Ryan Shazier Says Tom Brady's Comment On Defensive Players Was 'Ignorant'

BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady joined Peyton and Eli Manning on Monday Night Football this week to have a little fun. He ended up hurting some feelings.

The quarterback made a lighthearted comment -- mostly in jest -- about defensive players not being smart enough to play on offense.

"Have you ever been in some of those defensive meeting rooms? I mean, you wonder why they play defense, and after about two minutes, you go, 'Yup, they can never be an offensive player,'" Brady said. "So, you know, defense is kind of like a dog chasing a car, you know? Just get the guy with the ball."

As an offensive player, Brady was clearly partaking in the type of tongue-in-cheek jawing that's taken place in football locker rooms forever. He even curbed his comment by throwing in a comment about the sport having a lot of great defensive players.

Nevertheless, former Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier wasn't having any of it.

In an interview with Yahoo Sports, Shazier said that Brady's comment was "ignorant."

"I just feel that for somebody to say that, that's basically like saying guys on the defensive side of the ball aren't intelligent enough to play offense. I would beg to differ," Shazier told Jason Owens. "I feel like a lot of guys on the defensive side of the ball that chose to be on defense because, obviously, they like hitting people. But also that they might be really good at diagnosing or understanding plays as well. For him to be somebody that knows the game of football so well, I thought that was a little ignorant."

Shazier, whose Pro Bowl career came to a premature end at age 25 due to a spinal injury, said that he's hoping to enter the world of NFL broadcasting. In the meantime, he's making sure to let his feelings be known about Brady's comments.

"That one got me. I respect him. I think he's the greatest quarterback in NFL history," Shazier said. ""For him to be that good, I think it's kind of disrespectful to a lot of the players he's played before in his past."

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