It’s time for everyone to come together because old man Tom Brady has a few things to tell us about what the NFL was like back in his day.
Brady recently appeared on Stephen A. Smith’s YouTube show to praise the quality of play in the NFL, which he joined less than 365 days ago.
“I think there’s a lot of mediocrity in the NFL today. I don’t see the excellence that I saw in the past,” Brady said. “I don’t think the coaching is as good as it used to be. I don’t think the young player development is as good as it used to be. The rules allow a lot of bad habits to get into the way the game is being played right now. So, I just think I don’t think the product is as good as it used to be.”
Brady went on to mention several NFL superstars who had made huge hits and lamented that these hits would be labeled as too violent today. Brady believes coaches should teach players to protect themselves rather than reduce the violence of the game.
“I look at a lot of players like Ray Lewis, Rodney Harrison and Ronnie Lott, and players who impact the game in some way, every hit they take is going to be a penalty,” He said. “You hear coaches complaining about their players being tackled… Why don’t they talk to their players about how to protect themselves? We used to work on the basics of these things. Now they’re trying to be policed every minute. “
Brady then said some very interesting things about being a quarterback during a violent time in the NFL, something he’s also discussed in 2021.
“Offensive players need to protect themselves. Defensive players shouldn’t protect offensive players. Defensive players need to protect themselves. I didn’t throw the ball into certain areas because I was worried about players getting knocked down.” “That’s the reality. When I played against Ray “With Lewis, I didn’t throw the ball up the middle because he would have knocked them out of the game and I couldn’t lose a good player.”
Although Brady believes today’s NFL is weak, he admitted that he once intentionally adjusted his scheme so that his receivers would not be wiped out after taking devastating hits from legends like Lewis. He doesn’t quite understand that today’s “softer” NFL allows quarterbacks to throw to receivers without fear of a game-ending (or season-ending) hit.
Brady may also be forgetting one factor that actually works in his favor in today’s “mediocre” NFL: roughing up the passer. In the final years of his career, even casual, non-violent contact with Brady would trigger roughing the passer penalties. That makes him untouchable and could help extend his career until age 45. He might want to remember this the next time he gets frustrated with the lack of big hits from non-quarterback players.