The reviews have been pouring in on Tom Brady’s long-awaited debut as FOX Sports’ $375 million man who displaced the respected and talented Greg Olsen as Kevin Burkhardt’s color man. Given the degree of investment and the length of time since the commitment was made, not to mention the fact that nearly 24 million sets of eyeballs were on him while also checking out the even more highly paid likes of Dak Prescott, Cee Dee Lamb and DeShaun Watson as the Cowboys paid a rare visit to Cleveland, everybody and their uncle and aunt seemed to have an opinion.
USA TODAY’s Cydney Henderson attempted to capture the vox populi:
Brady’s performance drew mixed reviews from social media users as his nerves were on display early. He had a couple hiccups with his rhythm and his delivery was choppy at times, in addition to several moments of dead air space that are normally filled with commentary. A slightly awkward fist bump exchange between Brady and FOX Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira — “Don’t leave me hanging” — encapsulated the first half as he settled in.
“Tom Brady is clearly quite nervous in his NFL broadcasting debut. Kinda funny to remind yourself that the greatest quarterback to ever do it is still a human being at the end of the day,” one X user wrote online.
At the other end of the observational spectrum, THE ATHLETIC’s esteemed media critic Richard Deitsch offered more insightful and measured takes:
Sunday, Brady came off as someone attempting to learn the craft in real time. That’s not a criticism. It’s just reality. He first spoke on-air at 4:23 p.m. ET with the usual scene-setter stuff and was very deliberate over the first quarter. Everything felt a little slow, with him and Burkhardt still finding a conversation rhythm. Brady got more comfortable as the broadcast continued, and I’d expect that to be the pattern as the season continues. If you desperately want me to grade him, I’d give him 2 1/4 goats out of four. Fox will take that for his first regular-season game.
And as if to back up his nuanced objectivity, Deitsch also threw in this view from the guy who preceded Olsen as FOX’s #1 NFL live game analyst:
There are not many people who understand what Tom Brady attempted to do Sunday afternoon, but Troy Aikman is one of them. Aikman, of course, is the lead analyst for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” and one of the most accomplished color commentators in the history of NFL television.
Tom comes into this like Tony Romo as far as going right from the field to the booth,” Aikman told me last week. “On the one hand, he had the one year off to where he was really able to lock in and watch games and listen to the broadcasters. I know he’s had practice games, but it’s not the way it was done prior to Tony. I think the success that Tony had when he came into the booth opened the door for a guy like Jason Witten. Now you’ve got Tom Brady. …
“When you’re on live television and you’re kind of learning how to do the craft, you’re always up against the clock. You never really have as much time as you hope, and you say things that sometimes make no sense. I would be in the booth going, ‘Oh my gosh, that was like the dumbest comment ever.’”
Aikman knows all too well Romo eclipsed his rookie performance in the broadcast booth even if he never equaled his on-field success. Romo never appeared in a Super Bowl, and the Cowboys are now in their 28th season since as a team they participated in one.
Meanwhile, it’s appropriate to recall that the last time Brady began a career, he was not exactly a GOAT then, either. FOX SPORTS’ Barry Werner did just that in 2016:
Tom Brady started for an injured Drew Bledsoe at quarterback on Sept. 30, 2001, and the fortunes of the New England Patriots franchise changed. Brady was the fourth quarterback to start for New England since Bledsoe was drafted with the first pick in 1993. The others? Scott Zolak and Scott Secules.
He threw for 168 yards on 13 completions in 23 attempts while the Pats’ defense made Manning miserable, intercepting three passes and returning two for touchdowns. The big cog for New England on offense in the 2001 matchup was Antowain Smith, who rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Smith also caught three passes for another 58 yards.
And three Septembers ago THE SPORTING NEWS’ Jake Aferiat pulled from his publication’s archives these observations:
As any red-blooded Pats fan knows, their 2001 season ended with their first-ever NFL title, a 20-17 nailbiter won at the gun by an Adam Vinatieri field goal over a St. Louis Rams team looking for their second championship in three years.
As luck and scheduling has it, Brady’s going to this year’s Super Bowl for sure, with FOX owning the rights to the 59th installment–and just four years after he won his seventh title on the home field of his Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
I’m not sure he can quite equal the level of excitement and accomplishment he reached in SB36. But I’m willing to keep watching to find out.
Courage…