NFL fans around the nation cried foul last Thursday night as they watched the Denver Broncos’ defense repeatedly land shots to the head of Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.
A common compliant: If that was Tom Brady out there, those would be penalties.
So how did Brady feel about the plethora of head shots Newton absorbed, only one of which drew a flag?
“I don’t know, man,” the New England Patriots quarterback said in a Q&A with Esquire’s Luke O’Neil published Thursday. “Whatever (the referees) call, they call. You can’t change it. You’ve just got to live with it. The last person I have ever criticized is an official. They have a tough job to do. Things are happening so quick.
“In the age of television, 5,000 frame per millisecond now, you can see everything and get overly negative and critical of everything. Hopefully that never determines the outcome of what a game would be. Hopefully it balances out over the course of the season.”
The Patriots surely hope Brady will not need to worry about blows to the head once he returns from his four-game Deflategate suspension. In the meantime, though, their focus is on protecting Jimmy Garoppolo, who impressed Sunday night in his first NFL start.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Images
