Tom Brady on flags: 'up to players to adjust'
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| Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters |
Per Karen Guregian of The Boston Herald, Brady said:
“I don’t know whether they throw 20 flags or five flags over the course of the game. Some calls go your way, some calls don’t,” Brady said. “I think players like when they let you play, more so than anything. But at the same time, the refs stand up there in front of us on whatever day it was, on Wednesday, and said, ‘Look, we’re throwing a lot of flags. If we see illegal contact, if we see defensive holding, if we see hands to the face, those are real points of emphasis for this year.’ And they showed video. So when those things come up, they’re throwing the flags. And they did in practice a lot, too.
“It’s just being able to adjust and being disciplined and being good decision-makers. … You just have to learn to play within the rules. And those adjust on a weekly basis, depending on how the refs call the game. And we have a pretty good idea of how they’re going to call the game going into it. Some refs throw a lot of flags, some refs don’t throw a lot of flags. Our coaches try to prepare us on that. And once you get out there on the field, you play within the rules to the best of your ability. And if they’re calling it tight, you’ve got to be able to adjust. That’s all part of the decision-making process as a player.
“Hopefully, there’s not 20-plus flags a game. That’s a lot of flags. That will make for long football games.”
There were tons of flags thrown during last week's joint practices with the Eagles, and 21 penalties were accepted during the game last Friday.
Like many others, Brady admitted that he doesn't like the excessive amount of flags being tossed around. Luckily for him, however, he's not going to really have to do any adjusting in that respect.
What do you think of Brady's comments? Follow me on Twitter - @JesseGaunce
