Even Tom Brady thinks the NFL's penalties are getting out of control
If you think the excitement of the NFL is getting bogged down by excessive penalties, you probably wouldn’t be surprised to hear you aren’t alone.
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However, you might be surprised to learn that a certain New England Patriots quarterback agrees with you.
Tom Brady does not care for the penalties in Titans-Jaguars
Look, all Tom Brady wanted to do was go home after another hard day of practice, flip on Thursday Night Football and take in some Gardner Minshew-mania. He did not, however, sign up for a combined 10 penalties worth 95 yards to be called in the first half between the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Brady used the 117th tweet in his account’s history to air his frustration about the active refs.
Too many penalties. Just let us play!!!! #TENvsJAC
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) September 20, 2019
Things came to a head in Titans-Jaguars when a Kamalei Correa hit on Minshew was flagged for roughing the passer. The hit seemed low enough and soon enough after a Minshew pass attempt to be legal, but, you see, Correa’s helmet touched Minshew’s chin.
Can’t have that.
“In #TENvsJAX, there was helmet contact to Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew’s chin, therefore roughing the passer was called.” - AL pic.twitter.com/u70IpR5Viw
— NFL Officiating (@NFLOfficiating) September 20, 2019
By that point, Tom had seen enough.
I’m turning off this game I can’t watch these ridiculous penalties anymore #TENvsJAC
— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) September 20, 2019
Brady is, of course, no stranger to roughing the passer penalties. He has vocally argued for many in his favor, and one hit to his legs from a lunging Bernard Pollard in 2008 famously spurred an NFL rule change. And yet, he has a point about the frequency of penalties in the NFL this season.
According to NFLpenalties.com, NFL games have averaged 9.72 flags per game through two weeks this season, with 622 penalties called in total. Compare that to an average of 7.62 last year, and you might see a problem forming for the league’s product.
It’s especially bad with holding penalties, as the Fox broadcast revealed that such flags through Week 2 have spiked from 119 in 2017 and 109 in 2018 to a whopping 179 this year. Brady might not be a fan of that.
Troy Aikman, the color commentator for Titans-Jaguars, even agreed with Brady. The Cowboys great called the number of penalties this year “nauseating.” The NFL will have to hope enough fans don’t agree with the two quarterbacks, or some major changes in the league’s priorities might be needed.
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