Tom Brady has been in the commentary booth for a little over a year now, yet he still hasn’t managed to earn rave reviews for his on-air breakdowns. Many have complained that he can be awkward or insipid at times, while others believe that he is holding back for some reason.
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Initially, many even thought that Brady, being the GOAT of football, would add thoughts and insights into each game that nobody could see or notice. But he’s been a normal voice so far, who sometimes goes unnoticed.
Former player-turned pundit Cris Carter recently floated the idea that while TB12 has the knowledge to be more insightful, he says that he has to dumb things down so he doesn’t come off a certain way.
“He goes up to the booth, and then, that time I’m listening to it, and he’s dumbing it way down,” Carter began on Fully Loaded, adding,
“He doesn’t want to be the greatest football player ever and an a**hole. Because that’s what people are going to say. But his expectations [ad] the quarterback… his expectations are so high… His partner doing the telecast said, ‘Man, you should hear the audio in between commercials of Tom.’”
This argument does make sense given that Brady was the elitist of the elite when it came to the QB position. He probably thinks that some QBs should be doing more or being better at times during games he’s commentating. But he doesn’t want to rip into them live on the broadcast and seem overly mean.
Carter believes that Brady should take inspiration from Nick Saban on College GameDay.
“Nick Saban on College Football GameDay, oh my god, he’s so likable,” Carter said. “So approachable. Explaining the game, he’s added so much to that… I just think that, Tom, at some point, he’ll find that sweet spot, because those are the conversations that we’re missing out on.”
The Hall of Famer also added that Brady is a very insightful person, but the audience isn’t ready for the kind of analysis he’d give if he didn’t hold back.
“They are in his head, and the public is really not ready for the greatest player ever to really explain what’s going on,” Carter added.
All in all, these were interesting remarks on the status of Brady’s commentary career. According to Carter, the ability to be a better analyst is inside the GOAT and may be achieved one day. But for now, he’s going to ease his way into the job and won’t be too critical of some QBs.
The issue is that Brady’s criticisms have come more from his awkwardness while on live TV. We thought that he would eventually adjust, but there are still times when the timing is off or the analysis is too dumbed down. He just hasn’t added as much to games as we thought he would. Perhaps it was our mistake in thinking that one person could single-handedly elevate a sports broadcast.
At the end of the day, though, Brady is in year two of a ten-year contract. So there’s still plenty of time to get this commentary job dialed in. It’s been a rocky 15 months to start, but he’ll get better the longer he’s on the call. We’re sure of it.
