Does Brady get preferential treatment? QB reacts to suspect penalty originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
After Atlanta's Grady Jarrett was flagged for a highly questionable roughing the passer penalty on Tampa Bay's Tom Brady in Sunday's game between the Falcons and Buccaneers, a common narrative emerged: "Brady gets all the calls."
But Brady certainly isn't going to admit that's the case, and his podcast co-host tried to help him dispel that narrative Monday night.
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During his weekly "Let's Go!" podcast with Jim Gray, Brady again was asked if he thought Jarrett's hit warranted a penalty and again pleaded the fifth.
"It was a long hug. A long, unwelcomed hug from Grady," Brady told Gray.
"He was in the backfield all day. As I said after the game, I don’t throw flags. What I do throw is tablets and I didn’t have one accessible at the time. He had a hell of a game; I’ll leave it at that."
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Gray then pointed out that Brady only drew one roughing the passer penalty in 2021 and ranks 16th in the NFL since 2020 in roughing the passer penalties drawn. So, the idea that the 45-year-old future Hall of Famer gets preferential treatment from officials isn't borne out in the numbers.
Brady wasn't going to argue with Gray's point and had a theory for why he doesn't get many calls compared to other QBs.
"I am a pocket passer," Brady said. "A lot of those roughing the passers come with guys extending plays, too, which I don’t really do that. So it doesn’t surprise me that I’m down there on the list.
"I’d love to be up there a little bit higher and get some 15-yard penalties for my team, but it’s not always the case, unfortunately."
Brady also has excellent pocket presence and is one of the NFL's best at getting the ball out before the pressure gets to him. If he took more big hits, he'd probably be higher on that list as the NFL tries to protect one of its most popular players.
Brady is pretty good at protecting himself, though, which explains why he's still playing at an elite level in his 23rd season.
