Tom Brady had some interesting things to say about the NFL’s rule changes. Many NFL fans are not happy with the league being more strict about taunting, leading to the phrase “No Fun League” trending on social media. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback talked about the rules on his SiriusXM Radio show Let’s Go! and said the league has gotten “softer” over the years.
“I think there’s probably a lot of shortsightedness,” Brady said per Pro Football Talk. “You know, when I hear that a lot, because I’ve heard over the years, you know, ‘Oh, the game is changing,’ and so forth. I think the game changes in different ways. It evolves and changes and grows and hopefully, it’s getting better. And at the same time I think that there have always been, you know, incredible athletes playing professional football at the quarterback position. Randall Cunningham was an incredible athlete. Kenny Stabler was an incredible quarterback. Roger Staubach was. Michael Vick, I mean, I don’t know if there’s anyone more athletic that’s ever played than Michael Vick. I think it adds an element to the game.
“However, the name of this game is still scoring points. That style of play takes longer and is, therefore, more volatile. You are more at risk of injury when you’re not in your pocket. You don’t have as much protection as you do in your pocket. It’s not as protected as you would normally have in your pocket.”
Brady went on to say that the game has changed to where defensive players being more careful when it comes to going after a ball carrier. “So, I would say that the game is less competitive than it used to. I think the defensive players are more on the defensive when they go in to tackle,” he said. “And I think that’s probably adding to this element of quarterbacks outside the pocket and taking more chances, you know than they did in the past.”
Brady, who is 44 years old, said that he would continue to play at a high standard until he is 50. Brady isn’t able to take the hits that the players who played in the 1980s or 1990s took over a longer period due to the rules he has been following for the past 20 years.