Last week I struggled through the Carolina-Cleveland game with Chris Rose (yes, the former host of The Best Damn Sports Show Period) and Torry Holt. Needless to say, it was not pretty to listen to. Rose didn't do a bad job at PBP but I don't think Holt was ready. He frequently used the wrong verb tense and had trouble finishing sentences. By my count they are 8th or prehaps 9th in the batting order, and may very well not do a game again the rest of the season (this week Rose will team up with Ross Tucker for Carolina-Seattle).
Since I am lazy I am doing my Week 12 column and my Week 13 broadcasting assignments in one blog.
The Colts are now victims of the Super Bowl losing curse. Yep, I said it, folks. Injuries and a predictable offense are the Achilles heel of the Colts this season. And Sunday's loss to the Chargers was the worst of Peyton Manning's career at home (this is a statistic, not a statement!) It seems year-after-year the Colts do well with a banged-up team and little support from a rushing attack. But this season what has broke the camel's back are their skill position and offensive line injuries. Can they make a run? Absolutely.
Stat of the Week: 2010 is John Fox's first 10-loss season as a head coach.
We're 3/4 of the way through the NFL season and I still can't understand the Titans. They too have been decimated by injuries and distractions from Vince Young. (I'm sorry, Gregg Easterbrook, but Randy Moss is not the reason for the Titans' woes)
I do seem to get the Bears, though. It's their coaching, plain and simple. No, they're skill position talent isn't outstanding but their coaching is. They made the Eagles, another well coached team, look silly, basically playing an offense that keeps the opposing offense on the sidelines (they had a 15-play, 10:00 plus drive)
Everybody seems to be on the Rams bandwagon. I'm not. The Seahawks are 3-1 within the division. Think about that.
When the postseason rolls around, somebody is going to be upset. The Giants, Eagles, Packers, Bears, Saints, Falcons, Bucs, Seahawks, and Rams all have shots at making the playoffs. There's only room for six teams, somebody's going to be disappointed. I guess the 49ers still have a chance being only a game out of first place but that is still total crap that a 4-7 team has a chance. And what's even stinkier is that the 3-8 Cardinals are two games out of first place.
In the AFC, I just don't see the Chiefs winning the west. I don't even see the Chargers losing a game the rest of the season.
Monday Night Football Analysis: ESPN basically used the gargantuan matchup of two 3-7 teams to plug Super Bowl 441/2, Jets-Patriots next week on Monday Night. I did find Derek Anderson's little tirade after the game quite hilarious. I always think it's funny when local media in NFL markets hold their team in such contempt that when the lose, the players should act like they're at a funeral and that their sainted mother has just died. Lighten up, it's only a game.
College Football Score From Teams You've Never Heard Of: Mary Hardin-Baylor 69, Thomas More 7. D-III 2nd Round.
Fox again has the doubleheader next week, and Colts-Cowboys is America's Game of Week (Trademark, all rights reserved). And even though I think Tampa Bay is a fraud, Atlanta-Tampa Bay is not getting enough attention. It's basically an elimination game.
I guess CBS thinks Denver-Kansas City is going to be a good game, becuase most of the Midwest is seeing it. In years past, CBS always sent Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf to Minnesota and New York Giants home game on CBS. Not the case this weekend as they'll be calling the action of Miami-Cleveland. I was anticipating not seeing this team until the divisional round of the playoffs. Nantz and Simms are doing San Diego-Oakland, which is only being seen sparingly in the east.
Early on Fox, it's split pretty evenly between Green Bay-San Francisco and New York-Washington with a good amount of the south not caring about New Orleans-Cincinnati.
One last note, it was announced that TCU would join the Big East. Sweet! The Big East will now have a good team!
26 November 2010
Week 12 NFL Crap on TV
With Thanksgiving on Thursday, it sort of dilutes the product for Sunday. Nobody has byes this week, but three of the best teams in the league have already played their games. This weekend would be the best weekend to have DirecTV if you do not, especially if you live in a market who has local obligations to a losing club (like Columbus, Ohio) and gets continually shafted into not seeing the good games.
