When Tom Brady ran for a touchdown against the Chiefs on Sunday night, it seemed like defensive tackle Breeland Speaks had him dead to rights. But he let him go, allowing Brady to run into the end zone.
After the game, Speaks cited the league's recent crackdown on quarterback hits and its generous distribution of roughing the passer penalties as the reason for letting go of Brady early. It's something fans have seen over the past few weeks as the league has made it clear that officials will continue to call roughing the passer on players who seem to just be finishing their tackles.
In this particular instance, Brady pumpfaked while Speaks was going in for the tackle. Speaks appeared to think the ball was out of Brady's hand, and immediately let go of the QB in fear of getting called and giving the Patriots a free first-and-goal. Brady, of course, still had the ball, and scrambled into the end zone for a rare rushing touchdown.
But NFL executive VP of football operations Troy Vincent doesn't believe the penalty was what caused Speaks to let Brady go. He was of the opinion that Brady was simply doing what he'd been doing for nearly 20 years now: stepping up in the pocket to avoid the sack. Vincent expressed his opinion that the league has made it as clear as possible to the players what they can and cannot do, and Speaks just missed the tackle, blaming his whiff on fear of a penalty.
Whether Speaks just missed Brady or did pull up to avoid a penalty, the constant calls have been a problem across the league this year. This time, it worked out in the Pats' favor. Next time, that might not be the case.
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