Tom Brady's rocky NFL broadcast debut was to be expected despite the unrealistic hype

In Tom Brady's first two NFL starts, he threw zero touchdowns, completed 53 percent of his passes for an average of 127 yards per game, had five sacks, and split one win and one loss. He played like an NFL rookie who was just trying to move the sticks, not hinder his running game, and do what he was told when he found his stride.

That frame of reference — how he began his last job as quarterback — is worth keeping in mind as he ventures into his next one, because Sunday's one began in very similar fashion, with a broadcast performance that showed a mix of potential, inexperience, awkwardness … and, by the end of the endeavor, a marked improvement that suggests Brady will do well in this new territory.

Of course, none of this came without a flood of fan opinions on social media – many underscoring a predictable reality: If you hated Brady as a player, you'll probably find reasons to hate him as a commentator. And if you liked him as a player, you'll probably give him the benefit of the doubt initially if he finds a way to live up to Fox's 10-year, $375 million commitment.

It certainly didn't take long to see what Fox was investing in, starting with Brady's arrival at his game – a less than stellar opener between the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns (we'll get to that). I can't remember the last time I saw a commentator enter the stadium being treated like he was still a star quarterback. But Brady was treated like a star, like he enjoyed as a player. The NFL's social media accounts featured a clip of him arriving in a well-tailored suit and announcing “First day at the new job” alongside a goat emoji.

Fox also rolled out the red carpet, introducing Brady's arrival on the show with a commercial in which he spoke to younger versions of himself while proclaiming his determination to prove doubters wrong in the job. When the show got underway and production switched to a camera shot of Brady and commentator Kevin Burkhardt, you could feel the gravity of the moment that Fox had hoped for. But you could also feel the awkwardness of Brady settling into a new role.

What struck you about Brady when you saw and heard him as a sportscaster was that he was already a brand. We know him from many other places. We've lived through decades of his football career, which included tens of thousands of public moments that have shaped our opinions of him. We've also absorbed a huge amount of coverage of his fame and personal life, his promotion of the TB12 lifestyle and his growing empire on social media and in Hollywood. He was a star. And now he's doing very important work as a sportscaster.

This is so important because it creates conflict with his style as an analyst. Expectations are high from the start. When Brady suddenly appeared in front of the camera on Sunday with a forced, broad smile – which is as standard for television attire as a suit and tie – it immediately seemed a little artificial. And it is.

Many NFL broadcasts are manicured and produced to the point of collapse in a relentless (and ironic) search for authentic moments. That's what makes the best broadcast teams so great. They master the forced nature of overproduction while still finding ways to interact as real people rather than manufactured talent.

That's what Brady needs to develop, just like every other great broadcaster before him. The only problem: He comes into the job with a huge salary and huge expectations – and the fact that Fox pushed a very big talent, Greg Olsen, out of the main booth to make room for Brady.

Brady's start should have been basically perfect or insightful to live up to the hype he brings. And it wasn't. He didn't provide the kind of astute analysis Olsen had developed over several years of work. He didn't come out of the box like Tony Romo and constantly make pointers on plays. And he didn't make astute critiques like Troy Aikman or Cris Collinsworth. Instead, Brady spent the broadcast staying in his lane and letting Burkhardt play point guard when he felt more comfortable.

The result was a somewhat rocky start as Brady searched for a comfortable rhythm and the right time to make a point. Often times, Burkhardt would present Brady with a talking point to get some analysis out of him. There were some odd pauses and also some obvious analysis (“It's hard to gain 10 yards in the NFL. It's really hard to gain 15 yards. It's very, very hard to gain 20 yards.”). At one point, a shot from the locker room caught Brady reaching for a punch from rules analyst Mike Pereira, who wasn't paying attention and left Brady hanging awkwardly for several seconds.

Even in the Cowboys' narrow 33-17 victory, there were some spontaneous, light-hearted moments, such as when Burkhardt asked Pereira if he made Brady carry his bags for the sportscasts as a rookie. Pereira – who was an NFL referee from 1996 to 2010 – wittily responded to the infamous complaint that Brady was protected by referees during his career: “I'm telling you, we protected him on the field, so now we protect him with the bags.” To which Brady replied, “I've enjoyed that protection over the years.”

There were times when it seemed obvious that Brady was not attending the midweek production meetings that he is not allowed to attend as a part owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. He seemed to be missing some of the typical anecdotes and personal interactions that come out of those meetings. Brady was also mostly mild in his criticism of specific players or obvious mistakes in the game.

There's clearly room for improvement from here. But even his first game was a sign that it's possible, as he got easier and easier to bring in analysis as the game went on. His rhythm improved. The odd pauses and half-sentences became less frequent. And he gave Burkhardt plenty of space in the locker room to do his job, never monopolizing conversations and rarely talking over Burkhardt's decisions. His analysis had bright spots, too, like when he called out a free tight end during a running play, essentially pointing out that Browns QB Deshaun Watson missed an open man. Early in the game, he also caught Cowboys QB Dak Prescott changing the play at the line of scrimmage on his touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks, which allowed for a convincing close-up of Prescott on a replay.

For what it was – the first game of a planned 10-year season with Fox – it was a solid debut. As with Brady's other forays into social media and the Hollywood spotlight, he'll likely get better and more authentic as he becomes more comfortable. Whether that eventually leads to him developing the instinct to show sharp edges when needed remains to be seen. But if his football career is any indication, it's coming. And it's coming faster and on its way to higher peaks than any of us would expect.