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    • Tom Brady’s debut as NFL commentator leaves a lot to be desired
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    Tom Brady’s debut as NFL commentator leaves a lot to be desired

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    CLEVELAND – Just because Tom Brady had the most decorated NFL career of all time doesn’t automatically make him the best announcer in his new career. The transitive property doesn’t exist in football or sports television. But the good news for Brady is that he can mirror his playing career by improving in the role and rising to the top of the profession, even if his first time on the call Sunday during the Dallas Cowboys’ 33-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns was a forgettable, up-and-down performance.

    The overall broadcast should be better by the time the cameras roll on Brady and broadcast partner Kevin Burkhardt at Super Bowl 59 in February. But this was by no means a disaster for Brady or FOX.

    There have been worse debuts and performances in the field-to-booth pipeline, even in recent memory. Brady isn’t in the bottom tier of Drew Brees, who didn’t last at NBC as a studio analyst or color commentator, and Jason Witten, whose stint as “Monday Night Football” analyst in 2018 was bad enough that he returned to the Cowboys.

    It was pretty clear that the emphasis during Brady’s offseason workout with the FOX crew and the advice he was getting from other top announcers was to get in and out of his spots quickly. Brady was almost too snappy. His first big moment to shine came on a touchdown pass from Dak Prescott to Brandin Cooks as the quarterback was facing an all-out blitz. FOX had to go back to Brady after commercial to get him deeper into the game because his first pass left a little too much dead air.

    I hadn’t considered Brady’s voice “high” until Boomer Esiason mentioned it to me last week. Hearing the GOAT talk about football at length was a bit jarring to the senses. But the way he speaks shouldn’t pose much of a problem for Brady’s broadcasting business.

    It doesn’t help Brady’s case that he’s replacing a popular announcer in Greg Olsen, who was a good fit for Burkhardt thanks to their shared roots in northern New Jersey. Olsen quickly rose to the No. 1 analyst chair in the business and should be a shining example of what his replacement should be working toward. Burkhardt and Brady sounded great together, highlighted by Burkhardt joking that he wore more gel in his air because he thought there would be more on-air shots of the booth; Brady responded that he does what he’s told and is the rookie.

    As expected, Brady rarely went negative, despite the dismal performance of Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. He said Prescott was “lucky” not to have been intercepted late in the first quarter. There was some decent analysis of Micah Parsons dealing with chip blocks, politely correcting Burkhardt by explaining “he got a chip and beat him!” He tried to take us into Prescott’s mind as he dropped back and Myles Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, charged at him.

    Brady, in fact, operates under a mandate to keep his comments positive or neutral. Outside the broadcast booth, Brady is approaching a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. Becoming a limited partner of the league has its limitations. He is not allowed to sit in on FOX production meetings because his position with the Raiders prohibits him from entering another team’s facility. The league has said Brady can report on games involving Las Vegas. Brady must abide by the league’s constitution and bylaws, which “may prohibit public criticism of officials and other clubs.” It’s a conundrum that leaves Brady unable to deliver the “real talk” fans crave and forces him to dance around topics — a difficult enough task for a seasoned announcer, let alone a newbie.

    On Sunday, his early analysis was that of an armchair quarterback, not a GOAT. By the end of the game, he felt comfortable enough to explain why he thinks the quality of offensive line play has declined in recent seasons.

    The product on the field did him no good, to say the least. Some examples:

    • “The fastest way to get onto the field is to go vertical.”
    • “Give the ball to his playmakers.”
    • “Negative plays hurt you so much.”

    Burkhardt did his best to guide Brady to that second level of analysis, asking the seven-time Super Bowl champion, for example, whether he preferred man-to-man or zone coverage.

    The timing between the two was generally good, starting early in the game. Brady was pretty good on the nice catch of CeeDee Lamb, not stepping on Burkhardt’s call but letting out a “wow!” He did a little Tony Romo imitation on the Cooks’ touchdown with the “oh!” But that could have been a positive for Brady. He was wise not to invade Romo’s play prognosticator lane. Some of Brady’s most insightful material came during the blowout portion of the broadcast, when he explained what made it so difficult to play against Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.

    “I played for a coach who wasn’t afraid to call his players names,” Brady said, referring to fellow media rookie and former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

    Playing on emotion can be a strength if it’s ultimately presented in the right way. Brady took the job because he loves football—his multiverse promo that aired on FOX the week of the game confirmed that. The relatability factor is something an NFL team co-owner might struggle with; instead, Brady should channel that passion into his analysis and win over viewers.

    “NFL RedZone” host Scott Hanson joked that Brady should have shown more emotion when the Cowboys flirted with the idea of ​​letting kicker Brandon Aubrey attempt a 71-yard field goal after he made one from 66 yards out that was neutralized by a penalty.

    “Oh come on,” Hanson said. “Brady’s got to get more excited than that in the booth.”

    (Hanson issued a formal, but unnecessary, apology on social media on Monday.)

    The greatest currency in sports broadcasting is authenticity. For so long, the Patriot Way has pigeonholed Brady as someone who delivers talking points with little to offer the audience (via the media). Those who assumed Brady would be a natural in the booth because of the amount of time he spends on camera didn’t realize that answering questions with the goal of saying nothing is very different from providing substantive analysis. Pausing to think about what you’re saying is not only prudent, it’s also viewed positively by those who watch press conferences. In the booth, that caution comes across differently.

    Brady’s shell began to crumble during his years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But his play was the most talked about. Now, Tom Brady, the public figure and businessman, has to let everyone know who he really is, in his 40s instead of his 20s—with a microphone in his hand and an audience of, say, 20 million people every Sunday afternoon.

    Brady has 20 games left—possibly fewer if he opts for a bye week—before the lights turn red at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans for Super Bowl 59. He’s not ready for that assignment yet. But consider how many teams find themselves in the Super Bowl after looking beaten in Week 1. FOX is banking on a similar trajectory, and Brady will learn enough on the job in the coming months to make the big game sound like a game.

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