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Brady spoke to Yahoo Sports and provided an assessment of current quarterback play in the NFL. “I think the quarterbacking has gone backwards a little bit in the NFL,” Brady said Wednesday. “I don’t think it’s improved. I don’t think the teaching’s improved. I think maybe the physical fundamentals might be a little bit improved because there’s better information out there for quarterbacks to study on mechanics. But I don’t think quarterbacks really are really field generals right now like they used to be. “It’s a broad statement, certainly. But I had total control. I had all the tools I needed. I was coached that way. I was developed to have the tools that I needed to go on the field so that whenever something came up, I had the right play, the right formation, the right audible, the right check at the line — to ultimately take control of the 11 guys on offense and get us into a good, positive play.” Brady sees what many in the NFL have seen, for years. Quarterbacks have less control in college, which leads to less control at the next level. “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 puts the onus on the whole game to improve the situation. “It’s on everybody,” Brady said. “It’s on players, it’s on coaches, it’s on the league, it’s on the colleges. Think about it: There’s no continuity anymore. Not even in high school. Not even in college. There’s no programs that are developing [quarterbacks] in college. They’re just teams now. 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?” |
OTOH, even in Brady's prime, there were only a handful of NFL QB's who could control the LOS like he could.
Him crying that the game got soft was comical. Guy looked at the Refs for a flag after he got hit evert time. Also can't hit a qb below the knees because of him.
The regarded best QB Patrick Mahomes, admitted publicly he didn't know how to read defenses the first two years in the league (not sure if two NFL seasons or first two starting, but either way). He managed to throw 50 TDs without knowing how to read defenses, which is amazing, but go back and watch those first few games versus New England and you'll see how true his words really were. He looked like anything but a 50 TD a season QB whenever he faced off against Brady's Patriots. The Chiefs were doing nothing offensively for awhile in that first AFC Championship Game against the Patriots, until Mahomes did one of his very signature broken play bombs to Tyreek Hill that broke the game open.
Mahomes I feel can read defenses much better than his early years, but I absolutely wouldn't look at him as #1 in the league in that aspect, and if he slipped out of the top 5 it wouldn't surprise me either. I'd probably be labeled a hater if I ranked him lower than top 5 or top 10, but it's certainly possible he's that low.
The current state of the NFL allows one to be dominant at QB if their mobility and arm talent are really good and their between the ears skill is well above average. Josh Allen is a prime example of what happens when you get the latter up to snuff -- he could easily have become another Jeff George from his early trajectory.
Joe Burrow I feel is the best QB in the league playing purely on traditional QB instincts, reading/manipulating defenses, and knowing how to hit his own guys with anticipation. Then I would go with Aaron Rodgers at #2, then Brock Purdy at #3. CJ Stroud isn't too far behind I think.
Mahomes many I'm sure will argue is better than Purdy and Stroud for those skills above...but if so, it isn't by much and won't last for a whole lot longer (because the younger guys are definitely improving). His game is still very much how impressive he can move around, arm talent, no look passes, broken play ability, while still possessing enough of all the other traditional skills to be the toughest tough QB to beat. But when the SB was on the line, 4th down and die, and the Chiefs convert with a designed run. Purdy twice has unblocked rushers in his face and the play is dead....that very much sums up the difference of what QB play is about in 2024.
From a traditional QB aspect, knowing how good he is now, why didn't Mahomes go #1 overall when guys like Goff, Stafford, CALEB WILLIAMS, and everyone else post Andrew Luck did? How did Mitch Trubisky go #3 overall in the same draft?
The modern game has filtered for a different kind of excellence. What Rodgers was doing from 2010-2018 was insane, but the defenses kept him in check more than they can Mahomes.
How often in college do you see the QB just staring at the sideline waiting to be told what to run? It is likely a necessity with the amount of movement between programs now, so it makes sense that QBs are no longer managing the game as much as they are executing plays that are called.
I’d say Mahomes and Josh Allen. After that there are a guys like Burrow who flash but are oft injured, high potential types like Herbert, system guys who’s stats are inflated by the scheme like Jalen Hurts, and some younger QB’s with a lot of promise like Stroud.
I think a lot of the issues are because of how so many colleges are playing. They have different OL rules than the NFL which contributes to what we see from college offenses. NFL has also been implementing some of these concepts.
He's not particularly wrong, but he's as responsible as anyone else for why quarterbacking is what it is right now.
i'd love to have a QB that had command of the offense.
Game manager to Brady meant get a 14 point lead, and then go for the jugular. No letting up, no mercy.
Him and BB were a match made in heaven.
Could have been very different.