SI

Tom Brady Has Become an Excellent Listen As Fox’s Lead NFL Analyst

The former QB had his best game in the booth during the Lions’ rout of the Cowboys.

Jimmy Traina

Tom Brady is getting better every week in the booth.
Tom Brady is getting better every week in the booth. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

1. When I wrote a review of Tom Brady’s performance after his first game as Fox’s lead analyst, I said it was ridiculous to review a guy after one week on the job.

I also said in the review that there was plenty of room for Brady to improve. After six weeks of the season, Brady has improved a lot and has become one of the best listens in the NFL. He has gotten better each week and had his best game of the season on Sunday.

Unfortunately for Brady and his partner, Kevin Burkhardt, they’ve had awful games to broadcast, including the Lions' annihilation of the Cowboys on Sunday.

But before I got off that game in the middle of the third quarter to focus on the other games in the late window, I listened closely to Brady and was impressed by how far he’s come along, especially in explaining X’s and O’s. The future Hall of Famer was excellent in the first quarter explaining an interception by Detroit’s Brian Branch and the concept of cornerbacks wanting to get “width” in coverage.

Early in the third quarter, Brady spotted CeeDee Lamb in one-on-one coverage. “CeeDee not doubled,” said Brady. “Gotta get him the ball.” Dak Prescott promptly completed a pass to Lamb for a first down. Later in the quarter, Brady was quick to point out how the Lions caught the Cowboys off-guard with a formation and quick snap that led to a Jameson Williams touchdown.

Other thoughts on Brady:

• I think in the first couple of weeks of the season, we listened to Brady solely to evaluate him. There was an undeniable curiosity to see how he’d perform in the booth. Now that that’s worn off, Brady is giving off “big-game vibes” when he’s in the booth. I wanted to hear what he had to say about Prescott and Jared Goff. His opinion, especially on quarterbacks, is going to carry significant weight. You can’t deny the element that comes with being Tom Freakin’ Brady adds excitement to a broadcast.

• Thank goodness someone told him to stop making sounds effects after every play, which he did the week before during the Niners-Cardinals game. Dropping a “WOW” is fine once in a while on a legitimately great play, but when it feels forced, as it did in Week 5, it’s a problem.

• Brady also brought some levity to the broadcast when he revealed that he didn’t read books as a kid and then told his kids not to listen to that. Would love to see more of this from Brady. He’s still in super serious football mode when he’s doing the games. I get that as a first-year analyst, he has to focus on doing what he’s paid to do. I don’t expect him to turn into Charles Barkley, but more personality, more humor and more light-heartedness would go a long way.

There was a moment when Fox went to Burkhardt and Brady on camera. Brady’s collar was messed up and he made sure to fix it while he was speaking. That would’ve been a perfect time to drop a funny line and make light of it.

• Now we just need Brady to get a game that is close with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. I would expect he gets that this week when he calls Chiefs-Niners.

2. ESPN has announced its roster of NBA broadcasters for the upcoming season. The most notable addition is that long-time college basketball analyst Jay Bilas will call NBA games for the network this season.

ESPN’s play-by-play callers: Mike Breen, Ryan Ruocco, Dave Pasch, Mark Jones and Michael Grady.

ESPN’s analysts: Doris Burke, Richard Jefferson, Bob Myers, Stephanie White, Hubie Brown, Tim Legler, Cory Alexander and Bilas.

3. In an age where everything is about streaming, broadcast is still the king. Fox—not FS1—managed to generate 7.5 million viewers for Game 5 of the Dodgers-Padres NLDS on Friday night.

By comparison, Game 3 averaged 4.65 million on FS1 and Game 4 averaged 3.34 million on FS1.

4. If you missed it Saturday morning, Kirk Herbstreit had to leave College GameDay in Eugene, Ore., early so he could get to Dallas by 3:30 p.m. ET to call Oklahoma-Texas. So he did the end of the show from a car.

5. This is the hazard that comes with having to film Jason Kelce non-stop because his brother is dating Taylor Swift.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an outstanding conversation with ESPN’s Paul Finebaum.

Finebaum talks about what it’s like to cover SEC football and deal with those fans, what goes into doing a daily four-hour radio show solo, his interviewing philosophy and his all-time favorite job.

Finebaum also discusses how the expanded playoff affects college football’s regular season, why he isn’t a regular on College GameDay, how he once got Lane Kiffin fired, his feud with wrestling legend Ric Flair, why college football needs to start its season earlier, whether coaches cover the point spread for boosters, the craziest moment of his career and much more.

Following Finebaum, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, Sal explains what it’s like when huge breaking news happens while being on air, the problem with MLB postseason broadcasters, the Jets firing Robert Saleh and more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Columbus Day is always a reminder that the holiday was responsible for the worst episode of the Sopranos run. But this scene gave us vintage Tony.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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