Tom Brady is given space by Kareem Jackson to respond to the NFL suspension.
Due to a hit on the field on Monday, Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson was suspended by the NFL for the second time this season.
This time, Jackson was suspended by the NFL for four games for a hit on Josh Dobbs, the quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, during Sunday night’s 21-20 victory over the Broncos.
NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan told Jackson that the league believed he had broken Rule 12, Section 2, Article 10 (a) of the NFL rulebook, which reads, “It is a foul if a player lowers his head and makes forcible contact with his helmet against an opponent,” even though there was no penalty called on the field.
Jackson shared on social media on Tuesday, seemingly in response, snippets from an interview with quarterback Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl winner, who had been on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” the previous Monday.
The NFL is full of mediocrity these days. Brady remarked, “I don’t see the excellence that I saw in the past,” citing two factors: rule changes and coaching.
Brady remarked, “I look at a lot of players and every hit they would have made would have been a penalty, like Ray Lewis, Rodney Harrison, Ronnie Lott, and guys that impacted the game in a certain way.
“Coaches often lament when their player is tackled, but the question they should be asking themselves is: Why don’t they teach their player self-defense techniques? How to drop to the ground, run out of bounds, get rid of the ball, and lower your pad level. The foundations of those subjects used to be our constant focus. They are currently constantly attempting to be controlled. It seems to me that the offensive players have a self-defense need. A defensive player cannot defend an offensive player. A defensive player must take self-defense seriously. Asking the offensive player to shield him is not a good idea.
“I believe that the way the rules are now implemented has largely made it possible for you to play with impunity, knowing that you will be penalized if someone hits you hard.” And that’s not at all like how I played. I was worried the player would be knocked out, so I didn’t toss the ball in certain directions. Well, that’s the truth. When I played Ray Lewis, I didn’t throw it to the middle because I knew he would put them out of the game and I couldn’t afford to lose a quality player.
Jackson forced a fumble that Denver converted into a field goal, but he did not remove Dobbs from the game.
Like he did with his initial four-game suspension, Jackson will appeal this most recent suspension to the hearing officers who are jointly appointed by the NFL and NFL Players Association and paid by the latter to make decisions regarding appeals of on-field player discipline. Derrick Brooks cut the initial suspension down to two contests.
Jackson received a four-game suspension from the NFL on October 23 for a hit that occurred during the Broncos’ 19-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers the day before. After an 18-yard reception on the third play of the fourth quarter, tight end Luke Musgrave was brought down by Jackson with a hit deemed to be helmet-to-helmet. Jackson was fined for being unduly rough and was not allowed to play again.
When he suspended Jackson that particular instance, Runyan cited Rule 12, Section 2, Article 9 (b)(1). According to that rule, “it is a foul if a player forcibly hits the defenseless player’s head or neck area with the helmet, face mask, forearm, or shoulder, regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him, even if the initial contact is lower than the player’s neck.”
In the first six weeks of the 2023 season, Jackson committed four unnecessary roughness penalties, according to the NFL. Penalties called on the field were the source of the fines twice.
Jackson received fines from the NFL in Weeks 1, 2, and 3, totaling $14,819, $19,669, $11,473, and $43,709, respectively.
With 1:47 remaining in the first half of Denver’s 35-33 loss to Washington on September 17, Jackson was called for a hit on Commanders tight end Logan Thomas during a touchdown reception and was later dismissed from the game.
Jackson, a first-round draft selection from Alabama’s 2009 BCS National Champion team, is currently in his 14th season in the NFL.
