‘I don’t see the excellence I’ve seen in the past’: Tom Brady calls out NFL ‘mediocrity’ and ‘bad habits’

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Former NFL star Tom Brady, who retired in February after winning his seventh Super Bowl, criticized the current state of the game and the lack of quality and “excellence” which he witnessed in the “past”.

In an interview with Stephen A Smith, Brady said he thought there was a lot of “mediocrity” in today’s NFL and blamed it on poor coaching, player development, programs and the rules.

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Tom Brady says coaching and player development isn’t as good as it used to be

Brady, who played 23 seasons with the Patriots and Buccaneers, said he thinks the training and development of young players is not as “good” as it was when he played.

Tom Brady believes training and development of young players is not as ‘good’ as it was when he played (Photo by Joe Kohen/Getty Images for Audi of America)

He said he did not consider the systems as good as they were and that the rules had allowed many “bad habits” to seep into actual game performance.

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“I just think the product, in my opinion, is inferior to what it has been,” Brady said, as reported by the New York Post.

“I think there’s a lot of mediocrity in today’s NFL” – @TomBrady pic.twitter.com/xyZ1q3ztUg

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) November 21, 2023

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Defensive players are penalized for being physical, says Tom Brady

Brady also lamented how the rules have changed to favor offensive players and how defensive players are penalized for their physicality.

He said he avoided throwing the ball in certain areas because he didn’t want to risk losing a good player on a hard hit.

He said he avoided throwing the ball in certain areas because he didn’t want to risk losing a good player on a hard hit (Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

“I look at a lot of players like Ray Lewis, Rodney Harrison and Ronnie Lott, and guys who impacted the game in some way, and every hit they would have made would have been a penalty,” said Brady.

He added that offensive players must protect themselves and not rely on defensive players to do so. “The defensive player must protect himself. He shouldn’t ask the offensive player to protect him,” Brady said.

Tom Brady will be an analyst at Fox Sports next fall

Brady, who won six Super Bowl titles with the Patriots and one with the Buccaneers, announced his retirement in February 2021. He will join Fox Sports as a lead analyst for the NFL Channel next fall.

In the meantime, he will share his thoughts on the game remotely. He said he hopes to see more excellence and quality in the NFL in the future.

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