Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s scary concussion during Week 13 has reignited conversations about how best to protect the NFL’s brightest stars. Two of the league’s all-time greats, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, chimed in on Tuesday, offering more support for defensive players than anticipated.
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Brady spoke on The Herd, stating that he doesn’t believe defensive players should have to bear the full responsibility of keeping their quarterbacks safe. He suggested the league should consider penalizing signal-callers if they don’t get down in a timely manner.
“Quarterbacks need to take better care of themselves… when you run, you put yourself in a lot of danger. And when you do that, I don’t think the onus of protecting [a running quarterback] should be on a defensive player. I don’t think that’s really fair to the defense… maybe they penalize or fine a quarterback for sliding late… if we don’t want these hits to take place, we’ve got to penalize the offense and the defense,” said Brady.
Rodgers echoed Brady’s sentiment on The Pat McAfee Show. He did not discuss whether the quarterbacks should face repercussions for not sliding early enough. But Rodgers concurred with Tom that modern defense is much more difficult because of all the additional safety protocols that have been implemented.
“[The NFL has] already done a lot to support the quarterback and keep [them] safe… the whole game has changed in the last 20 years… you’ve protected the quarterback from the knee [down] to the shoulder [up], make it real difficult on defensive players to even know how to tackle the guy… it’s really hard to play defense in those situations,” added Rodgers.
There are many old-timers who often lament on how “soft” the game has become in recent years. Early in their careers, the league’s physicality ensured Rodgers and Brady attacked defenses. Nowadays, that isn’t the case.
Rodgers: NFL has encouraged “lower standard of play” from QBs
The NFL’s biggest defensive stars used to be hard-hitting linebackers and safeties. In this age, edge rushers and cornerbacks have all the glory.
This shift reflects how stopping the pass has become prevalent in modern football. It also shows how physical play is now admonished more than respected. Rodgers elaborated on this:
“Back [in the day], you didn’t go over the middle… you had to be careful throwing the ball over the middle cause [your receivers] were going to get smacked… we’ve encouraged a lower level, a [lower] standard of play from the quarterback position… you’re never worried about throwing the ball down the middle, cause you’re not gonna get your guy killed… we’ve lost a lot of physicality.”
Brady had previously detailed on a “lesser developed quarterback” in the modern NFL. So, he would presumably agree with Rodgers’ assertion. Tom added that the current schemes could put quarterbacks at higher risk of getting hurt.
“There’s more designed runs for quarterbacks ever now than in the history of the NFL,” said Brady. “So, are we really trying to protect quarterbacks? Cause if you are trying to do it through the rules, then why are the offensive coordinators not protecting their quarterbacks by keeping them in the pocket and not designing as many QB runs?”
Mobility is a positive for quarterbacks. At the same time, it can lead coordinators to become overly reliant upon it. This can lead to less intensive gameplans/schemes, and in turn stunt a young signal-caller’s overall growth. Ball location and run/throw decisions aren’t as imperative if a flag is going to give you 15 yards regardless.
Let’s get it straight though. Players being safer is a good thing. That said, a slight tweak back toward a more physical sport could help quarterbacks develop more efficiently.
