Tom Brady reportedly blew away Bucs coaches by discussing their offense in-depth during a free agency call

• When Tom Brady met with the Buccaneers in free agency, he discussed the team's offense in-depth.
• According to reports, Brady impressed the Bucs staff by doing his "homework."
• The Bucs' offense differed from what Brady ran in New England, and there were ups and downs during the season, but they made it to the Super Bowl.

When Tom Brady hit free agency last March, he made sure to do his homework on his suitors.

As Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer reported in March, when Brady met with the Bucs, he surprised Bucs GM Jason Licht and head coach Bruce Arians with his knowledge of the offense. Tom Brady didn't always have eyes on joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but when they entered the fray, he apparently studied up on him.

According to Breer, Licht and Arians were "a bit taken aback by the level of research Brady had done, having thoroughly studied the Bucs' offense and personnel, while explaining, then showing, that he'd kept an eye on Arians' offense through the years."

Breer reported that when the NFL's "legal tampering" window opened, the Bucs reached out to Brady's agent, Don Yee, to express their interest. According to Breer, Yee told them, "You made a very good decision to call."

NBC's Peter King reported similar, saying by Tuesday, the Bucs and Brady had a "shell" of a deal worked out - what would later be a two-year, $50 million deal. King wrote that Brady did his "homework" on the Bucs offense and was impressed by its playmakers, namely receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

According to both Breer and King, the Bucs had, of course, done their homework on Brady, too. They were skeptical that Brady was truly going to hit free agency, but as a return to New England looked less and less likely, they studied him.

Breer reported that the Bucs came away thinking that Brady could thrive in Arians' offense, which often calls for quarterbacks to go for big-chunk plays. While that hasn't been Brady's game, the Bucs felt that he could play that role with better receiving weapons than what he had in New England in 2019, when Brady often had to wait for players to get open.

Licht later told King that the Bucs nicknamed their pursuit of Brady, "Operation Shoeless Joe Jackson," after the movie, "Field of Dreams." The Bucs' belief was if they built their roster up, they could attract Brady to join.

According to Breer, Brady told the Bucs, "This is gonna be a lot of fun."

His next order of business was reportedly getting the numbers of his new teammates to begin working together.

Brady and the Bucs had their ups and downs on offense, but still made the Super Bowl

The Bucs' season didn't come without its bumps.

The Bucs opened the season with a loss to the Saints in which the offense looked somewhat stagnant and out of sync.

Though they began 6-2, with Brady topping 300 passing yards in two of those games, they then lost three of four, raising fears about the team's ceiling.

While Brady was putting up gaudy touchdown stats, he also threw 11 interceptions in 12 games, more than he had thrown in a whole season since 2011.

Arians' system emphasize deep throws and a level of aggression that hasn't been Brady's nature. Throughout the season, Arians wasn't shy about placing blame on Brady if he missed a throw, threw an interception, or misread the play. CBS's Jason La Canfora reported that Brady's camp felt Arians was deflecting blame away from necessary adjustments.

However, it's hard to say the partnership also didn't work. From Weeks 13-17, the Bucs went 4-0, averaging 37 points per game. In that four-game span, Brady completed 69% of his passes for 1,333 yards, 12 touchdowns, and just one interception.

In the playoffs, Brady hasn't been perfect, but he's hit the throws he has needed to give the Bucs a lift.

The Bucs are one win away from a championship. If Brady can join the Bucs and help take them to the Super Bowl in his first year, it'll be hard to argue that it wasn't a perfect fit.