Grade TB12's first season as a broadcaster

[catent]

Not very good, IMO. I've actually been surprised by how frenetic TB seems in the booth. He often gets ahead of himself, speaks too quickly, and isn't particularly articulate (because he's speaking too quickly, as if his brain is moving faster than his mouth). The underlying thought process/insight is usually valid, but it's rarely well articulated.

I was expecting we'd see more of the grounded, calm, deeply thoughtful, articulate Tom Brady we have seen recently outside of the broadcasting booth.

That incredible poise, calm, and stillness in the pocket, the ability to stand like a statue with rushers around him, keeping his eyes downfield, focusing with a complete sense of quiet calm, is absent from his work as a commentator.

If he could slow down his mind/mouth and more deliberately, methodically articulate his insights/observations, I think he could be quite good.

Regarding last night's game specifically, TB was way off the mark on the call where Mahomes got hit in the facemask and fumbled, recovered by Philadelphia. A flag was thrown for the celebration after the turnover, and we then all saw the replay of Mahomes getting spiked in the face. Brady suggested they may have penalized the hit on Mahomes but determined Philly already had possession before the hit, which was very much not the case; Mike Pereira sounded incredibly annoyed jumping in to point out the penalty was because Philadelphia dunked the ball on the crossbar of the field goal posts.

 

[p8ryts]

I'm not a Tom Brady sycophant, but I thought he was fine. Was he early Tony Romo? No, but it seemed like he improved over the year, and it seemed like people were just looking for things to complain about, most of which were silly. Today they complained about the watch he wore.

 

[patsfan13]

My wife watched the game, not a FB fan. She thought Brady was great explaining the game. She is IMO the target for a TV broadcast, engaging non FB fans.

 

[Boston Boxer]

i thought he was doing a good job in his first year. It take a while to get the nuances down. I think he talks too long and he is still talking when the next play starts. Just needs to work on that and he will get used to working with his partner to get a rhythm down.

 

[Triumph]

He was ****ing awful. Looking forward to next year's Super Bowl when he is NOT part of the broadcast

Brady kept talking well after the ball was snapped all through the game.

He looks emaciated too. He needs a cheesesteak.

 

[borg]

Incessant talking while plays are underway needs to be addressed.
Less is more.

 

[Rob0729]

He was a D- to start the season, I would say a C- by the end of the season. Barely passing. This isn't his element. Just because you are the great QB ever doesn't mean you can be a great color guy. He could get better. I am guessing there won't be much improvement since I assume that year in between retiring and his first broadcast he did a lot of practicing calling games. But who knows.

I still feel bad for Greg Olsen who may be the best in the business right now as a color commentator who got relegated to the B team because of Brady. He really should be calling the best games each week.

 

[denverpatsfan]

9 more years of this? Does Fox have an out clause in the contract. For him to be the #1 team right away is freaking ridiculous

 

[Steve102]

I voted RLKAG but I think Tom is very average. C maybe C+.

 

[203Pat]

I give him a C because he is pretty average. I was hoping for a next-level analysis and his insight into the X's and O’s, and we didn't get much of that. For instance, what was different about the Eagles’ defensive line last night? I get that they have highly drafted players along the defensive front, but what specifically was rattling Mahomes so much? To me, it looked like the backside pressure was forcing Mahomes to get happy feet, and it was costing him his accuracy. It would be nice to hear from Brady on specifics like that to see if a layman like myself is understanding/seeing the game the way a HOF quarterback does. Instead, Brady seems to fall back on "This guy right here is coming for Mahomes on this play, so he has to watch out" as he circles the defense's best pass rusher on obvious passing downs.

 

[thecore762]

C.
He was awful the first few games but really started doing well later on.
If he keeps improving I’d say B by end of the season next year.

 

[Vindicate]

Brady's best game, imo, was the Washington/Detroit divisional game. I think that game gave him a lot to talk about, stuff he felt comfortable with.

He improved greatly over the season, I think he'll continue to get better.

 

[DarrylS]

Average at best, an issue for Tom are his "pipes" he might want to pick a 2 pack a day habit for 6 months or so.
My expectation exceeded how he performed..

 

[TommyD4207]

He did very, very well last night during garbage time.

He gave an in depth perspective of a QB who has both won and lost Super Bowls, which is a perspective that only a very small handful of people on this planet have. Sorry Greg Olsen, you're not one of 'em.

The garbage time stories were far and away his best material all season.

 

[Bill Lee]

Tom is OK. I don't know if it's his overall delivery or just the sound of his voice, but I really have to focus on what he says to avoid tuning him out. In terms of commanding attention I think Tony Romo is much better.

Greg Olsen was/is also much better, IMO.

If his home fan base only is giving him a C+/B- grade, one can imagine what the fans of the other 31 teams think.

 

[Tunescribe]

Greg Olsen was/is also much better, IMO.

If his home fan base only is giving him a C+/B- grade, one can imagine what the fans of the other 31 teams think.

I still question why he's doing it. It seems beneath him. It's hard work and lord knows he doesn't need the money.

 

[SlowGettingUp]

He knows so much and he never seems to show it. Seems like more platitudes and generalities - the sort of commentary any one of us could come up with. "They really need a stop now" kind of thing. Maybe he's been told to not talk about the X's and O's but I wish he would give us some actual insights. In the game he often mentioned the KC run defense (lots of talk of "flat") but never talked about how that might have cost them in the pass defense. I don't think he ever mentioned that Mahomes was getting pressured without a blitz (unless maybe late in the game), let alone how the Eagles DL was doing it.

Give it to us how a QB might see it pre-snap and after the snap. Even simple stuff like how the QB can tell its zone vs man.

I loved what Romo did at the very outset and then he went away from that style for some reason. Brady should be able to do that even better.

 

[aluminum seats]

I thought he was pretty painful last night. I love Brady, but he seems like a weird guy and that carries over to his commentary a little too much.

I don’t really think he seems weird to be honest

To me the problem is he just has a lousy voice, sort of an important detail for a broadcaster

 

[aluminum seats]

I still question why he's doing it. It seems beneath him. It's hard work and lord knows he doesn't need the money.

I don’t know man, they’re paying him a lot of money

 

[signbabybrady]

A-

I like the way he talks about what he did and how he would handle situations. He needs to be paired with someone better than Burkhart and then he can be an A or A+.