Tom Brady's first season as an NFL broadcaster will be under an incredibly strong microscope. He is Tom Brady, after all. Everything he does is of great interest to the general public. But as the former quarterback knows well, there are no bright lights quite like that of the NFL.
In part due to his status, in part due to the enormity of the contract Fox Sports gave him, and in part because he's replacing a widely-liked analyst in Greg Olsen, every single thing Brady says on FOX broadcasts this season will be broken down and examined to the core. There will be many lengthy columns written to judge the minutiae of Brady's skills as a color commentator. And many people will read them.
But for most, opinions on Brady will come down to a handful of viral clips that circulate on social media platforms over the next 17 weeks and into the playoffs. These clips could be good or bad, but either way they'll inform the larger audience of Brady's current status as an announcer until there are north of 20 million pairs of eyes on him in the postseason.
Here, we'll break down those clips. It will serve as a window into how Brady performed last week and a barometer of his progress as the season goes on.
Best
There weren't really many highlights, per se, from Brady's first game as an analyst. As is often the case, the biggest highlight for FOX was that nothing went terribly wrong (other than Brady getting left hanging by rules expert Mike Pereria). There were no snafus between Brady and broadcast partner Kevin Burkhardt, and he didn't accidentally draw something untoward on the monitor.
However, one segment did give cause for praise. It came after the Cowboys beat the Browns and the longtime Patriots QB was asked to break down Dak Prescott's performance after the newly-signed signal-caller threw for 179 yards and a touchdown. Brady gave a good summation of what Prescott did well without going too overboard. Most importantly, he showed a glimpse of skill in a very important area of broadcasting: breaking down a complicated concept for an uninformed audience. In this case, what being a "field general" at the line of scrimmage really means.
"He has the ability at the line of scrimmage to be the field general that every team is looking for." @TomBrady breaks down @DallasCowboys QB Dak Prescott's impressive performance after signing a 4-year, $240M contract extension. pic.twitter.com/7afm8gx3WB
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 9, 2024
There's nothing groundbreaking in there and there are still plenty of clichés. It also wasn't in the moment, which is going to be the biggest part of the job for Brady going forward. But those looking for a ray of hope for Brady as a broadcaster will look to this as the first.
Worst
As mentioned above, there weren't any brutal lowlights from Brady's debut. In fact, it was more about what he didn't do than what he did. Despite numerous opportunities to critique Deshaun Watson's horrific day or the sheer dominance of Dallas's defense, Brady stayed pretty vanilla and limited his commentary to versions of "you just can't do that," or "what a play." A safe strategy but not why FOX is paying him the big bucks.
On that front, there was one moment in particular that stood out as a prime example. Before halftime, the Cowboys were lined up to attempt a 71-yard field goal, which would be an NFL record by a full five yards. Brady was shockingly unenthused by the idea of Dallas trying a 71-yard field goal, to the point where even Scott Hanson made note of it.
Scott Hanson "Brady's got to get more excited than that in the booth" pic.twitter.com/VK8QrskqHZ
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) September 8, 2024
The Cowboys didn't end up taking the field goal, instead calling timeout before running a Hail Mary instead. But Brady does need to show a bit more energy ahead of a possible NFL record. The more generous reading is that he was very dubious the Cowboys would actually do this— and if so, he should have explained why. He ended up being right and it would have served as a window into end-of-half strategy that NFL players are quite experienced with.
A minor thing, given it's all over a play that didn't happen and a perceived lack of "enthusiasm" rather than a factually incorrect observation or something. But these on the margins moments will perhaps serve best as a measuring stick for Brady. Once he starts to nail these, his broadcasting career will be well underway.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Best & Worst of Tom Brady in the NFL Broadcast Booth: Week 1 .
