Tom Brady expresses displeasure about NFL rules: “I feel like they penalize defensive players for offensive mistakes”
Over the last ten years, the NFL has expanded rulings to protect players on the field. This is primarily due to the increased concussions and head injuries that players sustained. Quarterback Tom Brady believes responsibility is on the offensive players rather than the defensive players when talking about illegal hits.
Brady says onus on offensive players to protect themselves
The reigning Super Bowl champion and future NFL Hall of Famer Tom Brady spoke about the rules on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers website. The 44-year-old stated that many penalties are called on defensive players mainly due to offensive players' errors.
“A quarterback should only throw the ball to certain places because your receiver is in danger of getting hit,” Brady said. “For example, when I used to play against Ray Lewis, I wouldn’t throw the ball to the middle of the field because he would . . . hit them and knock them out of the game. And now, every hard hit is a penalty on the defense. So I feel like they penalize defensive players for offensive mistakes.”
One incident that highlights this is the hit on Bears quarterback Justin Fields from Bills linebacker Andre Smith. Brady spoke about the hit without mentioning any names, although it is clear which incident he is talking about.
“The quarterback messes up, doesn’t see the Blitzer, or the line screws up,” Brady said. “I don’t know what happened, the quarterback or the lineman on offense. The defensive player comes in and strikes him, and they throw a flag on the defense.”
Brady also stated it's the quarterback's responsibility to protect himself and his teammates during a game.
“It shouldn’t be the responsibility of your opponent to protect you. It creates terrible habits for players because you feel like I can do anything. I can run and not slide. I can throw my receiver into any coverage and not have any repercussions for it. The only thing they’re going to do, they’re going to blame the defensive player for making a good, solid hit.”
Brady went another step forward by saying that the current rules are a disservice to the game of football. He said:
“It deteriorates because you’re not teaching the players the reasons and the fundamentals of what the sport should be."
Brady isn't wrong when he says this. As we often see in today's game, quarterbacks are now more inclined than ever to throw balls at receivers. This is because defensive players are not allowed to hit receivers like they did a decade ago.
There are times when the big hits are in line with the game's laws, while other times, they aren't. What Brady is getting at is that the responsibility to protect themselves is down solely to the offensive players to defend themselves adequately against oncoming defenders.