Alex Smith Inadvertently Buried Rex Ryan While Disagreeing With Tom Brady Calling Today’s NFL ‘Mediocre’

Earlier this week, Tom Brady joined Stephen A. Smith for an interview in which he called out the “mediocrity” in the NFL today, blaming rule changes and not enough focus on real development from coaching staffs for what we’ve seen this season, particularly out of the quarterback position.

Those comments drew plenty of attention and sparked debate over whether Brady was right or wrong, and on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown, Alex Smith offered one of the strongest rebuttals to Brady. He first pointed out that Brady won a Super Bowl in this current era, asking if he was discounting that ring, while then pointing out that there was some irony in Brady calling out mediocrity when he thrived in part because he played in one of the least competitive divisions the NFL’s ever seen, as the Pats lorded over the AFC East while the Bills, Jets, and Dolphins all struggled to field competitive teams.

What made that comment even funnier was that Rex Ryan was two seats down from Smith, who coached the Jets and Bills during that time, and Ryan’s reaction was incredible.

Smith makes plenty of valid points, particularly pointing out that defensive lines are arguably better than ever, and I think it’s important to point out that there is absolutely greatness in today’s NFL. Brady seemed to be particularly concerned with quarterback play, which has been objectively bad this year across the NFL aside from the very top guys, and it’s hard not to see quarterback development as being at a crisis point in the league. Smith, meanwhile, is taking a more holistic view and he’s right that the athletes are better and certain position groups are in a golden age. His argument about the old AFC East is also just made very funny by the presence of Ryan who was taken back by getting buried inadvertently by his colleague.