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| - NFL superstar Tom Brady had barely begun preparations for his Tampa Bay home debut against Carolina on Sunday when Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians found himself fending off suggestions of trouble with his new QB. Brady arrived in Tampa Bay in the offseason after a 20-year tenure in New England that included six Super Bowl titles. Arians, however, pulled no punches after Brady threw two interceptions in the Bucs' week one loss to the New Orleans Saints, saying he expected Brady to have "a little more grit, a little more determination" against the Panthers. Social media lit up, and even former Green Bay great Brett Favre opined that Arians should not have "called out" Brady. But Arians moved quickly to scotch suggestions his comments had lead to a quick rift. "Tom and I are fine, so I don't really care what other people think," Arians said Wednesday. "It's just what he and I think. "We left the stadium fine, we showed up today fine, so there is nothing to talk about." Brady offered a terse comment when asked about his reaction to Arians' public critique. "You know, he's the coach, so ... I'm a player," Brady said. "Just trying to win a game." A win against Carolina, Arians indicated, would be just the thing to put the whole business in the rear view mirror. "We win a few games in a row and everybody will be back on the bandwagon (and) happy," he said. "If we lose this week, the world will come to an end." Arians had his tongue planted firmly in his cheek with the latter remark, but a second straight defeat against an NFC South division rival to open the season isn't what the Bucs had in mind to launch the Brady era. The Panthers are also coming off a week-one defeat, but there were some positive signs in quarterback Teddy Bridgewater's Carolina debut -- a 34-30 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Bridgewater -- who had the backup role behind Drew Brees in New Orleans until landing with the Panthers -- threw for 270 yards without a turnover and piloted the Panthers to 15 fourth-quarter points that saw them briefly take the lead after they trailed by 12 going into the final period. Former Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, who ended up in New England as Brady's successor, piloted the Patriots to a season opening win over the Miami Dolphins. The former NFL Most Valuable Player will try to make it two-for-two when the Patriots take on the Seahawks in Seattle on Sunday. The Seahawks are coming off a 38-25 victory over Atlanta, and in looking ahead to Sunday's contest Patriots coach Bill Belichick said his team would have its work cut out to contain Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson. "I don't really see anybody better than this player," Belichick said. Certainly Wilson was impressive against the Falcons, connecting on 31 of 35 passing attempts for 322 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions, with 29 rushing yards as well. Wilson and the Seahawks offense will be tested against a Pats defense that held the Miami Dolphins to 11 points and intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick three times in their week one win. bb/gph
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