August 26, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Former NFL player Tom Brady on the field before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Las Vegas Raiders at AT&T Stadium.Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Tom Brady has benefited from NFL rule changes that favored offenses during his storied career, but that doesn’t mean the seven-time Super Bowl champion is a fan.
Brady was a guest on the latest episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” which was released on Monday. During part of the interview, the former quarterback criticized the overall performance we’ve seen in the NFL this season. He said there was a lot of “mediocrity” in today’s game, and Brady clearly felt the league had become too soft.
“Those rules allow a lot of bad habits to get into the actual performance of the game,” Brady said. “I just think, in my opinion, the product isn’t as good as it used to be. I look at a lot of guys like Ray Lewis, Rodney Harrison and Ronnie Lott, guys that impact the game in some way. . Every shot they take is punished.”
Brady later said the NFL puts too much emphasis on protecting players from big hits.
“You hear coaches complain about their players getting tackled, but not necessarily … why don’t they talk to their players about how to protect themselves?” Brady asked. “We used to work on the basics of these things. Now, they’ve been trying to be policed. Offensive players need to protect themselves. Defensive players shouldn’t be protecting offensive players. Defensive players need to protect themselves. I didn’t throw the ball into certain areas. , because I’m worried that certain players will be eliminated. That’s the reality.”
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Some would say it would be easy for Brady to express these frustrations in retirement. However, this isn’t the first time he’s complained about overcompensation in the NFL. Two years ago I talked about how the so-called no-defender rule made life too easy for offensive players.
There are a lot of people who agree with Brady, but most of them are probably defensive players. Even though the rules that have been put in place will continue to exist, it must be a good feeling to have the best quarterback of all time next to them.