Midway through leading the New England Patriots dynasty, Tom Brady’s career almost ended when he tore his ACL in Week 1 of the 2008 season.
Coming off by far the best season of his career and his first MVP award, Brady missed a full year at age 31. Many attribute this moment to the impetus for the NFL to create more protections for quarterbacks in the pocket. Today, defensive players cannot drive quarterbacks to the ground, hit them in the helmet, or otherwise use excessive force.
Yet while Brady’s lost season may have been what changed some minds in the league office, he believes the changes went too far.
Now, on the other side, as an analyst, the seven-time Super Bowl champion is pushing back aggressively on how NFL play-callers ([his favorite targets](https://awfulannouncing.com/nfl/tom-brady-quarterbacks-rookies-tragedy-dumbed-game-down.html)) and officials have turned the game into a free-for-all for quarterbacks, who now expose themselves to bigger hits than ever before.
“With the rule changes in the NFL that have essentially taken away forcible contact to a ball-carrier, certainly the quarterback outside of the pocket, even though the quarterback can protect himself, we’ve now forced a very passive defense,” [Brady explained on _The PFF NFL Podcast_ this week](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWMycDl7NuQ), calling the evolutions “terrible” for the long-term health of stars who play the league’s premier position.
“So now the quarterback can run, basically unabated, anywhere he wants on the field, and have tremendous protection. So because of that, offensive coordinators now have those plays in their playbook, and they’re running them more than they’ve ever run them before.”
Brady believes that the league likely knows the uptick in designed runs could result in more injuries, but they are OK with that possibility because it makes for more entertaining games.
“I think it’s terrible for the longevity of the quarterback,” Brady said. “It’s certainly very exciting, and it’s fun to watch. But a beautiful dropback by a quarterback to rip a 12-yard out cut to the field, I think that’s incredible. I know the level of difficulty. Sometimes you can do that when it’s easy and the corner backs up. For a quarterback to run for 12 yards, it looks incredible.”
During his playing career, Brady was not blessed with the ability to scramble for big gains. Instead, he became famous for his expeditious decision-making and ability to read defenses.
Looking out into the landscape now, Brady hopes quarterbacks have the awareness to balance their own futures with short-term gains. Otherwise, these players could be in for a rude awakening. All it takes is one hit.
It may sound counterintuitive, but Brady appears to be arguing that the NFL inadvertently made the game more dangerous while trying to make it safer. There’s only so much blame you can throw at the league when one problem always leads to another, but Brady hopes that running quarterbacks like Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson understand that they cannot rely on defensive players to save them, even if that is currently how the system works.
“I think it’s the responsibility of the offensive player to protect himself,” Brady said. “The way the NFL rules are now, the defensive player has to protect the offensive player. And I strongly disagree with that form of refereeing the game.”