Tom Brady is not exactly making any more friends on the defensive side of the football.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback suggested taking away hits to the knees of wide receivers after teammate Chris Godwin’s season ended following a low hit from Saints safety P.J. Williams on Sunday.
This isn’t sitting well with those who must tackle players for a living, like Cowboys rookie linebacker Micah Parsons.
“Lol so let’s stop playing tackle football?” Parsons wrote on Twitter.
Parsons, who very well may be the Defensive Rookie of the Year, was not the only one who took issue with Brady’s suggestion.
Packers safety Adrian Amos and former All-Pro defensive end Robert Mathis also chimed in on Twitter.
Brady’s argument, which he made on his weekly podcast with Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray, was that receivers are the only ones who still take hits to the knees.
“I’ve talked to the [NFLPA] about it for a while, and I’d like to speak to the Competition Committee at some point this offseason,” Brady said. “I’ve seen that hit too many times where a defenseless pass-catcher is in the process of catching the ball and then he’s hit by the defender.
“And a lot of defenders will say, ‘Well, we can’t hit them in the head anymore.’ Well, the point is you can’t hit anyone in the head anymore. You can’t hit anyone in the knees anymore except for the receivers, because you can still hit them in the knees.”
Brady also pointed out later that offensive player cannot hit defensive players low while blocking.
Coincidentally, it was a low hit to Brady at the start of the 2008 season in which he tore his ACL that led to the league finally making the change on hitting quarterbacks low.
It’s possible Brady could lead the way on a change for wide receivers, but defensive players will certainly be vocal in their opposition toward it.
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