Cowboys' Micah Parsons endorses Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers' criticism of modern NFL - "It's outright ridiculous"
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons had some thoughts to share on his Monday podcast The Edge, including concurring with two former opponents on the current state of football.
Much has been said about the evolution of the NFL towards more safety, but apparently, the league has just become somewhat more dangerous.
Two of those critics have been Tom Brady, who claimed that there was plenty of "mediocrity" regarding how offensive players protect themselves, and Aaron Rodgers, who pointed out the reverse - a lack of defense caused by redefinitions of what constitutes legal and illegal tackles.
Parsons concurred with the two legendary quarterbacks, saying (starts at 21:38):
"Without a doubt 100% agree. You look at today's NFL with a lot of QBs flopping on hits... They hit them hard and lead with their shoulder and it looks like it's a helmet to helmet. They get fined $40,000... They're protecting a certain amount of guys.
"The league has (gone) more offensive... I don't think that the league is trending the right way... It's outright ridiculous like you either can hit the guy or you can't... You're playing football in full speed, not 50%... You're playing football to hit the other team and get your team in the best position to win."
Micah Parsons reacts to DaRon Bland breaking single-season pick-six record on Thanksgiving vs. Commanders
Elsewhere, it seems DaRon Bland cannot stop getting more love from Micah Parsons.
Ever since he stepped in for an injured Trevon Diggs, the sophomore cornerback has had one of the biggest breakout stretches of 2023. On Thanksgiving, he picked off Washington Commanders Sam Howell and returned it for a touchdown - his fifth, which marks the new single-season record.
In the same episode, Parsons recounted his reaction to Bland's feat (starts at 3:51):
"Holy moly. I mean, this is greatness. There was a clip where I went up to him (and) I was like, 'This is greatness; you're on track to greatness', because people don't understand how special it is, how amazing it is to see that out of your teammates.
"(Philadelphia Eagles cornerback) Darius Slay (says) that he should be Defensive Player of the Year, and that's 100% right. I mean, he is playing the best football, better than any corner in the NFL. There's a lot of great players that's playing great corner ball, high level; but they're not creating his turnovers."
The Cowboys host the Seattle Seahawks this Thursday, with the game airing on Amazon Prime starting at 8:15 PM ET.