FOX Wants Tom Brady to Focus More on One Key Part of NFL Games

Andy Nesbitt | 2 Hours Ago

Tom Brady's first year in the booth has had some ups and downs. / Fox

Tom Brady's post-NFL career as an announcer on FOX's No. 1 team each week has been a bit of a bumpy ride. The seven-time Super Bowl champ showed some nerves early on and has leaned on a lot of clichés to not say too much at all but it seems like he's getting a little bit stronger each week.

Brady proved to be a quick learner in the NFL. After some early struggles when he stepped in for an injured Drew Bledsoe, he was able to not only settle in but also excel while leading the Patriots to a stunning Super Bowl win over the Rams in his breakout year.

His bosses at FOX are hoping that will happen again, this time in his new job. A report by John Ourand this week has some inside info on how Brady's producers are hoping he can lean more into something that's very important in games, and something Brady has a lot of knowledge about: the X’s and O’s.

From Ourand:

"When most players leave the NFL for the broadcast booth, they immediately lean on X’s and O’s as their crutch. Seemingly every play, they dissect gaps and blocking schemes. In his first 10 games as Fox Sports’ top analyst, Tom Brady has instead focused on things you don’t find in a playbook: pointing out the leadership of stars, focusing on the development of young players, and looking for accountability among veterans.

"Fox producers have been pushing Brady to incorporate more of what he’s seeing on the field—duh—into his commentary. And these sorts of observations—why a play worked or fell apart—are starting to pop up more frequently on the broadcast."

Brady will be back in the booth on Thursday when he calls his first Thanksgiving Day game in Dallas where the Cowboys will be hosting the Giants in what could be a very ugly game. Hopefully Brady will be able to make it more interesting for fans who will likely be watching after stuffing their faces with food.

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