We’re in the most pass-happy era in NFL history. Offensive players are posting record-breaking numbers year in and year out, and while high-scoring games are usually more entertaining to the fans, old-school enthusiasts may not feel that way.
That’s the case with Tom Brady, perhaps the greatest — and definitely the most accomplished — player this game has ever seen, and someone who lived the transition from the good old days to today’s game.
In a recent interview for the Stephen A. Smith show, the seven-time Super Bowl champion ripped today’s league, explaining how the new rules have led to a watered-down product and a lack of emphasis on fundamentals:
“I think there’s a lot of mediocrity in today’s NFL,” Brady said “I don’t see the excellence that I saw in the past. I don’t think the coaching is as good as it was. I don’t think the development of the young players is as good as it was. The rules have allowed a lot of bad habits to get into the actual performance of the game. I just think the product, in my opinion, is less than what it’s been.”
Brady Isn’t Happy With The New Rules
The New England Patriots legend continued his explanation by talking about Ray Lewis and some of the greatest, most physical defensive players of all time and how they wouldn’t have been able to make the same kind of impact under today’s set of rules:
“I look at a lot of players like Ray Lewis and Rodney Harrison and Ronnie Lott, guys that impacted the game in a certain way,” the seven-time Super Bowl champion continued. “Every hit they would have made would have been a penalty. You hear coaches complaining about their own player being tackled. Why don’t they talk to their player about how to protect themselves? We used to work on the fundamentals of those things all the time. Now they’re trying to be regulated all the time.”
Brady believes it’s not up to the referees or the rivals to protect offensive players. Instead, offensive players should know how to protect themselves and make sound decisions to avoid putting themselves in harm’s way:
“Offensive players need to protect themselves,” Brady argued. “It’s not up to a defensive player to protect an offensive player. A defensive player needs to protect himself. I didn’t throw the ball to certain areas because I was afraid players were gonna get knocked out. That’s the reality. I didn’t throw it to the middle when I played Ray Lewis because he’d knock them out of the game and I couldn’t afford to lose a good player.”
If someone can talk about this, it’s definitely Tom Brady. He actually benefited from these new rules later in his career, but he seems to see things as a fan, not as a quarterback.
Player safety should be at the forefront of every single discussion and action the league has. But at the end of the day, who’s looking out for defensive players? And how can they actually do their jobs?
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