makes no sense to my brain.'"

The NFL's COVID-19 pandemic restrictions also didn't help his learning curve, according to Brady.

The Buccaneers took some time to find their footing in 2020, entering the bye week with a 7-5 record. The signal-caller said that's when the team really began to gel.

"So it took a long time for people to get to know one another. Much longer than normal," Brady said. "The last six weeks of the year, wow, we really started hitting our stride. We gained a lot of confidence in one another. It was a really unique experience, one that I hope I never, ever have to go through again, but I think we made the best of it."

The 43-year-old quarterback guided Tampa Bay to an eight-game winning streak en route to capturing his seventh championship in Super Bowl LV. Brady finished the year with 40 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions.

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