Bruce Arians believes that Tom Brady, his new quarterback with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, can still throw deep at age 42.

"I think the perception is just wrong," Arians said. "I thought his deep ball was outstanding last year. Through their play-action game, they hit a lot of deep balls. And our quarterback -- I thought he put it as good as anybody -- throw it to the guy who's open."

The coach also said people misunderstand Tampa Bay's offense, which is known for attacking the field vertically.

"We do have reads that start deep and come in short, but I've had a couple quarterbacks that just keep looking deep -- they won't throw the checkdown," Arians said. "[Offensive consultant] Tom Moore has the best saying in the world: 'You don't go broke putting money in the bank. Take the damn checkdown.'

"We don't have to teach Tom that. But I think the freedom of looking downfield on certain routes and in certain situations, when the matchup's perfect -- take it, don't be afraid to take it -- some quarterbacks are afraid to take it. I'm not looking for a 'checkdown Charlie' quarterback."