Tom Brady’s clunky NFL broadcast debut was to be expected despite the unrealistic hype

In Tom Brady’s first two NFL starts, he threw zero touchdowns, completed 53 percent of his passes for an average of 127 yards a game, took five sacks and split one win and one loss. He played like a first-time NFL starter who was just trying to move the sticks, stay out of the way of his running game, and do what he was told as he found his footing.

That frame of reference — how he started his last job as a quarterback — is something to keep in mind as he ventures into his next one. Because it began Sunday in a very similar manner, with a broadcasting performance that showcased a mixture of potential, inexperience, awkwardness … and by the end of the venture, some clear improvement that suggests Tom Brady is going to do just fine in this new frontier.

Of course, it didn’t come without a tidal wave of social media opinions of fans — many underscoring a predictable reality: If you hated Brady as a player, you’re probably going to find reasons to hate him as a broadcaster. And if you liked him as a player, you’re likely going to give him the initial benefit of the doubt as he finds a way to live up to Fox’s 10-year $375 million commitment.

It surely didn’t take long to see some of what Fox was investing in, starting with Brady’s arrival to his game — a less-than-stellar Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns opener (we’ll get to that). I can’t recall the last time I saw a broadcaster’s entrance into the stadium treated like he was still a star quarterback. But Brady’s was given the kind of star treatment that he enjoyed as a player, with the NFL’s social media accounts showing a clip of him arriving in a sharply tailored suit and declaring “First day on the new job” alongside a goat emoji.

Fox rolled out the red carpet as well, with a commercial serenading Brady’s broadcasting arrival that featured him talking to younger versions of himself while declaring his commitment to proving doubters wrong in this job, too. By the time the…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-09-09 04:38:57

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