EXCLUSIVE: Ex-Falcons HC feels Tom Brady must push aside Gisele Bundchen divorce saga to save Buccaneers' season

Things have not gotten any easier for Tom Brady over the past week. He's fallen to a 3-5 start following the loss to the Baltimore Ravens and announced he is divorcing from his wife Gisele Bundchen.

The news, though, didn't come as much of a surprise as rumors of a split had been doing the rounds since as early as preseason training camp. Former NFL HC Mike Smith weighed in on the situation during his recent appearance on the BallFather podcast with Reggie Roberts. He said it was time Brady put his undivided attention towards salvaging the Buccaneers' season:

"They've just kind of collapsed. They've fallen apart. They started the season, with two big wins... You know, no disrespect to Tom, everybody who's gone through that whole divorce thing, it's tough. It's a tough thing. But the bottom line is that the Buccaneers aren't playing well."

Smith, though, went on to note that the team could turn things around with a couple of wins given the lack of much competition in the NFC South:

"They've lost three in a row and are now three-and-five. There's a little bit of a silver lining in that even though they're three-and-five, second in the division, you know, because of the division they still have a chance."

Smith's former team, the Atlanta Falcons, are currently the ones sitting on top of the NFC South with a 4-4 record.

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Tom Brady speaks out on divorce from Gisele Bundchen

Tom Brady avoided talking publicly about his problems with Gisele Bundchen as the couple's fallout played out. But while appearing on the Let's Go! podcast, Brady addressed the matter for the first time:

"There’s a lot of professionals in life that go through things that they deal with at work and they deal with at home. And obviously, the good news is it’s a very amicable situation and I’m really focused on two things: taking care of my family and certainly my children and secondly doing the best job I can to win football games."

Brady and Bundchen have reportedly agreed to co-parent their children Vivian (9), and Benjamin (12). While football remains a priority for the seven-time Super Bowl winner, he made it clear that he will try to hit the right balance between:

"So, that’s what professionals do. You focus at work when it’s time to work and then when you come home you focus on the priorities that are at home. All you can do is the best you can do. That’s what I’ll continue to do as long as I’m working and as long as I’m being a dad."

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Brady will hope to find the spark they need soon. They'll have their work cut out of them this Sunday when they take on the high-flying Seattle Seahawks.

If you use any of the above quotes, please credit the BallFather podcast, the Let's Go! podcast and H/T Sportskeeda.