If the Los Angeles Rams have their way, Tom Brady will inspire another NFL rule change.
The Rams are proposing a change of rules stemming from a play made by Brady when the two teams met in Week 11. On a 3rd and 10 in the fourth quarter, Brady’s pass attempt was batted back to him at the line of scrimmage. Brady grabbed the rebound and threw a second time, completing an eight-yard pass to Mike Evans.
Brady really caught a pass and completed a pass on the same play @TomBrady @Buccaneers
#LARvsTB on ESPN pic.twitter.com/MI80s77SYb
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) November 24, 2020
To be clear, throwing two forward passes on one play is already illegal. But the Rams were not happy with the options presented to them. Accepting the penalty would have let Brady come back on the field in a 3rd-and-15 spot, while declining it would have left the Buccaneers with a manageable 4th-and-2.
According to John Breech of CBS Sports, the Rams have proposed a rule change that would make the penalty for two forward passes the same as for an illegal pass beyond the line of scrimmage. In addition to a five-yard loss, a loss of down would also be added to the penalty. In this scenario, it would have ensured the Rams would get Brady off the field by forcing them into a 4th-and-15 after the flag.
This one actually makes some sense. Brady may not have done it in this spot, but he’s clever enough to know the rule and potentially try to put an opponent in a difficult spot by taking advantage of the potential extra down and minimal loss.
You know you’re a great quarterback when you’re getting a rule proposal named after you. It wouldn’t even be the first Tom Brady rule on the books, as diving at an opposing quarterback’s knees is in the rules thanks in part to him.
