The "New" Tom Brady Rule

Over a year ago, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady suffered a horrific knee injury against the Kansas City Chiefs when safety Bernard Pollard, while falling down, rolled into Brady's left knee, tearing the ACL and ending Brady's season.


On Sunday, Baltimore Ravens pro bowl defensive end Terrell Suggs was pushed while rushing Brady as the Ravens and Patriots faced off. Suggs stumbled and fell perilously close to Brady's legs again. Brady was able to sidestep the brunt of the hit and then looked back at the referee with a look like "what was that?" Despite completing his pass to running back Sammy Morris who was stopped short of the first down.

Suggs was hit with a 15-yard personal foul penalty which extended the Patriots' drive that ended with a touchdown run by Morris to extend the lead to 17-7.

My point is that quarterbacks in the NFL are being babied way too much these days. If a defensive player hits a quarterback anywhere except squarely in the chest, the chance of a unnecessary roughness penalty exists. The quarterback is the only position where a single referee/umpire is totally devoted to one position.

The hit on Brady a year ago was gruesome and spelled trouble for the Patriots hopes that season, but no penalty was called on the play. Suggs did not even knock down Brady on the play but because of the new rules and the way Brady played it up as well as a soccer player, a penalty was called that led to a touchdown drive for the Pats.

Defensive players are not always in control of themselves. Half of the players in the NFL on the defensive side of the ball can't even properly tackle a running back or wide receiver, let alone hit a moving, scrambling quarterback in a three-foot area while being shoved by humongous 300-pound linemen.

Even Brady admits it's tough.

"I never think those guys are being malicious out there. They are trying to make a play, make the tackle, and it's tough for a defensive player to [pull off] a quarterback," Brady said.

I understand that quarterbacks are fragile and their egos are even more fragile, but we can't change the entire game of football just to protect these guys. Former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann had his leg broken in a game back in the day but there was no penalty because the defensive player made a great play.


The referees and head-honchos in the NFL need to figure out a better way to protect players without compromising the integrity of the sport.