As a former quarterback, Tom Brady may be expected to keep his former profession after Texans linebacker Azeez Al Shaair delivered a devastating blow to Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence on Sunday. do not have.
However, this is not always the case.
During Houston's Week 14 loss to Jacksonville, Texans linebacker Azeez Al Shaair decked Jags QB Trevor Lawrence as he tried to slide.
Speaking with FS!'s Colin Cowherd on Tuesday, Brady admitted that he had “mixed feelings” about the play, adding that a rule could prevent such incidents by penalizing the quarterback. proposed.
“First of all, I have mixed feelings about this,” Brady said. “I remember playing in Buffalo in 2001 and I was running late. Nate Clements was the corner for the Bills and he came out of the secondary and completely crushed me. My helmet went flying off. I went back and ran into the huddle, and a bunch of my teammates came up to me the next day and said, “Hey, these guys are coming.'' I have to stop playing that soccer. If you're going to slip, you'd better get off. These guys are coming for you. ”
“That was a great learning experience for me because I realized that things were going much faster for me after I put the money down. Defenses are trying to get more aggressive, and over time, it became clear that the NFL We've done a lot to protect our players, the health and safety of our players, and so much more.”
Brady then addressed the league's current unequal play situation, where quarterbacks are being protected more than ever, but also running more than in the past.
“There's a side of me that thinks quarterbacks need to take better care of themselves. You see Josh Allen doing that a lot, you see Lamar Jackson doing that. It's a great skill set. When you run, you put yourself in a lot of danger, and when you do that, shouldn't the responsibility be on the defensive player to protect the running offensive quarterback? I don't think so. I don't think that's really fair to the defense.”
The Fox broadcaster and future Hall of Famer specifically took exception to the character assassination of Al Shayer, which appears to have involved many fans, media outlets and even the league itself. Additionally, he also suggested that it might be time for the league to start penalizing QBs who slide late and invite hits like this.
“I just don't like it,” Brady said of the tainted player labels. “They're probably going to fine or penalize the quarterback for sliding late. They say, 'If you don't want hits like this to happen, every play for a hit on the quarterback. Not only do you have to penalize the defensive player, you have to penalize the offense and the defense as well.”
Brady has a point.
Some may say the game is moving too quickly for the quarterback to make such a decision under threat of a penalty. But if defenders can move fast and get penalized for mistakes, why can't quarterbacks get penalized?
Imbalance in the rulebook is a serious problem. Quarterbacks are running more than ever because they are more athletic than ever. But it's also because the rulebook favors both inside and outside the pocket.
Will the NFL follow Brady's proposal? The possibility is very low. But he has a point.
