Why Belichick Thought Brady Was ‘Great’ in His Hosting Debut originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Bill Belichick and Tom Brady both have new jobs in media. And based on the nature of those jobs, they’re both being asked how the other is performing in their new roles.
The first example of this feedback loop regarding the New England Patriots legend came Monday night, when Belichick was asked what he thought of Brady’s debut as lead analyst on FOX for the Week 1 game between the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns.
Brady received mixed reviews and at times looked uncomfortable next to play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt and rules analyst Mike Pereira. But Belichick gave his former quarterback a thumbs up.
“I thought Tom was great,” Belichick told host Jim Gray on the Let’s go! podcast. “I think he had a much better day when Dallas went to Cleveland than I had in my first game in Cleveland when Dallas came in.”
That’s a reference to Belichick’s first game as an NFL head coach, when the Cowboys defeated his Browns 26-14 in Week 1 of the 1991 season. So if Belichick thought Brady didn’t “lose” his first game on the broadcast, what did he think the seven-time Super Bowl champion did right?
“I thought Tom did a great job,” Belichick added. “I thought he made a lot of good points in the game. Certainly the amount of times Cleveland went backwards, he kept highlighting it, and that’s a problem. … He made some good points on (Brown’s quarterback) Deshaun (Watson) that kept it going, even at the end of the game.”
Belichick made a similar point earlier in the day about Cleveland’s offense. The Pat McAfee Shownoting that one of Brady’s underrated strengths as a quarterback was his ability to limit negative plays — something Watson and the Browns failed to do during an ugly 33-17 loss to Dallas.
“I think (Brady) must have said I don’t know how many times (Sunday) in the Dallas-Cleveland game, ‘(Cleveland) keeps falling behind. They keep losing too many yards.’ Well, that’s the truth,” Belichick told McAfee.
“The job of the attack is to move the ball forward. If you are on the second and long distance of more than 10 meters, it is impossible to have any success or any consistency. So make sure you move the ball in the right direction.”
Belichick and Brady had plenty of disagreements that contributed to Brady’s departure from the Patriots in 2020. But it’s clear they have a mutual respect for each other’s knowledge of the game, so it’s no surprise that Belichick would praise Brady for this particular comment.
Brady will need many more reps before he feels completely comfortable in the broadcast booth. In the meantime, though, he has the support of at least one football junkie in his former boss.
