My phone never rang, but the best advice Tom can follow is written on his black hoodie. “No bullshit” is written there, and it matches the simple game plan for his new position. Call a dime a dime and a duck a duck. Use the best quarterback mind in football history to teach fans what they see. And don’t filter out the lessons – even if the truth hurts.

For generations, sports fans have been fed bland analysis by co-commentators who keep their guard up – or in some cases, shut up – when it’s time to think critically. How many former coaches have wasted airtime lecturing viewers about how “unfair” their unsuccessful coach is being treated? How many former passers have dismissed poor quarterback play by preaching patience with the development of a poor player? And who benefits from this amorphous, uninteresting commentary?

I don’t know how Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson will play on Sunday, but I think Browns fans deserve an authentic, real-time evaluation. Cleveland pays him $64 million annually to run the offense, and Fox pays Brady $37.5 million a year – more than any salary the NFL pays him – to explain how the quarterback plays. If we recognize that no passing performance is perfect, then no show is complete without criticism.

One catch: Criticism hurts. Criticizing feels bad. And Brady is so recently retired that he has relationships with many current quarterbacks.

Watson said Wednesday he has always been a Brady fan. They have a mutual friend, Boston College coach Bill O’Brien, who coached Watson in Houston and Brady in New England. In fact, Brady’s Patriots have trained with Watson’s Texans during joint training camp practices.

… “(He) sent me his book that he wrote, his jersey, all that stuff,” Watson said of Brady. “So aside from all the outside noise, that’s the pretty cool thing about his first game being our game. I think that’s pretty cool.”

I think so too. But I wonder if Brady can take down a player who looks up to him. I wonder how bluntly he will analyze his friends. And I hope a legend who spent his playing career proving doubters wrong pulls off another surprise in the commentary booth.

Because Brady returns to our televisions this weekend and we know he’ll be prepared. We know no on-camera “pressure” compares to the 14 game-winning drives he led during his playoff career. The only thing stopping our greatest quarterback of all time from becoming a great commentator is honesty.

Nobody sees football like Brady, and we can all learn from his wonderful mind. But if the GOAT is looking for transfer tips, this first one is free:

Don’t just tell us what a quarterback should do. Rip the Band-Aid off if he doesn’t do it.

“A lot of these guys can shoot the ball. A lot of them can move in the pocket,” Brady told Cowherd. “… For me, it’s about a deeper level. What can you do when you’re on the road in front of 70,000 people and every single player in the offensive huddle is looking you in the eye and thinking, ‘Does this guy have the confidence to get us back up if we’re down in the fourth quarter?'”

“When I watch them, I want to see if this guy has the maturity, the poise and the composure to be at his best when his team needs him most.”