CBS has the singleheader:
1:00 PM EST Starts:
Jacksonville @ New York Giants - Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf
Tennessee @ Houston - Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts
Pittsburgh @ Buffalo - Kevin Harlan, Soloman Wilcots
4:00 PM EST Starts:
Miami @ Oakland - Gus Johnson, Steve Tasker
Kansas City @ Seattle - Bill Macatee, Rich Gannon
They're using Miami-Oakland as a fill-in game for an otherwise drab weekend on the eye network. It's basically an elimination game but I'm guessing since the Raiders have a national following, they are being shown to the majority of the country for the second-straight week. CBS has sent Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf to nearly every Giants and Vikings game on CBS over the past few seasons and this weekend is no different with Jacksonville heading to the Meadowlands. Pittsburgh-Buffalo is being shown to wa-ay too much of the country. Seriously, this game should not be shown outside its primary markets.
Fox has the doubleheader. Here are the early games.
Green Bay @ Atlanta - Thom Brennanman, Brian Billick
Minnesota @ Washington - Dick Stockton, Charles Davis
Carolina @ Cleveland - Chris Rose, Torry Holt
God, why do the Browns have to be on Fox this weekend? And worst of all they're playing the Panthers. It's good to see the Vikings not on the nationally televised game. I think finally the media have gotten it that the Vikings and Brett Favre are not a good team and have stopped dick-riding them. Rose and Holt are 7th in the batting order. Technically Stockton and Davis are slotted ahead of Brennanman and Billick and probably when they did the schedule everybody thought the Vikings would be good but because of the dominance of the Falcons and the Packers, they probably got switched (or more affiliates decided to go with the Packers game).
Here are the late games:
Philadelphia @ Chicago - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston
Tampa Bay @ Baltimore - Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan
St. Louis @ Denver - Ron Pitts, John Lynch
Good to see more and more affiliates switching away from Tampa Bay-Baltimore to Philly-Chicago (I don't see Tampa-B'More being much of a contest). There is some Mickey Mouse NFL rule where the Redskins and Ravens can't play a home game on the same network, so that is why the Ravens game is on at 4:15. And just if you're wondering, Josh Freeman went to Kansas State, so that is why the Bucs game is being carried throughout Kansas.
If none of the Columbus stations switch between now and Sunday, the combined record of the teams playing on Sunday afternoon is 28-34.
And I've never understood the whole "since a player on Team X played college here, we're scheduling their game even though they play on a crappy team that has no local ties to this area." And yes, I live in a market with a football factory school, but I still don't get.
CBS has the singleheader:
1:00 PM EST Starts:
Jacksonville @ New York Giants - Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf
Tennessee @ Houston - Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts
Pittsburgh @ Buffalo - Kevin Harlan, Soloman Wilcots
4:00 PM EST Starts:
Miami @ Oakland - Gus Johnson, Steve Tasker
Kansas City @ Seattle - Bill Macatee, Rich Gannon
They're using Miami-Oakland as a fill-in game for an otherwise drab weekend on the eye network. It's basically an elimination game but I'm guessing since the Raiders have a national following, they are being shown to the majority of the country for the second-straight week. CBS has sent Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf to nearly every Giants and Vikings game on CBS over the past few seasons and this weekend is no different with Jacksonville heading to the Meadowlands. Pittsburgh-Buffalo is being shown to wa-ay too much of the country. Seriously, this game should not be shown outside its primary markets.
Fox has the doubleheader. Here are the early games.
Green Bay @ Atlanta - Thom Brennanman, Brian Billick
Minnesota @ Washington - Dick Stockton, Charles Davis
Carolina @ Cleveland - Chris Rose, Torry Holt
God, why do the Browns have to be on Fox this weekend? And worst of all they're playing the Panthers. It's good to see the Vikings not on the nationally televised game. I think finally the media have gotten it that the Vikings and Brett Favre are not a good team and have stopped dick-riding them. Rose and Holt are 7th in the batting order. Technically Stockton and Davis are slotted ahead of Brennanman and Billick and probably when they did the schedule everybody thought the Vikings would be good but because of the dominance of the Falcons and the Packers, they probably got switched (or more affiliates decided to go with the Packers game).
