After being lambasted in his first on-air appearance as a color commentator, FOX Sports analyst Tom Brady has received praise from fans who have seen improvement in just a week.
Brady was criticized plenty by fans and viewers in his first week game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns.
But this time, with the game between the Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints, Brady appeared more comfortable in the booth.
The audience seemed to agree – with plenty of posts on social media praising the former Patriots and Buccaneers quarterback for his quick turnaround.
‘Tom Brady is already wayyy more comfortable and natural in the booth this week than he was in week 1,’ wrote one user on X, formerly Twitter.
“I like the opportunity for Derek Carr come out and prove to everybody this wasn’t just a bad Carolina team… I don’t care who you play in the NFL, 47 points is 47 points. Kubiak has done a great job”
— Tom Brady previews the Saints-Cowboys match up pic.twitter.com/AcOM0nNTMR
— Saints Film Room (@SaintsFilmRoom) September 15, 2024
‘Best moment of Tom Brady’s young broadcasting career just happened,’ read another post. ‘After Cowboys rookie WR slips, leading to INT, Burkhardt asks if Prescott should go back to the rookie WR to get confidence going. Brady: “Not today.”‘
‘Love Tom Brady’s honest[y] right there,’ said another fan.
‘I regret to inform you that Tom Brady is offering good, non-cliched insight in doses today,’ read another tweet. ‘He sounds comfortable and confident and like he may even be enjoying himself. Who knew: the homicidally competitive guy may wind up being good at this.’
It’s a markedly different reception than what Brady got in his first weekend as an NFL analyst.
Despite being praised by his fellow FOX analysts, Brady was met with criticism by some fans and even some media professionals.
‘Tom Brady ain’t stuttered this much since he told Gisele he got one more year in him,’ one user posted referring to the former signal caller’s decision to un-retire for one more season in the NFL, which came months before his divorce from supermodel Gisele Bundchen.
‘Maybe someone should have listened to Tom Brady actually say words before dropping $300 million on him,’ another scathingly posted, while another echoed the criticism, adding, ‘Tom Brady can’t seem to form any sentences that have any sort of normal cadence to them.’
‘Tom Brady just said it’s hard to make 10, but really hard to make 20 yards. That’s what $375 million worth of analysis gets you folks,’ one quipped.
Others echoed the sentiment, suggesting Brady’s analysis was boring with one user writing: ‘Tom Brady needs to be hella interesting to listen to, because his speaking voice isn’t super pleasant to listen to And so far, he is not.’
Richard Deitsch, a senior media reporter for The Athletic, offered a fair-handed review of Brady’s performance saying that he sounded like it was his first time in a booth, but that he needed more time to adjust.
‘Sunday, Brady came off as someone attempting to learn the craft in real time. That’s not a criticism. It’s just reality,’ Deitsch wrote in his column.
‘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.’
It appears that Deitsch was right – maybe a lot quicker than anyone would have guessed.
