"Brady tried to kick him. Everyone saw that" - NFL analyst insists QB should have been flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct vs. Falcons

During Sunday's win over the Atlanta Falcons, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers appeared to be in trouble. They seemed destined to punt after surrendering a huge third-down sack late in the fourth quarter. At the time, they were nursing a six-point lead. Out of frustration and anger, it appeared that the quarterback tried to kick Grady Jarrett, who had just put him on the ground. Former defensive lineman Chris Long believes that should have been penalized.

He discussed it with Rich Eisen on his eponymous show when discussing the idea that the NFL has gone soft. Here's what he said on the RIch Eisen Show:

"And so as a rusher, I hate when people say, like, it's like 'football's turning into a pillow fight.' Trust me, it's not... It's still very violent. The collisions are the most violent they've ever been. We just litigate it differently."

Long went on to say that the penalties like the one flagged are bad, but that it's much worse for Brady to try to harm someone who took him down:

"But a 45 year old man didn't get hurt yesterday. Grady (Jarrett) has got to be really upset. And Brady adds that insult to injury. Brady tried to kick him off him. Everybody saw that. Let's not pretend we didn't see that. He's my guy. One of my old teammates, I think he is a great dude. He's a competitor. Grady rolls them in and Brady tests and tries to kick him off them. Call it what it is. And that's the penalty."

The only flag on the play was the highly controversial roughing the passer penalty that robbed the Falcons of the chance to win the game.

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Why wasn't Brady flagged for his kick attempt?

Atlanta Falcons v Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Aside from just being the greatest and arguably most protected player in NFL history, there are a few reasons why they might not have flagged this. For starters, it was really just a failed attempt at a kick. It didn't really land, which probably frustrated the quarterback more.

Additionally, they just flagged the defender for an illegal hit, giving the Buccaneers a first down. Would they want to undo or alter that with a personal foul? Likely not. The real issue is that the Falcons could have beaten the Buccaneers if that flag hadn't been thrown. Instead, Tampa Bay managed to escape with the win and go 3-2, while Atlanta fell to 2-3.

If you use any of the above quotes, please credit the Rich Eisen Show and H/T Sportskeeda.