Bob Raissman: Tom Brady’s rookie season with Fox comes down to his Super Bowl performance
It’s nothing to laugh at, but the situation Tom Brady finds himself in is funny — especially when he’s getting paid millions to arrive safely out the other end of football broadcasting’s version of…
It’s nothing to laugh at, but the situation Tom Brady finds himself in is funny — especially when he’s getting paid millions to arrive safely out the other end of football broadcasting’s version of a blizzard.
With all the hype, hyperbole and hysteria, that’s what a Super Bowl telecast should be equated to. Nonetheless, Sunday’s Chiefs-Eagles matchup won’t be Brady’s most formidable TV challenge. That already took place on Sept. 8, 2024, Brady’s debut on Fox, working Dallas-Cleveland with his play-by-play partner Kevin Burkhardt.
On that occasion, the future Hall of Fame quarterback went into the booth with no experience analyzing NFL games behind a microphone. It was the first time he worked through the mechanics of a telecast with a director and a producer.
Unlike a Super Bowl broadcast, the whole world was not watching. Yet, when it came to drawing eyeballs, the tilt was not exactly needy.
Dallas-Cleveland recorded 23.8 million viewers, Fox’s most watched Week 1 telecast since 2020. Brady was already justifying the $37 million per (for 10 years) the Foxies are paying him.
But in September, those who tuned-in paid more attention to how Brady handled his role. Some even tuned in to see him fail. They focused on his performance. That won’t be the case Sunday. In fact, those attending the goo-gobs of Super Bowl Feedbags won’t pay any attention to what he says.
They will be eating and drinking with the mute button on.
Besides, look how far Brady has come since that first game. He has logged around 75 hours doing NFL games on Fox this season. He has probably spent a couple of hundred hours on research and watching film. Brady has 21 games under his belt.
He hasn’t sucked. The accurate way to describe Brady is “steady.”
Amazingly, at this point in the season, his credibility is still intact. Should he even be considered a rookie broadcaster?
While Brady has been building on his broadcasting experience, it doesn’t change the axiom about it being unheard of for a rookie voice to perform behind the Super Bowl microphone, the biggest stage professional sports can offer.
The voices who worked the most Super Bowl’s together, the late John Madden and Pat Summerall (eight Supes), would say once the game started it, except for longer commercial and halftime breaks, was just another telecast. Any pressure they might have felt filtered into the booth moments before kickoff.
Brady has the advantage of having played in 10 Super Bowls. He is already aware how the pressure manifests itself. It’s hard imagining the TV pressure will be nearly as intense.
Still, there is an ultimate reality Brady can’t escape. His first season as an NFL TV analyst will be judged solely on how he performs in the three — maybe four — hours working Sunday’s game in New Orleans.
And his performance could be defined by how he handles any one of a variety of moments destined to be unforgettable: A crucial play, a bad coaching decision, a questionable referee’s call.
Or one singular on-field oddity.
For better or worse, that’s how Tom Brady’s season will be remembered.
A FAN OF BOYLEIt sounded like Pat Boyle, on WFAN, was dreaming.
Working late Saturday night into early Sunday morning, his tone was unsure, as he reported Mavs star Luka Doncic was traded to the Lakers for Anthony Davis.
Then Boyle did a smart thing. He cast some doubt over the wild, out-of-nowhere report saying he wanted to get more confirmation before he could be sure the Beyond-Blockbuster was true. He got the confirmation but wasn’t finished.
Boyle put the trade in historical perspective, calling it the “biggest trade of superstars in NBA history.” Then he took some calls.
A slow Saturday night at FAN became very interesting, thanks to the stunning trade and the way Boyle handled it.
TO BET OR NOT TO BETAs Walt (Clyde) Frazier would say, maybe it was just “serendipity.” Or was it more than coincidence.
On Wednesday “First Take,” Christopher (Mad Dog) Russo went into Super Bowl analysis, indicating which way he was leaning.
Stephen A. Smith seized the moment to remind the Free World: “Doggie is an expert at losing money.” Funny line. But was it some kind of buyer beware warning?
For a few moments later a promo aired on “First Take” for “ESPN BET” touting “Mad Dog Super Bowl Parlays.”
CAL’S MYSTERY MANThe coverage fit the moment.
It seemed like ESPN had John Calipari’s return to Rupp Arena with his Arkansas Razorbacks Saturday night scripted.
The network’s cameras didn’t miss a second of the coach’s grand entrance (although Calipari showed up in the hallway early and had to retreat back to the locker room).
One question that went unanswered was: Who was the big guy at Cal’s side during his entrance and exit? Did Calipari add some needed muscle to his entourage?
AROUND THE DIALHubie Brown, 91, is scheduled to end his broadcasting career on Sunday where his NBA coaching career began, in Milwaukee, working Sixers-Bucks on ABC. Brown broke into the NBA in 1972 as an assistant coach for the Bucks under his friend Larry Costello. As he made his media rounds down the stretch, Brown produced an indelible memory during an emotional interview with SiriusXM’s Christopher (Mad Dog) Russo. … Glad to see that tanking NHL national TV ratings are not stifling creativity on the telecasts. We hope to again land on an ESPN NHL telecast when “The Rush” is on. ESPN mutes its announcers and goes only with the “natural” sounds inside the arena. Network’s working other sports should try their own versions on “The Rush.” … Adam’s revenge? With Luka Doncic unexpectedly shipped to the Lakers for Anthony Davis, Adam Silver, in terms of media attention, “stole” Super Bowl buildup week from the National Football League. This was nice “payback” by the NBA for the NFL “stealing” exclusive Christmas exposure from Silver and his TV Robots. … Glad to see Mike Breen so concerned with fans caught up in this MSG Network-Altice carriage standoff. Wonder what side of the controversy he’s on? … Just because Jeff Van Gundy has found a home as Ty Lue’s lead assistant with the Clippers, doesn’t mean we can’t still miss him (Mark Jackson too) behind the ESPN/ABC microphone. Working Lakers vs. Knicks last Saturday night on ABC, the trio of Breen, Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson, did not make up for VanJax’s absence. They talked a bit too much. The broadcast didn’t flow. Maybe more work together for the trio will improve a so-so performance. … FAN’s Brandon Tierney and Sal Licata squeezed plenty of juice out of former Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff during a Tuesday chat. The Gasbags got Dimitroff to open up about his Jets GM interview, including what he told Jets suits about Aaron Rodgers. Unfortunately, none of the Mid-Day Mouth’s colleagues publicly recognized the brilliance of their interviewing skills.
* * *
DUDE OF THE WEEK: JACK BECH
For his inspiring performance. The TCU wideout turned it in at the Senior Bowl, one month after his brother, Tiger, was killed during a terrorist attack in New Orleans. And at the Senior Bowl, where football players go to prove themselves, Jack Bech did just that and a whole lot more.
DWEEB OF THE WEEK: KEVIN DURANT
No player who has moved on from teams three times, like Durant, should be grumbling about NBA teams being able to ship out talent, like Luca Doncic, during midseason. “Players are held to a different level of loyalty,” Durant said. K.D. should be thankful he didn’t play in the 1960s and ’70s when movement was virtually impossible.
DOUBLE TALK
What (NFL Referees Union boss) Scott Green said: “It is insulting and preposterous to hear conspiracy theories that somehow 17 officiating crews are colluding to assist one team.”
What Scott Green meant to say: “Nobody trusts us.”
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