CNN
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Tom Brady may be done with his football career, but that’s not stopping him from paying close attention to the NFL this season. The legendary quarterback wasn’t particularly impressed with what he saw.
Seven-time Super Bowl champion Brady spoke on a recent episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show” and expressed regret for the current level of competition in the NFL.
“I think there’s a lot of mediocrity in the NFL today. I don’t see the excellence that I saw in the past,” he said.
When asked why he felt that way, Brady added: “I don’t think the coaching is as good as it used to be. I don’t think the development of young players is as good as it used to be. I don’t think the programs are as good as they used to be.
“I think the rules have introduced a lot of bad habits into the current performance of the game. So I think, in my opinion, the product is not as good as it used to be.”
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Brady won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.
Brady, who retired from the NFL in February after 23 years with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, cited the heightened scrutiny of rough passers (designed to protect quarterbacks from injury) and the inability to Necessary rough rules.
He found himself at the center of that debate last year when he benefited from a controversial roughing the passer call when the Buccaneers beat the Atlanta Falcons.
“Guys are competitive. Guys play hard,” Brady said. “I looked at a lot of (former) players like Ray Lewis, Rodney Harrison and Ronnie Lott, and players who impacted the game in some way, every shot they took was going to be a penalty ( today).
He added: “Offensive players need to protect themselves. Defensive players should not protect offensive players.
“Defensive players need to protect themselves… I think a lot of aspects of the rules allow for that – you can basically play without a worry and then if someone hits you hard, you get punished. That’s the same thing I had when I was playing. Very different.”
The 46-year-old said his side had struggled in the past to address the “basic issue” of players not being tackled, but added that in today’s game “they have struggled to be policed.”
Brady retired from the NFL with a record number of Super Bowl rings. He also won more games, threw for more yards and touchdowns than any other player in league history.
Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson was suspended four games by the NFL in late October after multiple unnecessary roughness violations, which was later reduced to two games on appeal. Post to video On X (formerly Twitter), Brady’s interview clearly backed up the NFL legend’s comments.
Tuesday’s post comes after Jackson was suspended for another four games for multiple violations of player safety rules following Denver’s 21-20 win over Minnesota Vikings quarterback Joshua Dobbs on Sunday night, but was in the game. were not punished. The win was the safety’s first game since returning from an October suspension.
“You could have appealed the latest suspension,” NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan wrote in a letter to the Broncos safety staff. It is within the rules to make contact with your opponent, but you choose not to do so. ”
Former Super Bowl champion cornerback Richard Sherman, who defended Jackson after his last suspension, responded to the new suspension and Brady’s comments, Post on X: “The product is suffering. Calling a player “dirty” because he plays physical football and when the game is good will have him in every highlight reel on every network. Distorts the game and makes Players don’t have to be that skilled to be efficient.”