Tom Brady: NFL Is a 'Little Softer Than It Used to Be' Due to Increase in Penalties

Tom Brady is not a fan of the NFL's agenda over the past several years to ensure officials call penalties on defensive players for ticky-tack hits on quarterbacks. 

Speaking on his weekly podcast Let's Go with Jim Gray (h/t TMZ Sports), Brady said the NFL in 2021 is "a little softer than it used to be" because of the penalties being called on defenses.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers star has not been shy in speaking out against NFL rules he disagrees with. 

Earlier this month, Brady railed against the league's decision to loosen the restrictions on jersey numbers:

After Week 2 saw a number of flags thrown for taunting penalties, Brady agreed with ESPN's Field Yates' sentiment that the rule needs to go. 

The discussion about how overprotected quarterbacks are isn't new. In 2018, Clay Matthews of the Green Bay Packers was called for a roughing the passer penalty on Alex Smith in a game against the Washington Football Team.

On the play, Matthews wrapped up Smith and took him to the ground for a sack, landing on top of him. It seemed like a textbook example of how to tackle, but the officials disagreed. 

"I understand the spirit of the rule," Matthews said to reporters at the time. "I said that in weeks prior. But when you have a hit like that, that's a football play. I even went up to Alex Smith after the game and asked him, 'What do you think? What can I do differently?' Because that's a football play."

The NFL Football Operations Department explained the call against Matthews on Twitter:

A similar play occurred last week on Thursday Night Football when Chase Young of the Football Team wrapped up Daniel Jones as he released the ball and drove him into the ground with his body on top of the New York Giants quarterback. 

Officials called Young for roughing the passer, giving the Giants 1st-and-goal at Washington's 8-yard line instead of 3rd-and-12 from the 16. New York scored two plays later on a six-yard run by Jones. 

Even though the Football Team did end up winning 30-29, rulings like this can have a profound impact on the outcome of a game.

Brady is going to be the beneficiary of these calls by virtue of the position he plays, but at least he's smart enough to recognize it does put the defense at an even greater disadvantage.