Tom Brady created a stir with his “mediocrity” comment about the NFL. The former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback explained his comment during the “Let’s Go!” podcast on Monday, November 27.
“The pro game is reflecting what the college game is as opposed to the college game reflecting what the pro game is,” Brady said. “We’re asking pro players to play college football. That’s the biggest difference I see. It’s way more checkers than it is chess. I tried to play chess. I wanted to have three moves ahead of you at all times.”
Brady, who played 23 seasons in the NFL, emphasized the game play and coaching isn’t heading the right direction.
“I think the point is, you want to see the game continue to grow and evolve,” Brady said. “That means better coaching, better quarterback play, and better defensive playcalling. I think a big difference too is the lack of time that coaches have with players, coaches have together in the building, people don’t understand the full picture a lot of the time.”
Tom Brady Addresses Quarterback Play in the NFL
Brady fittingly highlighted quarterback play as a key area. He emphasized that quarterbacks “need to know what everyone is doing”, but that’s regressed as coaches “control the game for the sideline” more now.
“When you try to control the game from the sideline, you don’t have the answer for everything that’s happening on the field,” Brady said. “Ultimately, as a quarterback, I had all the things at my disposal to get us into a good play. … I had the ability to change the play to get us to a play that I thought would be more successful.”
“I just don’t see as much of that in the NFL,” Brady added. “There’s a lot less time that people are spending on it. That’s just the reality. When I started, there was a lot more time we spent on it. Over those years, I developed a lot of those tools in my arsenal to get us into the best play.”
For Tom Brady, it Starts at the Line of Scrimmage
Brady talked about how he changed plays at the line of scrimmage throughout his career where he won seven Super Bowls. He doesn’t see the adjustments by quarterbacks as often in today’s game until after the ball is snapped.
“The more you can be decisive as a quarterback, the better outcomes you’re going to have, the better your process is going to be,” Brady said. “You want to be really decisive as a quarterback. You want to be really sure of what you’re doing.”
“But you need to be sure of the game plan, the protections, who’s responsible for who if they blitz, and where all of the receivers are going. All of that takes time. We’ve got to allow these guys time to develop,” Brady continued.
He highlighted past rival quarterbacks Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Phillip Rivers as examples. Brady said it’s mainly only Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, and Patrick Mahomes who adjust well at the line of scrimmage today.
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Tom Brady Sounds Off on Today’s NFL