Tom Brady responds to Baker Mayfield's criticism, says 'stressful is not having Super Bowl rings'

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Tom Brady responds to Baker Mayfield's criticism, says 'stressful is not having Super Bowl rings'

2024-09-30 06:19 Last Updated At：06:21

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tom Brady has no regrets about pushing his teammates to be their best.

The seven-time Super Bowl champion didn’t hold back in responding to Baker Mayfield’s recent comments that Brady created a “stressful environment” during the 2022 season, his last with the Buccaneers.

After Mayfield threw his second touchdown pass to give Tampa Bay a 14-0 lead over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Brady shared his thoughts from the booth about his replacement’s criticism.

“I thought stressful was not having Super Bowl rings so there was a mindset of a champion that I took to work every day,” Brady said when Fox posted Mayfield’s comments on screen. “This wasn’t daycare. If I wanted to have fun, I would’ve went to Disneyland with my kids.”

Mayfield revived his career in Tampa Bay last season, led the Buccaneers to their third straight NFC South title and a playoff win. He got a $100 million, three-year contract to stay in Tampa Bay and has become a fan favorite.

Brady, who arrived in 2020, led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title that season — his seventh ring — and two division titles in 2021 and 2022 before he retired.

During an appearance on a Casa de Klub podcast, Mayfield said Brady’s intensity created a stress-filled environment in the locker room.

“The building was a little bit different with Tom in there. Obviously, playing-wise, Tom is different. He had everybody dialed in, high-strung environment, so I think everybody was pretty stressed out,” Mayfield said on the podcast. “They wanted me to come in, be myself, bring the joy back to football for guys who weren’t having as much fun.”

Mayfield also took a shot at the way Brady handled disputes with former offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich over play calls.

“You hear some of the stories about if he didn’t like a certain play call and he didn’t like it throughout the week and they still call it in the game, there might have been a throwaway on purpose or throwing it at the running back or receiver’s feet," Mayfield said. "There were a lot of mind games going on."

Mayfield downplayed Brady’s reaction after leading the Buccaneers to a 33-16 victory over Philadelphia.

“I think a lot of that got taken out of context. None of it was personal, by any means," Mayfield said. "It’s just what he demanded of the guys, and that’s the aura of Tom Brady, and that’s what he did to bring a championship here. Nothing personal, but I talked with him before the game. He’s obviously happy for me and he knows the guys. He knows how much I enjoy throwing to Mike (Evans) and Chris (Godwin) because he did the same, and it’s fun to talk about some of the same experiences.

“A lot of things got taken out of context. He did it his own way and that’s why he has seven rings. Not much else needs to be said.”

Brady was back in Tampa Bay for the first time as an analyst. He greeted Mayfield and many former teammates, coaches and team staff before the game.

“There’s a way to approach this game and that’s with the right mindset and try to push each other outside of our comfort zone,” Brady said. “Great teammates do that.”

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Death toll rises from Helene while supplies are rushed to North Carolina and Florida digs out

2024-09-30 06:16 Last Updated At：06:20

PERRY, Fla. (AP) — The U.S. Southeast grappled Sunday with rising death tolls, a lack of vital supplies in isolated, flood-stricken areas and the widespread loss of homes and property while the devastating toll of Hurricane Helene became more clear and officials warned of a lengthy and difficult rebuild.

A North Carolina County that includes the mountain city of Asheville reported 30 people killed due to the storm, pushing the overall death toll to at least 84 people across several states.

Supplies were being airlifted to the region around Asheville. Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder pledged that she would have food and water into the city — which is known for its arts, culture and natural attractions — by Monday.

“We hear you. We need food and we need water,” Pinder said on a Sunday call with reporters. “My staff has been making every request possible to the state for support and we’ve been working with every single organization that has reached out. What I promise you is that we are very close.”

The storm upended life throughout the Southeast. Deaths also were reported in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper predicted the toll would rise as rescuers and other emergency workers reached areas isolated by collapsed roads, failing infrastructure and widespread flooding.

He implored residents in western North Carolina to avoid travel, both for their own safety and to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles. More than 50 search teams spread throughout the region in search of stranded people.