Here are the late games:
Philadelphia @ Chicago - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston
Tampa Bay @ Baltimore - Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan
St. Louis @ Denver - Ron Pitts, John Lynch
Good to see more and more affiliates switching away from Tampa Bay-Baltimore to Philly-Chicago (I don't see Tampa-B'More being much of a contest). There is some Mickey Mouse NFL rule where the Redskins and Ravens can't play a home game on the same network, so that is why the Ravens game is on at 4:15. And just if you're wondering, Josh Freeman went to Kansas State, so that is why the Bucs game is being carried throughout Kansas.
If none of the Columbus stations switch between now and Sunday, the combined record of the teams playing on Sunday afternoon is 28-34.
And I've never understood the whole "since a player on Team X played college here, we're scheduling their game even though they play on a crappy team that has no local ties to this area." And yes, I live in a market with a football factory school, but I still don't get.
21 November 2010
TheDood Goes To War Against Local Affilliates And Gus Johnson Calls Game, Blogosphere Collectively Jacks Off
I'm storming the halls of local affiliates. Okay, actually only one. That's WTTE in Columbus, Ohio. A majority of Fox affiliates in the east had either Green Bay-Minnesota or Washington-Tennessee at 1:00 scheduled. What do those in Columbus (me) get? Tampa Bay-San Francisco Why? Because former Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith was starting for the 'Niners and Ted Ginn is a Niner receiver. That's it.
But what irks me more is that every non-doubleheader week on Fox, WTTE will only show a late game for what reason I don't know (I am 99.9% sure they can show an early game on a non-doubleheader Sunday). The last time Fox had just a single game was Week 9, and it just so happens that their "A" game was a late one (Giants-Seahawks). Before that, Cardinals-Seahawks. It was shown sporatically throughout the east. It was shown in the Cleveland and Columbus markets probably because former Ohio State running back Beanie Wells plays for the Cardinals and former Brown Derek Anderson was their quarterback. Week 5 we had Falcons-Bronws, which is understandable since it was an in-state team. Fine. Let's go further back.
Week 3. Jacksonville-Philly (switched from Detroit-Minnesota. The "B" game). About the only purpose that serves me is it's the only game I have this season with John Lynch and Ron Pitts. And finally, Week 2. Seahawks-Broncos, a "B" game however. But why? Why switch?
I doubt it's because of NFL rules, because why would we be scheduled for the "A" or "B" game in the first place? Obviously we would still be in compliance with NFL rules if that game is scheduled in the first place.
But the fun continues. Next week the Bengals play on the NFL Network and the Browns play on Fox. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms have Sunday off. CBS's "A" game is Jacksonville-New York Giants. What does WBNS schedule? Freakin' Steelers at Bills. I know there are a lot of Steelers fans in Columbus and it must be rough for them being subjected to the crap from the Ohio teams, but seriously, of all games, the Bills?
Overreaction Monday: I hate to bring up the Vikings and Brett Favre for the enth straight week, but late Monday, the Vikings fired Brad Childress, a coach with a 39-35 record. Is he cold? Yes. Does he not get along well with people? No. Was he a players' coach? No, but neither is Bill Belichick and neither was Bill Parcells. Needless to say, this is a dumb move on the part of the Vikings. It's not just one person's fault that the Vikings are 3-7. No, it's not even Brett Favre's fault, but he has a lot to do with it. See, when a team is struggling, the first place blame is placed is either on the coach or the quarterback, and since Brett Favre is so overly-respected and will never be benched, Childress was at fault, thus he was fired. It was clear that the Vikings season was done, but I was hoping that at the end of the season the organization would burn the bridges with Favre much in the way they did with Moss and give Childress another chance.
Stat of the Week: The NFC West went 0-4 on Sunday, the second time this season the NFC West has done so.
Stat of the Week 2: The Seattle Seahawks lead the NFC West with a 5-5 record.
Stat of the Week 3: The Jaguars had six turnovers and won.
It's clear that Norv Turner doesn't have too many fans, either in his players, the media, or followers of the Chargers. But a coach really doesn't need to. Whatever he does makes his teams built for the postseason and winning when his team needs a playoff spot. Currently the Chargers are 5-5, 2nd in the division. They play the Colts next week on Sunday night and after that they have an easy, easy schedule, playing all the AFC West teams again and the Bengals. 10-6 is not out of the question for this team. Imagine if they beat the Colts, though (upest alert?) Phillip Rivers is now 39-5 in the months of November, December, and January. And after losses to the Raiders and the Broncos, I don't have much confidence that the Chiefs have it for the playoffs.
