Tom Brady spent 24 seasons in the National Football League, winning seven Super Bowl championships between the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He began his next football challenge on Sunday in the first broadcast of his historic deal with FOX Sports to join their No. 1 team. The future Hall of Famer joined Kevin Burkhardt and reporters Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi for the call as the Dallas Cowboys dismantled the Cleveland Browns.
"We're here, it's been quite a journey," Brady told Burkhardt during the broadcast introduction. "I love being your partner."
Brady still has work to do, but he showed flashes of what he can develop into for FOX in a season where the network will eventually broadcast Super Bowl LIX.
For now, here are some highlight notes from Brady's first broadcast with FOX Sports:
QUARTERBACK FOCUS
Unsurprisingly based on his position in his career, Brady spent the majority of the day dissecting every aspect of quarterback play between Dak Prescott and Deshaun Watson. He found time to highlight their mistakes, each with near interceptions (Watson did eventually throw one in the second quarter) in the first half while limiting a negative take on their play.
In that span of quarterback analysis, Brady also raved about their greatest challenge with each of them facing an elite pass-rusher in Dallas' Micah Parsons and Cleveland's Myles Garrett. The former quarterback recognized how each offense had to adjust and made that one of the game's larger storylines.
ENERGY
While he may have been stoic at times in the first quarter, a few impact plays certainly brought Brady's football excitement to life during Burkhardt's play-by-play calls. That will be an area of refinement moving forward, but Brady showed his excitement.
Two plays specifically highlighted that early on with a catch-and-run from Dallas wideout CeeDee Lamb and a touchdown reception from Brandin Cooks.
In terms of chemistry in the booth, Brady did have jokes with Burkhardt about TV-style hair and quarterback protection with rules expert Mike Pereira (after another near-missed fist bump in Brady's career).
The "ooos" and "ahhs" showcased Brady's love for the game and can add to the broadcast when they don't interrupt Burkhardt's call of the game.
ANALYSIS
Brady heavily made most of his insightful comments with the teams lined up and called out looks and tendencies before the snap. That's an area he truly excelled in as a player. Early on in his broadcast career, his reads before the snap are going to be his bread-and-butter as he attempts to take the audience inside the mind of an NFL offense. He showed that months before Sunday's debut.
BROADCAST FLOW
As previously discussed, this will be a journey for Brady. His chemistry with Burkhardt will only grow and improve. For now, Brady will go through some ups and downs. His analysis was vocally choppy early on as he worked to convey his thoughts on the game. It came up in this Week 1 matchup, but that should improve for Brady in the coming weeks as he earns broadcast experience.
TAKES
Brady spent a period of the fourth quarter reflecting on his time in New England with legendary head coach Bill Belichick. During a conversation about Dallas defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer "cussing out" players as they develop.
Brady shared that Belichick was not afraid to do so and opened a monologue of how he appreciates coaches that still do that in the modern NFL, walking the line of praising talent while keeping stars "accountable" in their performance.
THE GRADE
Brady certainly got better as the game went on. Even with the practice games he called during the preseason, the former quarterback will have room to grow as the season goes on.
For now, Brady will rely on his focus on the game's stars and dissecting pre-snap looks. His personality should eventually come across more naturally while his chemistry will Burkhardt will come with time.
Aside from the occasional awkward moments, the legendary quarterback laid a solid groundwork for the start of his NFL career.
Grade: B-
