Retour
Tom Brady’s insistence on working for Fox while owning a piece of the Raiders creates potential complications beyond the restrictions on his access to team facilities and practices. When it comes to criticizing game officials, there’s a line he can’t cross.
As the league has previously explained it, Brady is prohibited from being “egregiously critical of officiating” or “call[ing] into question the integrity of an official or the crew.”
On Sunday in Detroit, Brady criticized multiple officiating decisions. The overriding question is whether the league office will regard the criticism as “egregious.”
In the third quarter, Packers linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. knocked Lions quarterback Jared Goff to the ground after a throw. The officials called Cox for roughing the passer.
“Not much at all,” Brady said over the replay. “It’s coming off the block. His face is buried. I don’t know about that. I mean . . . that’s a tough one.”
Fox rules analyst (and former NFL senior V.P. of officiating) Dean Blandino agreed. “He’s coming off the block,” Blandino said. “You really want to see more force there. It’s almost like he’s just trying to keep himself up. There’s no real extension. I don’t like that as roughing.”
“I don’t like it either,” Brady said.
In the fourth quarter, after Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes was flagged for an illegal hit on Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd, Brady was blunt.
“What?” Brady said. “There’s no way. . . . Oh, come on, man. Come on. [Jordan] Love throws it over the middle. There’s linebackers in the middle. He’s just turning his right shoulder away from it. That’s allowed 99 out of 100 [times]. . . . It’s a bang-bang play. I know in super slow-mo every little minute frame looks like a lot, but when you’re on the field, you’ve got to pursue that ball. If [Lloyd] catches it, [Barnes] needs force to knock him on the ground. He needs force to knock that ball out. . . . He can’t go in there and put his hand on him.”
Later, during Detroit’s game-winning drive, Brady sounded off on a questionable roughing the passer call, after Packers defensive tackle Karl Brooks hit Lions quarterback Jared Goff following a throw.
“Oh my goodness, what is that?” Brady said. “There’s no way! Brooks on the tackle. Kind of makes a great play. It’s a bang-bang play. He rolls off his body. It’s a great throw by Goff. It’s definitely not roughing the passer. I mean, you just — you’re just ripping through the line of scrimmage to try to get the quarterback on the ground. Look, I love Goff standing there in the pocket. But you just can’t keep tacking on 15 yards.”
Blandino agreed with Brady’s assessment again. “It wasn’t late,” Blandino said. “They might have said head/neck area. But this is not head/neck area. His head is up. That’s teach-tape tackle. That’s not roughing the passer.”
Each of the calls seemed unwarranted. But the league’s rules don’t create an exception based on accuracy of the criticism. Team personnel (including owners) can only say so much when it comes to publicly criticizing officials.
Is it “egregious”? The folks at Merriam-Webster define the term as “very noticeable.” If that’s the same definition the NFL uses, Brady’s comments qualify.
It has nothing to do with Brady’s role as a broadcaster. (If anything, Kevin Burkhardt’s criticism of the calls was even stronger.) However, the league has a policy that muzzles team personnel, including owners.
If Brady gets dinged for this, it’s not because he’s working for Fox. It’s because he’s working for Fox while owning a piece of the Raiders.