Tom Brady has had his ups and downs in his highly anticipated debut as an announcer for Fox Sports.
Fox signed Brady to a 10-year contract worth $375 million more than two years ago, and the sports world has been waiting with bated breath to see how he would perform in the booth.
The game ended up being a dud, with the Cowboys winning 33-17 in a game that was effectively over at halftime, so we'll have to wait at least another week to evaluate how Brady fare in the moments that really matter.
Television networks covet the aura of former players and coaches with Hall of Fame pedigrees and title wins.
Fox has a particular emphasis on NFL commentators, with past commentators such as John Madden and Troy Aikman, as well as current studio commentators such as Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson, Howie Long, Rob Gronkowski and Michael Strahan.
Brady has a strong track record as the greatest quarterback in NFL history, having won seven Super Bowl titles with the Patriots and Buccaneers.
When Fox switched to him and commentary partner Kevin Burkhart for the pre-game introductions, it immediately felt like a big game.
Brady seems to be following the advice of former top CBS commentator and Giants standout Phil Simms to let the game take a breather, telling The Washington Post last week that no one complains that announcers talk too much.
At key moments, Brady paused before making his comments and let viewers hear the reaction of the crowd at Cleveland's Huntington Bank Field.
What's important is that he briefly summarized his thoughts and handed the baton, so to speak, to Burkhart before calling a new play.
Brady came across as warm, elegantly spoken and enthusiastic about his play on the field, yet relaxed and easygoing.
He had a sense of humor and even chided Browns star pass rusher Myles Garrett for being offside in the second quarter.
“You don't have to go that far. You're already past everyone else with that little burst move,” Brady said with a grin.
With Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson feeling bewildered and pressured by a relentless pass rush throughout the game, he was at his most powerful when he spoke from firsthand experience about the “mental gymnastics” that Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer puts his quarterbacks through.
Significant room for improvement was apparent when he paused mid-sentence multiple times to gather his thoughts.
The most skilled announcers speak in perfect paragraph structure, with perfect pauses and punctuation, like a news anchor reading from a script.
Brady seemed to play the underdog in the sense that he knew people were waiting for him to be overly critical, but he never turned the sharp knife on Browns players or coaches when they were slammed.
The Browns traded three first-round draft picks in 2022 to acquire Watson from the Texans and paid him $230 million fully guaranteed, but he could have been tougher on Watson.
If Brady had completed 24 of 45 for 169 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in a 16-point loss in the season opener, he surely would have been hard on himself.
Brady sometimes resorted to announcer clichés, such as saying that on plays where the Browns lost yards, once you fall back it's hard to move forward.
Brady began his broadcasting career with considerable pressure, not only because of his résumé and record salary, but also because he had replaced Greg Olsen as Fox's top analyst.
Olsen, who was demoted to the No. 2 announcing team, has excelled in that role since replacing Troy Aikman in 2022.
While many industry observers argue that announcers don't affect TV ratings, Fox has had exceptional crews over the years, in Madden and Pat Summerall, whose fans stayed tuned to hear them even when they were winning by a landslide.
The network is hoping Brady, with his pedigree and high Q scores from general audiences, can give them a slight boost in matches like Sunday's squash match.
