Despite frustrations surrounding the NFL's replacement referees, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady admitted Tuesday he never blames officials for the outcome of a game -- including Sunday's 31-30 loss to the Baltimore Ravens that featured head coach Bill Belichick grabbing a referee during the postgame.
"I feel like these guys are doing the best they can do, to tell you the truth," Brady said to WEEI's Dennis & Callahan during his weekly appearance. "They are going to miss calls and so forth, but part of my job is not to worry about officials. I hate talking about them, I have never talked about the officials. The reason we lost our particular game wasn't because of the officials. I wouldn't say that I could blame them, that's the easy way out."
Brady said it was frustrating to lose Sunday, but none of his frustrations had to do with the referees. Instead, he was upset about figuring out how his team blew a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter.
The two-time NFL MVP did admit he has seen changes with the behavior of players on the field with the replacement refs, as players are more physical and there's more pushing and shoving.
"But from my standpoint, for me, it's been business as usual and that's the way our offense has been."
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