"You can't penalize a defensive player for doing his job" - Tom Brady blasts modern NFL rules
On his SiriusXM podcast "Let's Go!", Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady gave his opinion on the current state of the NFL. Tom Brady is 44 years old and has watched the league evolve and change around him over the last two decades. Through his eyes, the NFL is "very different" and less "physical football."
"That game that I played 20 years ago is very different than the game now, in the sense that now it's more skills competition than it is physical football," Brady said. "I think in some ways, they're taking away a physical element to the game... The way the rules are being set, I don't think that it's always in the best interests of the game that I once played."
"The way the rules are being set, I don't think that it's always in the best interests of the game that I once played."
Tom Brady's message to the NFL: bring back the physicality. wp.me/pch2rN-5LWv
It's rather interesting to hear someone like Tom Brady have such an opinion. He's almost 45 and states he wants to play until he's 50. It's no secret that the NFL's new rules have "softened" the physicality of the game to give an advantage to wide receivers and quarterbacks. Defenders have had to change their technique and style to mesh within modern NFL. When it comes to quarterbacks, you get flagged for being too rough with them inside the pocket, something that was unheard of when Tom Brady first entered the league.
"I think so many quarterbacks, they run through the middle of the defense, and they just probably know that, in essence, they're not going to get hurt. I see Carson Wentz do it all the time. I see Daniel Jones do it all the time. And I'm in my mind, I'm thinking it's crazy. The defensive players are running, and they all jump out of the way of the quarterback."
Tom Brady cites quarterbacks who benefit from modern NFL rules dlvr.it/SBTJJP https://t.co/04ZqSOqd4k
Brady has a case here as some defenders do tend to shy away from attacking a mobile quarterback due to the helmet-to-helmet rule. While it's unintentional most of the time, any contact with the crown of the helmet is an automatic 15-yard penalty and 1st down, unless it is initiated by the runner.
"You can't penalize a defensive player for doing his job. So I think they should think about how that impacts things going forward, or else you just get, you know, it turns into a seven-on-seven football," Brady said.
Had the NFL never evolved to focus more on player safety, Tom Brady would likely not have been in the league today. While he benefits greatly from modern NFL rules and has had career longevity thanks to these laws, he is still part of a team, and that team plays defense. Tom Brady could lose a game due to the defense being penalized for being too rough and physical with the receivers.
Brady wants to see change in the NFL, but it's hard to get the change he wants. The NFL is focused heavily on keeping the game safe due to lawsuits and deaths of former players. However, the league can find some leeway in certain areas to bring some physicality back into the game. Regardless, it'll never be the same sport it was in the 90s.