'What's he supposed to do?' Tom Brady defends big hits on sliding QBs, says more hits should be allowed

Tom Brady denied the idea that he was sheltered by referees and even advocated more leniency for defenders when they hit quarterbacks.

Brady was reviewing a compilation video of some of the biggest hits he ever received in his 23-year career and insisted that quarterbacks need to stand in the pocket to "make throws and take hits."

Chatter has loomed ahead of the Super Bowl about Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes receiving preferential treatment from NFL referees. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and even Brady's former teammate Julian Edelman chimed in on the subject and denied that Mahomes was being catered to.

While Brady said that Mahomes is "playing within" the rules and how calls are being made, he mostly shied away from the Chiefs star and focused on supporting the idea that defenders should be allowed to make hits.

Reacting to a highlight that showed him scrambling and ultimately getting flattened, Brady remarked, "Quarterbacks who do run a lot, this is not gonna work out well."

The NFL legend noted on several plays that he "definitely slid late," justifying the hits he received.

"That would 100% be a penalty now in the NFL. Right? Even though I slid late," he said while reviewing footage. "I mean, it was. What's he supposed to do? Supposed to knock the s**t out of me and try to knock the ball off."

Brady further came to the defense of players on the other side of the ball and said they were simply trying to prevent him from getting a first down while he was trying to get one.

"But now they're trying to defend against being penalized. Great defenses defended every blade of grass," the champion recalled.

Brady then described venturing outside the pocket as being like a "five-lane highway." Once quarterbacks are outside the pocket, they lose their protection, he added, explaining that the only way they can protect themselves at that point is to slide or throw the ball. He then advocated for a rule that would allow players who are "within five yards" of the quarterback to hit him.

"What I want is a tough, hard-nosed, physical game. I don't want a game where offense can move the ball and blame the defense for getting tackled."

'What planet are you living on?'

Much like Mahomes, Brady was accused throughout his career of being on the receiving end of numerous favorable calls meant to protect him.

While watching the compilation of the brutal hits he received, Brady asked his detractors, "What planet are you living on?"

"How does everyone look at this and tell me that I was protected?" he complained.

The seven-time Super Bowl winner went on to describe toughness as a state of mind and complained that too many players are willing to stay on the ground as if they are injured, only to appear fine once they are taken to the sideline.

"You could have got up and walked off the field," he said.

Brady said players who act like this are showing a defeatist mentality.

In the end, the retired player said the big hits were just part of the game and that if quarterbacks want protection, they should get rid of the ball.

"If you wanna hold it to the last second, you got a chance of getting hit."

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