Statgeekery: Don't buy too much into when you hear that Ryan Fitzpatrick is 7th in the league in touchdown passes. There are currently four quarterbacks with 18 touchdown passes (Fitzpatrick, Palmer, Cassel, Ryan). And with all the talk of Kyle Orton and his possible 5,000-yard season, don't forget that he is in fact fourth in the league in passing yards. Peyton Manning is the leader with 3,059. Manning is, however, on-pace for over 700 passing attempts, which would be a record. Rivers has a better chance of getting 5,000 yards than any of them. Conversely, the top 10 leaders in yardage are all on-pace for at least 4,000 yards, which even five years ago was unheard of.
Roddy White is on-pace to have an absolutely monster season. He leads the league in both receptions and receiving yards. So far, he has 79 grabs, a pace of 126, and 1,017 yards, a pace of 1,627 yards.
College Football Score From Teams You've Never Heard Of: Trine 45, DePauw 35. D-III Playoffs, First Round.
Final Note: I'm noticing something in all of the broadcasts with CBS #1 people that I've seen, and that's that the shots of the coaches on the sidelines are always blurry and out-of-focus and it seems that the camera operator is always trying to fix it, but to no avail. And during last Sunday's broadcast of Pats-Colts, Simms had a cold, and as each quarter would wear-on, his voice would go, but then during the commercial break between quarters, he would suck down a lozenge or spray that fake saliva stuff. And him and Jim Nantz have a short week as they'll be calling the early game on Thanksgiving, Lions-Patriots.
But what irks me more is that every non-doubleheader week on Fox, WTTE will only show a late game for what reason I don't know (I am 99.9% sure they can show an early game on a non-doubleheader Sunday). The last time Fox had just a single game was Week 9, and it just so happens that their "A" game was a late one (Giants-Seahawks). Before that, Cardinals-Seahawks. It was shown sporatically throughout the east. It was shown in the Cleveland and Columbus markets probably because former Ohio State running back Beanie Wells plays for the Cardinals and former Brown Derek Anderson was their quarterback. Week 5 we had Falcons-Bronws, which is understandable since it was an in-state team. Fine. Let's go further back.
Week 3. Jacksonville-Philly (switched from Detroit-Minnesota. The "B" game). About the only purpose that serves me is it's the only game I have this season with John Lynch and Ron Pitts. And finally, Week 2. Seahawks-Broncos, a "B" game however. But why? Why switch?
I doubt it's because of NFL rules, because why would we be scheduled for the "A" or "B" game in the first place? Obviously we would still be in compliance with NFL rules if that game is scheduled in the first place.
But the fun continues. Next week the Bengals play on the NFL Network and the Browns play on Fox. Jim Nantz and Phil Simms have Sunday off. CBS's "A" game is Jacksonville-New York Giants. What does WBNS schedule? Freakin' Steelers at Bills. I know there are a lot of Steelers fans in Columbus and it must be rough for them being subjected to the crap from the Ohio teams, but seriously, of all games, the Bills?
Overreaction Monday: I hate to bring up the Vikings and Brett Favre for the enth straight week, but late Monday, the Vikings fired Brad Childress, a coach with a 39-35 record. Is he cold? Yes. Does he not get along well with people? No. Was he a players' coach? No, but neither is Bill Belichick and neither was Bill Parcells. Needless to say, this is a dumb move on the part of the Vikings. It's not just one person's fault that the Vikings are 3-7. No, it's not even Brett Favre's fault, but he has a lot to do with it. See, when a team is struggling, the first place blame is placed is either on the coach or the quarterback, and since Brett Favre is so overly-respected and will never be benched, Childress was at fault, thus he was fired. It was clear that the Vikings season was done, but I was hoping that at the end of the season the organization would burn the bridges with Favre much in the way they did with Moss and give Childress another chance.
Stat of the Week: The NFC West went 0-4 on Sunday, the second time this season the NFC West has done so.
Stat of the Week 2: The Seattle Seahawks lead the NFC West with a 5-5 record.
Stat of the Week 3: The Jaguars had six turnovers and won.
