Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Tom Brady blasts 'dumb' new NFL uniform number rule

[Boxcar]

On 4/22/2021 at 9:35 PM, wppete said:

Brady isn’t wrong. There is a reason they had rules for the numbers. Great comments by Brady, even though I can’t stand that guy I respect him as a football player. 
 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31310379/tampa-bay-buccaneers-tom-brady-blasts-dumb-new-nfl-uniform-number-rule
 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Tom Brady blasts 'dumb' new NFL uniform number rule

 

TAMPA, Fla. -- While several NFL players expressed excitement this week over a newly adopted rule that allows more flexibility when it comes to the numbers worn on players' jerseys, Tampa Bay Buccaneersquarterback Tom Brady is not at all a fan.

 

Brady took to Instagram on Thursday to express his dissatisfaction with the rule change, believing it will cause safety issues for the offense, such as identifying blitzers or who's the middle linebacker of the defense.

 

Good luck trying to block the right people now!" Brady posted on his Instagram story, with an image of the new numbers permitted. "Going to make for a lot of bad football!"

 

Brady then posted a screen capture of a story about the rule and directed it to the NFL and NFL Players Association, with the words "DUMB" and "Why not let the Lineman wear whatever they want too? Why have numbers? Just have colored jerseys...why not wear the same number?...DUMB."

 

The NFL's new rule, adopted Wednesday with a number of other proposals, allows quarterbacks, punters and place-kickers to wear numbers 1-19, defensive backs 1-49, and then running backs, tight ends and wide receivers 1-49 and 80-89. Offensive linemen can wear 50-79, defensive linemen 50-79 and 90-99, and linebackers 1-59 and 90-99.

 

Part of me feels like Brady is trolling.

[frostbitmic]

WTH ... Changing numbers and they aren't allowing 0 and 00. I vote against this travesty.

[DrPJax]

On 4/23/2021 at 7:12 AM, K-9 said:

Not buying it, Tommy. You don’t identify middle linebackers, etc., by their number; you identify them by where they are positioned on the field. But you know that. 

43 is the Mike. Everybody knows this.

I get your point and it may amount to just getting used to the change. However , Brady is a pretty cerebral guy so if he is seeing* potential problems, there may be something to his concern.  For example, many Lb’s and safety’s are fairly close to each other in size or at quick glance. Now throw something in like Belicheck running that amoeba front that Josh actually had trouble with up until this past season. Even the first game was close and came down to the fumble covered by zimmerman. So all the guys are upright and shifting positions before the snap; I could easily see thinking a guy is a LB who looks like he is coming , but instead it’s a more sure handed safety who unexpectedly drops with the TE and Josh was thinking the TE was an open hot read and throws where a more mobile safety can react and pick it off. Josh went that way thinking he had a favorable matchup against a LB based on traditional uni numbers before the number changes , but now that guy is a safety , more agile in coverage , and I could at least fathom how this MIGHTbe an issue. Habit is a real thing, especially when  you have had a certain system your entire career and you have 2 seconds to read and react.  
 

All I’m saying is if the most successful QB in NFL history sees potential issues, it probably has some validity and I imagine younger QBs and certainly rookies might struggle with it until they get games under their belt. Maybe they do identify players more by number and not just where they line up and I envision defensive coaches will try to use this in their favor somehow; hell once a year Belicheck pulls some obscure rule out to gain an advantage in a game!  Just thinking it.might actually be an issue if Brady is concerned, and it just seems with all the issues in the NFL( making wrong calls, still making errors with replay, shaky definitions about what constitutes a catch etc), this just seems like they created a problem where there was no pressing need to do so!  Lol!  After 50 plus years of seasons, all the issues with COVID and attendance etc, this was an issue that HAD to be adresssed?  A cynic might think it’s a way to generate jersey sales coming off a lower revenue season, and now some fans fav player whose jersey they own decides to change to his old high school number !   Guess we won’t know till we see what happens. 😊🧐

[Straight Hucklebuck]

I think he's right. 

 

I don't like any of these rules being added to the game in recent years. 

 

Expanding replay now, more emphasis on taunting, expansion of defenseless player, targeting, lower head penalties. 

 

Now we're going towards XFL with running backs wearing "3" and linebackers wearing "12". 

[Orlando Tim]

I disliked the rule until Brady started complaining and then I saw the merits.😀

[nucci]

shouldn't the color of the jersey matter more than the number? Throw the ball to the guy wearing same colors as you are. I don't get the big deal about this

[Mango]

My knee jerk reaction to the numbers change was that I didn't like it for no other good reason than tradition/it was what I was used to. I am doing my best to not grow into a curmudgeon, so I just kept saying, "meh, it is just numbers, it will be fine". 

But I think Tom is on to something here. There will for sure be a learning curve. 