One rescue effort involved saving 41 people north of Asheville. Another mission focused on saving a single infant. The teams found people through both 911 calls and social media messages, North Carolina National Guard Adjutant General Todd Hunt said.

Hurricane Helene roared ashore late Thursday in Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane with 140 mph (225 kph) winds. A weakened Helene quickly moved through Georgia, then soaked the Carolinas and Tennessee with torrential rains that flooded creeks and rivers and strained dams.

There have been hundreds of water rescues, including in rural Unicoi County in East Tennessee, where dozens of patients and staff were plucked by helicopter from a hospital rooftop Friday.

Several million were still without power Sunday afternoon. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster asked for patience as crews dealt with widespread snapped power poles.

“We want people to remain calm. Help is on the way, it is just going to take time,” McMaster told reporters outside the airport in Aiken County.

The storm unleashed the worst flooding in a century in North Carolina. One community, Spruce Pine, was doused with over 2 feet (61 centimeters) of rain from Tuesday through Saturday.

Jessica Drye Turner in Texas had begged for someone to rescue her family members stranded on their rooftop in Asheville amid rising floodwaters. “They are watching 18-wheelers and cars floating by,” Turner wrote in an urgent Facebook post on Friday.

But in a follow-up message Saturday, Turner said help had not arrived in time to save her parents, both in their 70s, and her 6-year-old nephew. The roof collapsed and the three drowned.

“I cannot convey in words the sorrow, heartbreak and devastation my sisters and I are going through,” she wrote.

Western North Carolina was isolated by landslides and flooding.

The state was sending water supplies and other items toward Buncombe County and Asheville, but mudslides blocking Interstate 40 and other highways prevented supplies from making it. The county’s own water supplies were on the other side of the Swannanoa River, away from where most of the 270,000 people in Buncombe County live, officials said.

Law enforcement was making plans to send officers to places that still had water, food or gas because of reports of arguments and threats of violence, the sheriff said.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said the federal disaster agency was actively engaged across six states, meeting the requests of governors and state-level responders. She noted the Appalachian regions across North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia presented particular concerns. Criswell toured south Georgia on Sunday and planned to be in North Carolina on Monday.

“It’s still very much an active search and rescue mission” in western North Carolina, Criswell said. “And we know that there’s many communities that are cut off just because of the geography” of the mountains, where damage to roads and bridges have cut off certain areas.

President Joe Biden on Saturday pledged federal government help for Helene's “overwhelming” devastation. He also approved a disaster declaration for North Carolina, making federal funding available for affected individuals.

In Florida's Big Bend, some lost nearly everything they own. With sanctuaries still darkened as of Sunday morning, some churches canceled regular services while others like Faith Baptist Church in Perry opted to worship outside.

Standing water and tree debris still covers the grounds of Faith Baptist Church. The church called on parishioners to come “pray for our community” in a message posted to the congregation’s Facebook page.

“We have power. We don’t have electricity,” Immaculate Conception Catholic Church parishioner Marie Ruttinger said. “Our God has power. That’s for sure.”

In Atlanta, 11.12 inches (28.24 centimeters) of rain fell over 48 hours, the most the city has seen over two days since record keeping began in 1878.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Saturday that it looked “like a bomb went off” after viewing splintered homes and debris-covered highways from the air.

In eastern Georgia near the border with South Carolina, officials notified Augusta residents Sunday morning that water service would be shut off for 24 to 48 hours in the city and surrounding Richmond County.

A news release said trash and debris from the storm “blocked our ability to pump water.” Officials were distributing bottled water.

With at least 25 killed in South Carolina, Helene was the deadliest tropical cyclone for the state since Hurricane Hugo made landfall north of Charleston in 1989, killing 35 people.

Moody’s Analytics said it expects $15 billion to $26 billion in property damage.

Climate change has exacerbated conditions that allow such storms to thrive, rapidly intensifying in warming waters and turning into powerful cyclones sometimes within hours.

Whittle reported from Portland, Maine, and Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina. Haya Panjwani in Washington, Kate Brumback in Atlanta and Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed.