Tom Brady is considered one of the best quarterbacks of all time for various reasons, including the number of Super Bowls he has won, with seven championships. With Brady looking to join the Fox Sports broadcast team in 2024, the former QB1 stopped by “The Stephen A. Smith Show” and gave a glimpse into his takes, and they are not favorable to the current NFL game.
“I think there’s a lot of mediocrity in today’s NFL,” Brady said. “I don’t see the excellence that I saw in the past.”
Additionally, Brady aimed at the coaches during a conspicuous time when his former head coach Bill Belichick is experiencing one of the worst seasons of his career with the New England Patriots.
Brady vs. Everybody
“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.”
Brady also aimed at the rules changes in the NFL that have led to increased penalties on certain hits. He roped in the current state of coaching again as he felt the “fundamentals” were worked on more during his day.
“I look at a lot of players like Ray Lewis and Rodney Harrison and Ronnie Lott, and guys that impacted the game in a certain way, and every hit they would have made would have been a penalty,” Brady continued. “You hear coaches complaining about their own player being tackled and not necessarily, why don’t they talk to their player about how to protect themself.
“How to get rid of the ball, how to throw it, how to run out of bounds, how to get down, how to lower your pad level. We used to work on the fundamentals of those things all the time,” Brady explained. “Now they’re trying to be regulated all the time. It’s not up to the defensive player to protect the offensive player. Offensive players need to protect themselves. The defensive player needs to protect themself. He shouldn’t ask the offensive player to protect him.”
Brady’s Last Stand
As an offensive captain, Brady feels that strategy reduces the potential for danger as he knows what defensive players he has to be strategic against.
“I didn’t throw it to the middle when I played [ex-Ravens linebacker] Ray Lewis because you knock him out of the game and I couldn’t afford to lose a good player,” said Brady. “So, guys like that, the only way to beat skill was physicality.”
Tom Brady retired from the NFL after 23 seasons but is currently taking a year off before he begins his next chapter in the broadcast booth with Fox Sports. If his recent interview is a preview, NFL industry insiders should get their ego in check.