It's clear that Norv Turner doesn't have too many fans, either in his players, the media, or followers of the Chargers. But a coach really doesn't need to. Whatever he does makes his teams built for the postseason and winning when his team needs a playoff spot. Currently the Chargers are 5-5, 2nd in the division. They play the Colts next week on Sunday night and after that they have an easy, easy schedule, playing all the AFC West teams again and the Bengals. 10-6 is not out of the question for this team. Imagine if they beat the Colts, though (upest alert?) Phillip Rivers is now 39-5 in the months of November, December, and January. And after losses to the Raiders and the Broncos, I don't have much confidence that the Chiefs have it for the playoffs.
Statgeekery: Don't buy too much into when you hear that Ryan Fitzpatrick is 7th in the league in touchdown passes. There are currently four quarterbacks with 18 touchdown passes (Fitzpatrick, Palmer, Cassel, Ryan). And with all the talk of Kyle Orton and his possible 5,000-yard season, don't forget that he is in fact fourth in the league in passing yards. Peyton Manning is the leader with 3,059. Manning is, however, on-pace for over 700 passing attempts, which would be a record. Rivers has a better chance of getting 5,000 yards than any of them. Conversely, the top 10 leaders in yardage are all on-pace for at least 4,000 yards, which even five years ago was unheard of.
Roddy White is on-pace to have an absolutely monster season. He leads the league in both receptions and receiving yards. So far, he has 79 grabs, a pace of 126, and 1,017 yards, a pace of 1,627 yards.
College Football Score From Teams You've Never Heard Of: Trine 45, DePauw 35. D-III Playoffs, First Round.
Final Note: I'm noticing something in all of the broadcasts with CBS #1 people that I've seen, and that's that the shots of the coaches on the sidelines are always blurry and out-of-focus and it seems that the camera operator is always trying to fix it, but to no avail. And during last Sunday's broadcast of Pats-Colts, Simms had a cold, and as each quarter would wear-on, his voice would go, but then during the commercial break between quarters, he would suck down a lozenge or spray that fake saliva stuff. And him and Jim Nantz have a short week as they'll be calling the early game on Thanksgiving, Lions-Patriots.
17 November 2010
Week 11 Broadcasting Assignments With Maps
This week presents quite a connundrum for WBNS, Columbus, Ohio's CBS affiliate. The Steelers, Bengals, and Browns are all playing at home on CBS at 1:00. In fact, Raiders-Steelers is being shown to most of the country early...but not in Ohio. Meanwhile WTTE hasn't hosed their market for over a month now. They're showing Vikings-Packers at 1:00, Fox's "A" game this Sunday.
Thursday November 18
Chicago Bears @ Miami Dolphins (NFLN, 8:20PM) Bob Papa, Matt Millen, Joe Theisman - Sun Life Stadium, Miami, FL
Can't forget about them even though I don't get NFL Network.
Thursday November 18
Chicago Bears @ Miami Dolphins (NFLN, 8:20PM) Bob Papa, Matt Millen, Joe Theisman - Sun Life Stadium, Miami, FL
Can't forget about them even though I don't get NFL Network.
Houston Texans @ New York Jets (CBS, 1PM) Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf - Meadowlands Stadium, E. Rutherford, NJ
Oakland Raiders @ Pittsburgh Steelers (CBS, 1PM) Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts - Heinz Field, Pittsburgh PA
Baltimore Ravens @ Carolina Panthers (CBS, 1PM) Kevin Harlan, Solomon Wilcots - Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Buffalo Bills @ Cincinnati Bengals (CBS, 1PM) Gus Johnson, Steve Tasker - Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH
Cleveland Browns @ Jacksonville Jaguars (CBS, 1PM) Bill Macatee, Rich Gannon - Everbank Field, Jacksonville, FL
Everywhere north and west of Oklahoma and Alaska and Hawaii is seeing Steelers-Raiders. Most of the Midwest is seeing Texans-Jets. Most of New York is actually seeing Bills-Bengals. I would image that the markets across upstate New York are primary markets for the Bills but not the Jets. (Syracuse, Binghamton, Rochester, Watertown). And LOL at Fort Wayne. They are showing the Browns. Lots of West Virginians and Virginians are complaining about seeing Raiders-Steelers and not Panthers-Ravens. Hell, even Philadelphia is showing Raiders-Steelers.
