New England Patriots Latest News: Tom Brady Thinks Receivers Must Be Given Better Protection by the League
Tom Brady believes that the trend of hitting receivers low should be addressed by the league in order to protect them from serious injuries.
The New England Patriots are streaking and winning this season, but losing Rob Gronkowski to injury is not something they want to see. Gronk is probably the team's second most valuable player, and what looked like a serious knee injury suffered in Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos may mean he's going to be a little bit cautious next time, especially with quarterback Tom Brady's assessment that receivers like Gronk are being targeted by opposing team's defenses.
Gronkowski is no stranger to injuries, having suffered all sorts of hurt all throughout his career, including a torn ACL and a broken forearm. As for Brady, he knows for a fact that quarterbacks like him has some kind of responsibility of keeping their receivers safe. "You hate to see you throw a ball to a position where your player, certainly one of your receivers in in a vulnerable position," he said.
According to the Pats' quarterback, the hit that injured Gronkowski was not unsportsmanlike, but he's suggesting there is a need to give them better protection. "It's a contact sport; guys are going to get hit… I think they should change some of those rules with those defenseless receivers," Brady said.
He believes that if quarterbacks and defensive linemen have their legs protected, receivers should also be given that kind of protection. This is according to him, in response to the trend of defenses hitting receivers low.
Brady's concern is of course with basis. However, defenders are only successful against receivers if they go low; after all, that's the very concept of a tackle. There's no problem with shoulder and heat hits because those are already protected.
Perhaps Brady's assumption that quarterbacks like him have that kind of responsibility of knowing when to throw a pass to make sure receivers are protected may very well be the only solution right now.
