The NFL legend Tom Brady bid farewell to the league last year. However, after just one year of leaving the NFL, Brady shared his disappointment for the Patriots and advised the team and now the former QB isn’t happy with the whole league.
In a recent interview, the 46-year-old expressed dissatisfaction with the current level of play in the NFL, noting a perceived decline in excellence. He also shared the reasons behind its downfall.
Tom Brady points out decline in NFL
Tom Brady, who is rumored to be dating Irina Shayk mentioned that there is mediocrity in the NFL and he also explained the reasons why it has happened.
“I think there’s a lot of mediocrity in today’s NFL. I don’t see the excellence that I saw in the past.”
The seven-time Super Bowl champion criticized the coaching quality, suggesting it’s not as good as it was during his playing career. He also mentioned a decline in the development of young players, implying that there’s a gap in nurturing talent for professional play.
“I think the coaching isn’t as good as it was,” Brady said. “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 former QB pointed out that rule changes have allowed bad habits to affect the game’s performance negatively.
“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.”
The NFL has seen a decline in scoring for the fourth consecutive season in 2023, which Brady attributes to various factors, including injuries to quarterbacks.
This season, we have seen many quarterbacks getting injured, including Joe Burrow, Aaron Rodgers, Deshaun Watson, and Kirk Cousins, because of which their teams had to struggle.
Tom Brady acknowledged the physicality of the sport but criticized recent rule changes designed to protect players, stating they have allowed for more carefree play.
“Offensive players need to protect themselves. It’s not up to a defensive player to protect an offensive player. A defensive player needs to protect himself. … I think a lot of the way that the rules have come into play have allowed this — you can essentially play carefree and then if anyone hits you hard, there’s a penalty.”
The former QB also suggested that college players were better prepared when he entered the NFL in 2000. According to him, the reason it has happened is because the coaches are changed frequently in college programs, which negatively affects the players’ development.
Because of the lack of preparedness, the players can’t do any better when they enter the NFL and that is one of the biggest reasons for the decline of excellence in the NFL.
Shannon Sharpe credits Brady for best Patriots decade
Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson talked about Tom Brady’s comments about mediocrity in the NFL in a recent appearance on the Stephen A. Smith Show. Sharpe disagreed with Brady’s assessment.
He recalled a rule change in 2008 where the former QB was injured, leading to a rule against certain defensive moves. He found his criticism of passion and rules hypocritical, as the rule was implemented to protect quarterbacks, including Brady and now the former QB is against the same rules that helped him during his playing days.
Sharpe and Chad Johnson asserted that “Tom Brady benefited from these rules” and expressed skepticism about their critique.
Despite this criticism, Sharpe respects the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s NFL career. In a previous episode, Sharpe expressed disappointment with Bill Belichick but credited the Patriots’ success to the 46-year-old, suggesting that the former QB’s departure showcased the team’s reliance on him.
“I think one of the reasons why Tom Brady gets so much credit is because we see how it looks without him,” he said.
Sharpe is not the only one who thinks like that. A few days ago, former Patriots player Rob Gronkowski also shared that the reason Patriots are struggling is the retirement of Tom Brady.
During his tenure with the team, Tom Brady did help the Patriots a lot and led them to multiple Super Bowl wins. But now, the same team is struggling with the worst record this season.
What do you think about the current state of NFL? Make sure to let us know in the comments section.
