Tom Brady’s Next Act

It’s several weeks away but my focus is on the start of the NFL season.

Is it because the Chiefs are seeking a third straight Super Bowl triumph?

Is it a curiosity to see how all the rookie quarterbacks pan out?

Is it to see which of last year’s near misses finally get over the hump and reach the pinnacle of a championship?

Or which of the 2023 strong contenders slip down and fall by the wayside?

All of these scenarios will play out and all those questions will be answered.

What I’m looking forward to the most is the arrival of Tom Brady as an NFL television expert-analyst and how he performs in his first year on the lead broadcast team on Fox.

Brady will open with the Cowboys-Browns clash in Cleveland on the first Sunday and wind up his rookie season in the booth for the Super Bowl in New Orleans next February.

These are the things I know.

He has been working diligently and incredibly hard in getting ready for the transfer as the greatest quarterback of all time to the new and different role talking about what he sees in games that he covers.

It may be about football, the game he knows in his sleep, but viewing it from a different vantage point and expressing it in an interesting, informative,understandable and yes, entertaining way to the viewer is a different challenge.

Tom is blessed with being surrounded by an ideal, almost rare producer-director-play by play team as you’ll ever find.

Richie Zyontz has been the producer for Fox’ seven previous Super Bowls in a 40-year career of network television experience

His job is to set the tone, the approach, and choose which plays will be replayed, along with many other behind-the-scenes planning that create the atmosphere for every game the team is assigned.

Rich Russo is the director. His job is to give Brady the angles and shots he asks for, as well as the constant in-game communication to bring alive what occurs on the field and what the commentator needs to make his points. This year will mark the 6th Super Bowl for Russo.

What Tom Brady didn’t know when he embarked on his new career was that the team of Zyontz and Russo, close friends, are a low-key duo who create a relaxed, easy-going setting that almost ensures a successful presentation.

Viewers of games are understandably unaware how the temperament and approach of the production team can bring about uneven, almost scattered coverage from the pictures you see and the words you hear.

In baseball terms, I think Tom Brady is beginning his career on third base.

That includes his play-by-play partner Kevin Burkhardt.

Burkhardt who has handled every task at Fox, and they have been big ones, superbly. He is likable the minute he appears on screen, and is the perfect booth-mate for Tom. He is young, conversational, and not intent on trying to upstage his partner. Like the great Pat Summerall, who let John Madden flourish, Kevin will do the same. The two have established a strong chemistry.

The team has warmed up for the new season by working two pre-season games. They were simply practice exercises and didn’t go out over the air.

There have been countless opinions by folks on how they think Brady will do.

Many of them have no idea who he is and what makes him tick.

The fact is, the great quarterback of an unprecedented seven Super Bowl championships, is determined to be a great NFL commentator.

Being good won’t do for Brady.

The foundation for the success of anyone in any field, besides hard work, intense preparation, and inner determination is pure intelligence.

Tom Brady has that, and in spades.

All that coupled with an authentic, delightful temperament, make for what appears to be a smooth takeoff.

Knowing the business as I do, there is no substitute for the reps, the simple experience of doing more and more games.

Will he be better on week 10 than he’ll be week one? No question.

Remember, championship football teams are also better as they go on.

But I believe viewers will see what makes Tom unique early.

Those watching will hear from an ex-player the things he recognized from the field. They should be hearing insight, well-based opinion, and a look ahead, not only from behind which is what NFL telecasts have emphasized.

He is smart enough not to repeatedly state the obvious and he is fully aware to simply be Tom Brady. That will be enough for the viewers. He doesn’t have to force a thing.

I recall being one of John Madden’s many partners during his first year on CBS, before the network astutely placed him with Pat Summerall.

He wasn’t yet the John Madden well all came to know as one of the best ever in his profession.

But we had a good idea what the road ahead looked like.

I believe Tom Brady has a similar opportunity.

That’s why I’m keeping an eye on that first Sunday of the upcoming NFL season.