Aaron Rodgers is the last of the old guard of quarterbacks that included Tom Brady, who recently made headlines when he said that there's "a lot of mediocrity" in today's NFL.
Rodgers said that he agrees with Brady's take on how some of the rules changes has "created a lot of bad habits," the Jets quarterback said Tuesday on "The Pat McAfee Show."
"When I was a young player, too, the greatest fear you have as a quarterback is getting one of your guys hurt," Rodgers said while echoing what Brady said on "The Stephen A. Smith Show." "Throwing a ball high over the middle, exposing the guy and him getting rocked and him leaving the game. That was your biggest fear, so you were smart about certain plays and throws of just not making them."
Rodgers, who has never been afraid to share his opinions, attributed the NFL's rules changes to a shift in culture.
"If I'm looking at this from a real big picture, there's a softening of society that has definitely caused things like this," he said. "Hockey doesn't have an enforcer position anymore. Why? Because we need the fighting out of hockey. It's too violent.
"I think people wanna see football be a collision sport. Not to where guys are getting mangled on the field but they enjoy the big hits. There's certain players who you just knew were big hitters and pushed the line of what's a cheap shot and what's a legit hit."
Like Brady, Rodgers sympathizes with defensive players who have to try to do their jobs while also avoiding doing something that could lead to a flag, fine or even a suspension.
"It's tough to play defense in the league," Rodgers said. "It is really tough. I saw a couple of the calls (Monday) night and just thinking that was not how it used to be. Used to play the Lions and you know you're getting rocked just about every snap you're taking dropping back. You're getting hit, you're getting pushed.
"If you go back and look at some of the film on some of those games, I'm talking like '08-14, the game was reffed definitely a little different back then. It is better in certain areas for player safety? One-hundred percent. Have we gone too far in certain rules? One-hundred percent as well. And I think it's really hard to play defense. It's really hard to figure out the strike zone, especially with a moving player.
"I think we've created bad habits with some of the reads and zero fear of throwing over the middle. I think some of the quarterbacks are getting rewarded for sliding late at times and taking very light shots that become 15-yard penalties."
Rodgers acknowledged that the rules were implemented partly to make the game safer. And while Rodgers agrees with some of the rules that were added with player safety in mind, it's clear that he and Brady feel that it has gone too far in the other direction.
