It has been a few months, but Tom Brady is still not budging from his stance on the NFL’s new jersey number policy.
The Tampa Bay Bucs quarterback made it abundantly clear that he is still not a fan of the new rule, which has loosened the restrictions on which numbers certain positions can wear. For example, defensive backs can now wear any jersey number from 1-49, whereas previously they were limited to 20-49.
“Literally, guys changed their numbers today,” Brady told the Tampa Bay Times. “I’m playing two guys who had different numbers in the preseason.”
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Brady’s main issue is that it makes it more difficult to identify which players are playing which position.
“There’s a reason why you do every single thing in football,” Brady said. “And you study hard so you can put yourself in a good position. Now you get to the game, and you’re going to be confused the whole time because you’re rotating what a D-lineman used to look like versus a linebacker or here is what a safety looks like. Very pointless.”
The rule change applied to running backs, fullbacks tight ends, halfbacks, wide receivers, linebackers and defensive backs while quarterbacks, place kickers and punters were not granted any changes.
Brady said it has already made an impact in his preparation ahead of the Bucs’ Week 1 matchup with the Cowboys on Thursday night.
“You’ve got to watch film and know who you’re studying, but so do running backs,” Brady said. “They’ve got to know who to block. So does the offensive line. So [do] the receivers who are adjusting their routes based on blitzes. So one guy has got a 5, one guy has 11, one guy has got a 9. And they change every play when you break your routes and get to your spot. It’s going to be a very challenging thing. It’s a good advantage for the defense, which that’s what it is.”
When the rule change, which was proposed by the Chiefs, was announced in April Brady made a similar argument in an Instagram post, “good luck trying to block the right people now. Going to make for a lot of bad football.”
Brady has continued to defy Father Time, but we will find out if the jersey number changes could ultimately be his kryptonite.
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