Best & Worst of Tom Brady in the NFL Broadcast Booth: Week 2

FOX's shiny new toy had a much better showing.

Brady received much higher marks in Week 1 than he did in Week 2. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tom Brady's first season as an NFL broadcaster will be under an incredibly strong microscope. He is Tom Brady, after all. Everything he does is of great interest to the general public. But as the former quarterback knows well, there are no bright lights quite like that of the NFL.

In part due to his status, in part due to the enormity of the contract Fox Sports gave him, and in part because he's replacing a widely-liked analyst in Greg Olsen, every single thing Brady says on FOX broadcasts this season will be broken down and examined to the core. There will be many lengthy columns written to judge the minutiae of Brady's skills as a color commentator. And many people will read them.

But for most, opinions on Brady will come down to a handful of viral clips that circulate on social media platforms over the next 17 weeks and into the playoffs. These clips could be good or bad, but either way they'll inform the larger audience of Brady's current status as an announcer until there are north of 20 million pairs of eyes on him in the postseason.

Here, we'll break down those clips. It will serve as a window into how Brady performed last week and a barometer of his progress as the season goes on.

Best

The most important think that happened in Brady's second mission into the broadcast booth is that he emerged with much more favorable reviews for that performance than he did for an objectively underwhelming debut. And that is absolutely not a surprise. Even one of the most accomplished athletes in the history of sports can feel pressure when trying something completely new without a safety net and the lights turned up to their brightest setting.

Brady was far more confident and quicker on the take during the New Orleans Saints' surprising destruction of the Dallas Cowboys. As discussed before, early returns suggest that he performs best when he draws from his copious experience. There should really be no limit on how often he begins a sentence with "you know, back when I was playing."

The best example of this came late in the second quarter with the Saints already holding a 28-13 lead. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott attempted a pass over the middle to rookie wideout Jalen Brooks, who slipped and allowed a New Orleans' interception.

Brady efficiently and honestly spoke about the mindset Prescott might have after such a crucial mistake.

Tom Brady wasn’t messing around.

“Not today. Pretty tough to go back there.”

Cold blooded lmao 😂😂 https://t.co/Wvk6pwm26N pic.twitter.com/3Tq4ZkZQ0b

— Pats Buzz (@PatsBuzz) September 16, 2024

Is this in any way reinventing the wheel? No. But Brady doesn't have to do that. His bar for success is to be pretty good or, at the very least, not distractingly bad. For now it appears his stock is moving up.

Worst

Once again, the greatest thing that can be said is that no one on social media clipped anything too damning or embarrassing. Which is pretty impressive considering how many people wouldn't mind seeing Brady fail. The main thing for him to work on remains to be establishing a snappier rhythm. Kevin Burkhardt is doing an excellent job guiding him but Brady should and likely will be far more forceful in simplying saying what he needs to say without coaxing. There are still too many times where the empty space should be filled by some short analysis or story from the person tasked with providing color. There was a lot more confidence in Round 2 than Round 1 so it's not like there hasn't been significant progress already, but viewers are still very much aware they are witnessing someone learning on the fly.

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