Appearing on “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” legendary quarterback Tom Brady expressed his concerns about the current state of the NFL.
Brady, a sure-fire future Hall of Famer, voiced his displeasure with what he perceives as a decline in the quality of the game based on what he’s seen so far this season.
“I think there’s a lot of mediocrity in today’s NFL. I don’t see the excellence that I saw in the past,” Brady remarked during the interview.
The retired quarterback attributed the perceived decline to multiple factors. According to Brady, coaching standards have slipped, the development of young players isn’t as robust, and rule changes have allowed bad habits to infiltrate the game.
“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,” he said.
“I just think the product, in my opinion, is less than what it’s been.”
Tom Brady is NOT impressed with the NFL product today
pic.twitter.com/Y0dpWe81uX— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) November 21, 2023
Brady also weighed in on the issue of player safety, expressing his belief that recent rule changes, intended to protect players, have altered the nature of the game.
He argued that players who were dominant in his era would struggle in today’s NFL due to the increased emphasis on safety.
“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 … Every hit they would have made would have been a penalty,” Brady said.
“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 emphasized the need for offensive players to take more responsibility for their own safety, suggesting that the focus on regulating defensive players has shifted the balance of the game.
“Offensive players need to protect themselves … It’s not up to a defensive player to protect an offensive player. A defensive player needs to protect himself,” he said.
“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.”
THANK YOU @TomBrady
“It’s not up to a defensive player to protect an offensive player, a defensive player needs to protect himself.”
cc. @stephenasmith pic.twitter.com/juy9aXrys0
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) November 21, 2023
Brady’s unique perspective comes from his long, extensive career, spanning multiple eras of the NFL.
He highlighted changes in coaching methods, particularly the reduction of padded practices, as a potential factor contributing to the decline in game quality.
Despite Brady’s concerns, the NFL is unlikely to make drastic changes that could impact its bottom line. The league has historically prioritized adjustments to enhance popularity and revenue.
There’s not one word Brady said that isn’t true.
Most fans, as well as coaches and players, would love for the game to go back to how it once was.
What are your thoughts on Brady’s comments???