Tom Brady gave his thoughts on the controversial hit on Michael Pittman Jr
One of the only negative aspects of Week 15 for the Indianapolis Colts was the egregious hit on Michael Pittman Jr., which ended his day. The NFL has since suspended Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee for the remainder of the 2023 season, and that has caught the attention of many around the league, including former […]
One of the only negative aspects of Week 15 for the Indianapolis Colts was the egregious hit on Michael Pittman Jr., which ended his day.
The NFL has since suspended Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee for the remainder of the 2023 season, and that has caught the attention of many around the league, including former QB Tom Brady.
Brady decided to share his opinion on this hit leading to Kazee's suspension, and he blamed Colts QB Gardner Minshew for the hit.
"Nobody likes seeing players get hurt. But hard hits happen. QBs should not be throwing the ball in areas where they are exposing their own teammates to these types of hits. Coaches need to coach better, QBs need to read coverages and throw the ball to the right places and defenders should not be throwing the ball in areas where they are exposing their own teammates to these types of hits. Coaches need to coach better, QBs need to read coverages and throw the ball to the right places and defenders should aim for the right hitting areas. To put the blame on the defense player all the time is just flat-out wrong. Need better QB play!! it's not OK QBs to get your WRs hit because of your bad decisions!"
Brady and many others view this suspension as if Kazee was punished for this hit alone. That is not an accurate representation of the facts. Before Saturday's game, Kazee had been fined five times this season alone for unnecessary roughness violations. This hit was just the icing on the cake for a controversial season from Kazee, and all of these plays led to this severe suspension.
I agree that the NFL has made it very challenging to be a defensive player in today's game. I'm afraid I have to disagree that this specific play is an example of this. Nate Atkins of the Indy Star shared a perfect screenshot of the play to show that Kazee, without a doubt, could have made a play on the ball, but he elected to launch into the head/neck area of Pittman Jr instead.
The NFL does not want players launching themselves into a defenseless ball carrier. It's been a consistent flag and fine over the last couple of seasons. People can disagree with the NFL's feelings on that style of tackle all they want, but they are doing what they can to eliminate it. The league is focusing on making the game a safer product in the future, and people can either get on board or be left in the past because that train is already in motion, and no one is going to stop it. Not even one of the best QBs to ever play in the NFL, such as Tom Brady, who many have taken to social media to share the hypocrisy in his statement due to his own passes leading to his teammates taking hard hits.
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