Tom Brady has big complaint about quarterback development
Aug 28, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) jogs off the field after a game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Tom Brady has a fairly bold take on the state of quarterbacking in the NFL.
The legendary quarterback said in an interview with Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports that NFL quarterbacking has “gone backwards” in recent years. While Brady said that physical fundamentals may be better, the mental side of the position has regressed because of coaches trying to run the game from the sidelines.
“I think now, there’s this try-to-control element from the sideline between the coaches, where they want to have the control,” Brady said. “And they’re not teaching and developing the players the right tools so that they can go out on the field and make their own decisions that are best suited for the team. When I looked at Peyton Manning, he was a guy that I looked up to because he had ultimate control. And I think the game’s regressed in a little bit of that way, based on what’s happened in high school football, college football and then the NFL’s getting a much lesser developed quarterback at this point.”
Brady said the problem begins at lower levels, as development has become secondary to immediate results. In his view, things like the transfer portal make it virtually impossible to develop quarterbacks on a year-to-year basis.
“There’s no programs that are developing [quarterbacks] in college. They’re just teams now,” Brady added. “So you play one year here, one year here, one year here. Well, how can you be good at something in a job if you’re only working at one place for one year, then going to another place for one year, then to another place for one year?”
It is something of an old-school opinion from Brady, who is obviously the type to favor a field general. Though he largely blames the system in this instance, he has previously hinted that some young players might not be up for the role that he is describing here.
If this is a preview of Brady’s broadcasting opinions, it suggests he will be pretty old-school, which would not come as a surprise. That is not necessarily a bad thing: in this instance, plenty of people would probably agree with him.