“It’s a lot different when you’re out there on the 50-yard line and real things are happening in real time.”
Before he ever stepped foot in an NFL broadcast booth, Tom Brady was already getting rave reviews for his work ethic while preparing for the job. Everyone had good things to say about the advice Brady was seeking out and the extensive practice he was putting in with partner Kevin Burkhardt.
But this week in an interview with Fox News, Brady admitted those practice reps only go so far.
‘There’s no hiding. It’s not like there’s really a practice field,” Brady said.
“The only way to do it, you can’t just go into the studio and start repping a practice game. I did that, I did a lot. But it’s a lot different when you’re out there on the 50-yard line and real things are happening in real time.”
After a Week 1 debut that Brady that was widely panned in the media, Brady acknowledged he had “a lot to clean up.” While impressions of Brady have been better since and he finally gets to call a non-Dallas Cowboys game in Week 4, the learning curve has been pretty steep.
Brady also knows the clock is ticking ahead of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans next year, which he and Burkhardt will call for Fox.
“You just got to give yourself a little grace and also understand there’s a lot of urgency to try to get it right,” Brady told Fox News. “It’s never going to be perfect, but it’s just a great challenge.”
This weekend, Brady will return to Tampa, where he won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in 2021, to call their game against the Philadelphia Eagles.