[Tuco]

Wow. All these years I never knew the reason Brad Van Pelt went to 5 straight Pro Bowls a a middle linebacker was because him wearing #10 consistently faked out the other team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[HOUSE]

On 4/22/2021 at 11:58 PM, BillsFan692 said:

Can someone please explain to me the grievance?

 

Each player on a team still has a unique number asigned to them so his case doesnt seem to hold water

 

 

 

 

Because a 64 Skylark has independent suspension

 

 

[BaaadThingsMan]

***** Tom brady

[BillsFan692]

On 4/27/2021 at 9:48 AM, HOUSE said:

 

Because a 64 Skylark has independent suspension

 

 

Thank you Mrs. Veto you have been a lovely, lovely witness.

[Warcodered]

 

[nucci]

On 4/25/2021 at 9:19 PM, DrPJax said:

I get your point and it may amount to just getting used to the change. However , Brady is a pretty cerebral guy so if he is seeing* potential problems, there may be something to his concern.  For example, many Lb’s and safety’s are fairly close to each other in size or at quick glance. Now throw something in like Belicheck running that amoeba front that Josh actually had trouble with up until this past season. Even the first game was close and came down to the fumble covered by zimmerman. So all the guys are upright and shifting positions before the snap; I could easily see thinking a guy is a LB who looks like he is coming , but instead it’s a more sure handed safety who unexpectedly drops with the TE and Josh was thinking the TE was an open hot read and throws where a more mobile safety can react and pick it off. Josh went that way thinking he had a favorable matchup against a LB based on traditional uni numbers before the number changes , but now that guy is a safety , more agile in coverage , and I could at least fathom how this MIGHTbe an issue. Habit is a real thing, especially when  you have had a certain system your entire career and you have 2 seconds to read and react.  
 

All I’m saying is if the most successful QB in NFL history sees potential issues, it probably has some validity and I imagine younger QBs and certainly rookies might struggle with it until they get games under their belt. Maybe they do identify players more by number and not just where they line up and I envision defensive coaches will try to use this in their favor somehow; hell once a year Belicheck pulls some obscure rule out to gain an advantage in a game!  Just thinking it.might actually be an issue if Brady is concerned, and it just seems with all the issues in the NFL( making wrong calls, still making errors with replay, shaky definitions about what constitutes a catch etc), this just seems like they created a problem where there was no pressing need to do so!  Lol!  After 50 plus years of seasons, all the issues with COVID and attendance etc, this was an issue that HAD to be adresssed?  A cynic might think it’s a way to generate jersey sales coming off a lower revenue season, and now some fans fav player whose jersey they own decides to change to his old high school number !   Guess we won’t know till we see what happens. 😊🧐

your opponent wears a different colored jersey. Number doesn't matter

[Kmart128]

God forbid one rule benefits a defense in todays day of age... everything goes the offenses way. Maybe you should actually do your research and be prepared on game day to find out who the teams Linebackers are....

[Nineforty]

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/09/07/tom-brady-nfls-new-jersey-number-rule-is-crazy-big-advantage-to-the-defense/

 

Brady recently expanded on his thoughts:

 

“The number rule is crazy,” Brady said. “Literally, guys changed their numbers today. I’m playing two guys who had different numbers in the preseason. So, yeah you’ve got to watch film and know who you’re studying but so do running backs. They’ve got to know who to block. So does the offensive line. So does the receivers who are adjusting their routes based on blitzes.

 

“So one guys has got a 6, one guy has 11, one guy has got a 9. And they change every play when you break your routes and get to your spot. It’s going to be a very challenging thing. It’s a good advantage for the defense, which that’s what it is.

“It would be like saying, ‘What if I let the offensive linemen wear 82 and No. 9?’ They wouldn’t know who was eligible. Well that’s not fair. You’ll get your tail kicked. At least identify who the D-line, the linebackers and the safeties are. You’re going to have a lot of matchups where guys are blocking the wrong guys. I don’t know why that should be.”

 

Brady thinks the NFL would have benefited from talking to veteran quarterbacks before changing the rule..."

[Doc]

Points "I'm not sure who is the Mike..."

[TheyCallMeAndy]

52s the mike!

 

I think.

 

Maybe? 
 

The Goat does have a good point. I think I would’ve done single digits for DBs and WR only, but so many teams have DBs playing LB spots it doesn’t matter much.

[Don Otreply]

On 4/25/2021 at 11:04 AM, Boxcar said:

Part of me feels like Brady is trolling.

He is trying to fix his miserable reputation (sportsmanship, etc) with these recent statements, about Defenses being overly penalized, and the number thing, nothing this guy says has value, in which he is in effect, play acting so as to not appear to be the total suck up that he is, 

[Malazan]

5 minutes ago, Don Otreply said:

He is trying to fix his miserable reputation (sportsmanship, etc) with these recent statements, about Defenses being overly penalized, and the number thing, nothing this guy says has value, in which he is in effect, play acting so as to not appear to be the total suck up that he is, 

 

It all sounds like he got a PR person who's identified soft targets.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Poor Tawmy