Last week, the world received a taste of a Tom Brady hot take, and, in a word, it’s giving privilege.
Brady broke down the current state of play in the NFL during an interview with Stephen A. Smith, where he said there is a lot of “mediocrity in today’s NFL” game. Although he discussed the rules changes that do not allow players to maneuver the same and how he had to outsmart aggressive defenders, this is still the same era of the game saw him net a Super Bowl in 2021 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Things that make you say hmmm.
“I think there’s a lot of mediocrity in today’s NFL,” Brady said on “The Stephen A. Smith Show.” “I don’t see the excellence that I saw in the past.
“I think the coaching isn’t as good as it was,” Brady continued. “I don’t think the development of young players is as good as it was. I don’t think the schemes are as good as they were. The rules have allowed a lot of bad habits to get into the actual performance of the game. So, I just think the product, in my opinion, is less than what it’s been.”
Soapbox Tommy
Based on his level of judgment of the current state of player and personnel affairs within the NFL, there should be a new nickname in retirement if his nickname was “The GOAT” while he played, and that is “Soapbox Tommy.”
Interestingly, the coach with whom Brady won most of his seven championships, Bill Belichick, is experiencing one of the worst seasons of his career. The New England Patriots are dead last in the AFC East Division, which is even worse considering the historically mediocre Miami Dolphins lead the division. So the coaching shade Brady is cooking includes Belichick, or how about his last coach, Todd Bowles, or even his previous quarterback coach, Byron Leftwich?
Moreover, Brady dominated the AFC East Division as a member of the new England Patriots winning six championships there. However, there is a debate being made that the division was a gimme for Brady who used the privilege of a weakened division to soar above the competitive landscape.
Do Tell Tom
Former NFL quarterback turned sports analyst Alex Smith detailed the Brady AFC East privilege when explaining why he couldn’t co-sign Brady’s comments about the current state of the NFL.
“First off, he hasn’t been retired that long, he was just playing, like he just won a Super Bowl in the current game; is he discounting that one?” Smith said during this week’s “Sunday NFL Countdown.” “My biggest complaint with this, and no offense to you guys — well, all three of you guys he played in the most uncompetitive division, I think, in NFL history.”
The Alex Smith shade reverberated to his co-hosts, all AFC East alums Randy Moss and Teddy Bruschi, who played for New England, and Rex Ryan, who coached the New York Jets. Smith played for two NFC teams, the San Francisco 49ers, the Washington Commanders, as well as the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West Division.
Tom Brady is coming to a broadcast booth near you soon to espouse more of his unique brand of insight on the game of football. If this viral take is a precursor for the future, get your popcorn ready, because the polarization Brady is cooking will be epic.
