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Tom Brady’s debut as a broadcaster was always going to make headlines, regardless of how it went. And there was never going to be any room for nuance in the conversation, either: people were either going to hail him as the next John Madden or instantly long for the days of Greg Olsen. And the initial response seems to be more of the latter.
Perhaps similar to his NFL career, Tom Brady’s career as a broadcaster may take a bit of time to get off the ground, as his debut during the Week 1 game between the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns was largely categorized as underwhelming, with the main criticisms being of Brady’s lack of enthusiasm and rudimentary analysis.
According to Brady’s old pal Rob Gronkowski, his Week 1 performance can be chalked up to the jitters that a rookie feels when entering the NFL.
“It was definitely a rookie debut. He was like a quarterback that was picked number one overall. All the hype in the world. And he came through. He did come through, but he had a lot of jitters, that’s for sure. Not a lot, but he had some jitters. He made some great plays,” Gronk told Kay Adams on Up & Adams.
Gronkowski continued with the rookie year analogy, saying that Brady missed some thing a more veteran player — and in his case, broadcaster — would be aware of.
“There was some plays that he missed I feel like. He missed some blitzes coming through the gap and he didn’t pick ’em up. So he’s got a lot to learn, but he came out with a win. He had a solid defense with Kevin Burkhardt right there to help him get that victory. So just overall I’m kind of comparing him to a rookie quarterback because he was a rookie in the booth over the last week.”
Gronk believes that NFL fans don’t want to hear a more “laid back” version of Brady, but rather the one with the intellect that made him the greatest quarterback of all time.
“I’ve watched plenty of games with Brady. But I would say more at the facility. That’s kind of more what people are looking for. Not Tom Brady on the couch with a beer just chopping it up with his buddies,” Gronk explained.
“I would say the Tom Brady that people are looking for is him in the meeting room with his teammates explaining defenses. Explaining the techniques that you need. Explain the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents.”
Following his Week 1 debut alongside Kevin Burkhardt calling the Cowboys dominant win over the Browns, Brady will follow the Cowboys back to Dallas to call their 1 p.m. game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, September 15.