“…When You’re Playing Against Tom Brady”: Former Teammate Julian Edelman Weighs In On Controversial Call During Falcons vs Bucs Matchup

The controversy surrounding ‘roughing the passer’ calls is slowly gaining momentum. Fans and analysts have moved away from spinning conspiracy theories to talking about ways to amend the surrounding problems. And one of the more recent players to join the discussion, is Tom Brady’s former teammate from the New England Patriots, Julian Edelman.

Speaking on the show ‘Inside the NFL’, Edelman has a firm opinion on the call made during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs the Atlanta Falcons game last Sunday. The call in question is a ‘roughing the passer’ foul called on Falcons’ Grady Jarrett, as he sacks the Bucs quarterback Tom Brady. Grady flings Brady to the ground, in a move that gives chilling recaps to the Tua Tagovailoa incident.

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Fortunately, Brady’s head doesn’t touch the ground, and neither is Jarrett’s sack too powerful. But the referees thought otherwise, as they slap the Falcons with a ‘roughing the passer’ call. A turnover on 4th becomes 15 yards and an automatic first down for the Bucs.

Jarrett spoke about the call in ‘The Locker Room’, saying, “I’m not saying that it cost us the game, but it cost us an opportunity to go win the game. If it’s costing people games, it’s going to cost people’s livelihoods, it’s costing people opportunity… that’s what makes it so frustrating because you did follow the rules.”

Former Patriot Julian Edelman speaks on controversial calls and Brady’s role

Edelman, however, has a different take on the issue. While he agrees that the call was indeed a bad one, he shines some light on his own perspective. The Former Patriots WR said, “Well, the difference between, you know, Brady and Derek Carr, and all these things is experience.” He adds, “Tom Brady’s got seven Super Bowls… This guy’s been hit, probably harder than the last five years of quarterbacks, in the first 10 years of his career when the rules are different. Yes, that was a terrible call. But you got to know what you’re getting into when you’re playing against Tom Brady. We’ve seen these calls over and over and over again. What didn’t Crosby do when he had the sack last night? He just held them up. You got to play smart. “

Either Edelman believes Brady is a national treasure and deserves protection. Or that Brady is smart enough to force his would-be sackers into committing a foul. The latter seems plausible, as Edelman recalls Maxx Crosby’s sack of Patrick Mahomes on Monday. Crosby caught Mahomes dead to rights. While Brady had the presence of mind to turn away. And crucially, make things difficult for Jarrett.

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With Tua Tagovailoa’s injury still plaguing the NFL, it will be interesting to see how the NFL’s investigations into its concussion protocols will end. Maybe it is time to make ‘roughing the passer’ calls reviewable? The NFL community surely echoes as one on this.