Tom Brady’s post-NFL career as an announcer on FOX’s No. 1 team has been a bit of a bumpy ride every week. The seven-time Super Bowl champion showed some nerves early and leaned on a lot of clichés to avoid saying too much at all, but it seems like he’s getting a little stronger every week.

Brady proved to be a quick study in the NFL. After some early struggles while filling in for the injured Drew Bledsoe, he was able to not only settle in but excel as he led the Patriots to a stunning Super Bowl victory over the Rams in his breakout year.

His bosses at FOX hope this will happen again, this time in his new job. A report from John Ourand this week provides some inside information on how Brady’s producers hope he can focus more on something that’s very important in games, and something Brady has a lot of knowledge about: the X’s and O’s.

From Ourand:

“When most players leave the NFL for the broadcast booth, they immediately lean on the Brady instead focused on things you won’t find in a playbook: pointing to star leadership, focusing on developing young players, and looking for accountability among veterans.

Fox producers have been pushing Brady to include more of what he sees on the field – duh – in his commentary. And these kinds of observations – why a play worked or fell apart – are starting to pop up more and more on the broadcast.

Brady will be back in the booth on Thursday when he hosts his first Thanksgiving Day game in Dallas, where the Cowboys will host the Giants in what could be a very ugly game. Hopefully Brady can make it more interesting for fans who will likely be watching after stuffing their faces with food.