Tom Brady makes alarming NFL regression admission over rookie 'tragedy'

Tom Brady spoke about the current state of the NFL and his fears about the direction the game is heading, particularly at the quarterback position.

During his "True Grit" panel at NYC Fanaticsfest, moderated by ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, Brady voiced fears that the NFL might be regressing rather than progressing, especially regarding quarterback development and the role of QBs as true field generals.

Brady, who retired two seasons ago, shared his observations in front of an energetic New York City crowd. Smith, who had previously discussed this topic with Brady on his YouTube show , pressed him to elaborate on his belief that while today’s players may have raw talent, they cannot make crucial adjustments on the field. Instead, they rely too heavily on the play-calling of their coaches.

Brady began by explaining his love for the game and desire to see it evolve in the right direction. “I love the game,” he said, giving his observations with an analogy that drew laughs from the crowd. “If we have the iPhone 15 this year, I don’t want to watch the iPhone 9 being re-released.”

He continued: “When I watch it [the NFL], I think, ‘Wait a minute, we’re regressing in the game a little bit,’ for a number of reasons, and I can think back to the last 15 years, but the development of the players is what’s most important in the NFL.”

Brady emphasized the need for continuous improvement in the league, something he feels is lacking today. “If you want football to be good, you’re gonna want to develop these players to be better every single day,” he said. “The reality is, we don’t have the processes in place to be better year after year.”

He pointed out that while players today might maintain their skills or improve slightly, they aren’t seeing the same level of development possible when he was coming up in the league. “We practiced more, had fewer distractions, and had much more opportunity in the offseason to train. There was more opportunity in the regular season to train,” the seven-time Super Bowl winner explained.

Follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sport and entertainment stories.

Brady said the issues trickle down to college and even high school levels. He dissed the current state of college football, where players frequently transfer schools, and said, "There used to be college programs; now there are college teams. You’re no longer learning a program, you’re learning a playbook," he said after reflecting on his college developmental experience. "At Michigan for me, that was a pro-style program. For five years, I learned how to drop back pass and read defenses and coverages.”

Brady said that today’s rookies are being thrust into starting roles too quickly without the proper development. “I think it’s a tragedy that we’re forcing these rookies to start early. We dumbed the game down, which allowed them to play. The game used to be thought of at a higher level. We used to spend hours in the offseason trying to get better in the next year.”

To address the issues, Brady challenged today's quarterbacks to aspire to be true field generals rather than relying solely on raw talent. He noted that many of today’s quarterbacks struggle to make pre-snap adjustments, even when they know their play won’t work, because they haven’t been trained to audible into a better option, like a short throw or a run.