Tom Brady’s performance as a sports commentator was shaky this past Sunday when he was in the booth for the first time during the UFL Championship game. Some questioned whether the seven-time Super Bowl Champion had the skillset to be an effective NFL play-by-play analyst.
There is little reason to doubt anymore.
Collin Cowherd Tries to Bait Brady to Say Elite WRs Are Tough to Work With
In an interview with Collin Cowherd on Fox Sports ‘The Herd,’ Cowherd asked Brady an interesting question about playing with elite receivers.
“I’ve been arguing for years… having great receivers is great…but even a great quarterback will feel indebted to get him the ball… I felt like Dak Prescott was better without the great Dez Bryant….I’ve always had this feeling, subconsecsioulsy when Randy [Moss] was there he rewarded yout, but was there a feeling there of “Where’s Randy?”
Throughout the exchange, Brady continued to say “Sure” or “Okay”, showing he was listening to Cowherd’s words without giving a direct response or comment. Once Cowherd finished, Brady gave one of the most in-depth and honest responses on the spot, which gave insight that the common fans may have never heard.
“You always felt like you had to so something to get them the ball. Even in practice… if they hadn’t gotten the ball I felt like I got to get them running because I want him to keep running hard to be ready for when the ball in a game. You see it a lot in NFL games. I want the best players to touch the ball early so they can get in the flow of the game. And good coaches do that when they script plays early in the game to get those players the ball.
…
You scheme to make sure those guys get the first or second touches of the game. I want to make sure Samuel Deebo touches the ball first or second… The last thing you want it your number one receiver to go two and half quarters into a game and not see a ball.
He also explained how much easier it is to get a star tight end or slot receiver the ball than an outside receiver because of the route options and the amount of scheming that defense can do.
Even more impressive in his answer is that Brady didn’t take the bait of Cowherd, but he could take the question, answer it in the way he wanted, and not make Cowherd look bad. It would have been really easy to start with something like, “Actually, you’re wrong; here’s why…”
The response showed that Brady can take a question, disagree with it, and still pivot smoothly and professionally.
Listen to Tom Brady discuss the importance of getting your playmakers involved early in the game.
This is only three minutes and there’s so much. So good to hear him break down the game like this…
(🎥 @TheHerd)
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 19, 2024
Tom Brady Played With Some of the Most Elite Receivers of All Time
Not only did Brady have a good response to the question, but Brady had the pedigree and history to back up his claim. Having played in the NFL for 23 seasons, winning 7 Super Bowls, and playing in another couple, he saw a lot, perhaps more than any NFL analyst ever.
That experience will be very helpful as he gives his analysis and input on games. Sometimes, when analysts give their opinion on certain situations, one has to wonder how credible they are. With Brady, that isn’t the case. Here are just some of the receivers he played with.
- Tony Brown – 6,366 receiving yards, 31 touchdowns
- Deion Branch – 4,297 receiving yards, 24 touchdowns
- Mike Evans – 3,165 receiving yards, 33 touchdowns
- Julian Edelman – 6,507 receiving yards, 36 touchdowns
- Wes Walker – 7,459 receiving yards, 37 touchdowns
- Randy Moss – 3904 receiving yards, 50 touchdowns
- Rob Gronkowski – 9,275 receiving yards, 93 touchdowns
In other words, Brady was pretty good at getting his best players the ball early and often. Also, considering that Brady threw for 89,214 yards to more than 100 different players, it is crazy that 46% of his passing yards came from only these seven players.
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1 Comment
You say it’s baiting but questions like this is why Colin is so great. He gets a real detailed answer to you are writing about. He doesn’t want Brady to agree and he knows Brady isn’t going to agree.