Tom Brady’s broadcast career already has one-and-done potential originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
I give Tom Brady one season.
One season in the booth before he leaves to do something else, like look impossibly handsome in the owner’s box of the Raiders. One season before he and FOX devise a graceful exit from his $375 million contract. One season before we recall his broadcasting career as a blip that just didn’t pan out and, oh well, he’s still the greatest quarterback ever/you hate him cuz you ain’t him/insert six-rings meme here.
Brady made a halting debut with FOX’s No. 1 broadcast team over the weekend, earning tepid reviews. “The timing was a bit off,” wrote The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. Yahoo went with “clunky.” Even RedZone host Scott Hanson admonished Brady in real time to “get more excited” about a potential 71-yard field goal, though he later apologized. Pretty much every appraisal included the word “awkward.”
In the two days since Brady’s underwhelming unveiling, there’s been a rush to cite the start of his playing career. Brady replaced Drew Bledsoe under duress in 2001 and didn’t really look like an NFL quarterback until his third start against the Chargers. We all know how that season ended.
“Brady figured that out and he’ll figure this out, too!” goes the logic, and FOX is surely hoping so, since it has the Super Bowl in February. But we’re glossing over some relevant details.
The skills that made Brady an all-time great don’t necessarily translate to the booth. Broadcasting can’t be brute-forced with a thousand reps in the sun like learning to attack a Cover-4 or throw the perfect man-beater to the back pylon. Just because you can see it doesn’t mean you can explain it, and Brady wouldn’t be the first Hall of Famer to struggle in this regard.
Just ask Magic Johnson, Derek Jeter, or Wayne Gretzky, three athletes synonymous with their respective sports who don’t bring much to the studio. Playing stars turned broadcast stars like Troy Aikman,…
Source link : https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tom-bradys-broadcast-career-already-170658847.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-09-11 04:27:59
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