Tom Brady and the New England Patriots lost the AFC Championship game to the Ravens on Sunday and the star quarterback's pocket might be a bit lighter following the defeat.
According to ESPN.com, the NFL said that Tuesday the league would be reviewing a slide by Brady during the game in which he made contact with Ravens safety Ed Reed. Following the game, Ravens defender Bernard Pollard said that Brady lifted his leg and intentionally tried to hit Reed.
"He knew what he was doing," Pollard said Monday. "So, I'm the type of player -- it has to go both ways. It really does. It has to go both ways. Hopefully, the NFL will do something about it."
Pollard later added that Brady "knew what he was doing. It has to go both ways. Hopefully the NFL will do something about it. If they don't, that's fine. If they do, then that's fine."
Reed said on Tuesday that Brady reached out to him following the game to apologize for the contact.
"I told him -- you know, we talked," Reed told WJZ-FM in Baltimore. "We talked actually not too long ago, we talked on the phone. He actually reached out to me, texted me. I tried to text him back, but the message exploded after 12 seconds, so I had to call him ... and he's just apologized and what not. But I told him, 'You know, it's good, man.'"
The play occurred late in the first half of the game and had Brady slide to the ground to end an impromptu run. The video shows that Brady's right leg went up a few feet off the ground and hit Reed, who was uninjured on the play. Reed said that he did not mention anything to Brady after the play.
"For the most part, I didn't say anything to him when he said something to me at the game," he said. "... He was going, 'You want to play like that, let's go.' But no, Brady's a great competitor and I love going against him and I know where his heart is at for this game. It was all good."
League spokesman Greg Aiello said Tuesday that "any play of that nature is routinely reviewed."
Reed said that he has a great deal of respect for Brady despite the play.
"I know he's a great player," he said. "I respect Brady and his game for all it stands for, and I know he's not a dirty player. And emotions get going in the game."
The slide rule is meant for the protection of quarterbacks and allows them to go down on their own without being touched by a defender. If a defensive player hits the quarterback after the slide, a flag is usually thrown.
According to the rules: "Intentionally downing the ball: intentionally kneeling, verbally declaring "I'm down" (except in college), or similar actions. For example, to protect himself from violent hits by opponents attempting to tackle him, the quarterback may choose to slide to the ground feet-first. This slide is interpreted as intentionally downing the ball, and opponents may then be penalized for hitting him."
Pollard went on to say that he felt the slide has a double standard for defensive and offensive players.
"I think for me, as a player, we all know emotions are on the field," Pollard said. "We're going to say things. We're going to do things, but, when it's all said and done, if you want to keep the game clean, if you want to keep this thing going in the right direction, everybody needs to be penalized for their actions."
The NFL can look at the play, but it likely won't result in a fine for Brady. The NFL has looked at video like this before, but it is hard for the league to prove intent of the player. Earlier this season, Detroit Lions tackle Ndamukong Suh was not suspended for kicking Houston quarterback Matt Schaub in the groin, although he was fined $30,000 dollars.
The NFL reviewed the tape of Suh from the Thanksgiving game between the Lions and Texans and decided that intent could not be seen in the video, so a suspension was not warranted. Suh was being brought down by an offensive lineman near Schuab when his leg came swinging down near the quarterback's groin area.
Following the game, Schuab was asked if he thought the actions by Suh were intentional and told reporters: "I really don't have anything to say about that play or that person," according to ESPN.com.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was also asked Monday by the Baltimore Sun about Brady's slide.
"I saw the same thing you saw," Harbaugh said. "I saw the same thing everybody saw, so that would be in the league's hands. It's pretty straightforward what happened. I'm going to leave it up to you guys to make those evaluations and to the league to make that evaluation."
Brady wasn't at his best against the Ravens on Sunday, throwing for 320 yards and one touchdown and two interceptions. Brady had one of his best seasons in 2012, throwing for 4,827 yards and 34 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. He completed 63 percent of his passes and threw for six touchdowns over the past three games. This year though, Brady's best wasn't good enough.