Fox (all):
Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings (FOX, 1PM) Joe Buck, Troy Aikman [National] - Metro Dome, Minneapolis, MN
Detroit Lions @ Dallas Cowboys (FOX, 1PM) Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa - Cowboys Stadium, Dallas TX
Washington Redskins @ Tennessee Titans (FOX, 1PM) Dick Stockton, Charles Davis, Jim Mora Jr. - LP Field, Nashville, TN
Arizona Cardinals @ Kansas City Chiefs (FOX, 1PM) Ron Pitts, John Lynch - Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Seattle Seahawks @ New Orleans Saints (FOX, 4PM) Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick - Super Dome, Louisiana, LA
Atlanta Falcons @ St. Louis Rams (FOX, 4PM) Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan - Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, MO
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ San Francisco 49ers (FOX, 4PM) Chris Myers, Kurt Warner - Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA
Fox has a whopping seven game on a non-doubleheader weekend for them. In Ohio, Cleveland and Cincinnati are getting Saints-Seahawks but Columbus and Dayton are showing Vikings-Packers. Indianapolis has Redskins-Titans. I'm thinking some affiliates have had enough of showing the Vikings that they are purposely switching away from the network's "A" game. Quite a colorful map, too.
There's no point in showing the map for the CBS late game because it is being carried by the whole network, however it is being blacked out in San Francisco, St. Louis, and New Orleans because those are home markets of teams that have late games at those times.
I really hope I get a job in a market that has no local obligations to an AFC team because I hate missing the good early CBS games. I plan on doing commentator awards at the end of the season and I still have yet to see a game called by Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf (CBS's #2 team). And since WBNS went with the Browns and not the Bengals I still have not seen a game with Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker either. This will be the fourth game I have with Bill Macatee and Rich Gannon. I'm pretty sure they're last in the batting order unless there are #8 and #9 teams which I doubt because rarely does CBS have eight games a Sunday.
16 November 2010
Good Coaching Secret to Vick, Eagles' Success
Instead of starting off my blog with another Brett Favre bitch-fest, I offer this change-up.
Micheal Vick has always been talented, but he has never had quality coaching to meet his talent. Sure, he had Dan Reeves, but Reeves was no offensive genius. And Jim Mora Jr., although he installed a West Coast offense in Atlanta, tried to limit Vick to a pocket passer, which he is not. However, Reid, an offensive genius and quarterback guru, is still allowing Vick to be spontaneous and run, but moreover wants Vick to always see the throw first and work through his progressions before taking off and running with it. This does come at a price, however. Vick has already been injured this season when he took off an ran and it is bound to happen again every time Vick takes off. That is why keeping Kevin Kolb is smart if you're the Eagles. Both of them will be free agents after this season, and the Eagles will be so much better off if they are resigned. Kolb, though, will have to be content with being paid backup-quarterback money, because that is what he is going to be.
Before last night's game Redskins' defensive coordinator Jim Haslett equated the Eagles offense to that of the Rams from a decade ago. When I first read that statement I though it was ludicrous. After seeing how many times Reid wanted Vick to pick up big gains on passing plays I could see where Haslett was coming from, not to mention he did a terrible job defending the Eagles' attack.
Andy Reid's coaching record is 114-70-1, a winning percentage of .62. 1999 and 2005 have been the Eagles only losing seasons with Reid at the helm.
To say that owners like Dan Snyder, Jerry Jones, and Al Davis are a dying breed in the NFL is an understatement. They are throw backs to the 70s and 80s when the NFL was trying to be flashy and attract fans with boisterous coaching and players and high-priced free agents making impacts on teams. That is not the NFL of the 2010s. It wasn't even the NFL of the 2000s. Do you know what the Eagles owner looks like? The Steelers? The Giants? Didn't think so.
Shrutebag was right this morning: "The NFL is a nuts-and-bolts, thinking man's league." I agree with that statement. The Giants with Bill Parcells, a nuts-and-bolts thinking man's head coach, won two Super Bowls at the twilight of the flashy NFL of the 80s and early-90s with nuts-and-bolts thinking man's players. There are too many players on those teams to count.
Al Davis, after years of losing and .500 seasons with high-priced, washed-up free agents, finally turned a corner and hired a young coach and largely this year's Raiders are built with young players through the draft. Yes, the Raiders went to a Super Bowl in the past decade with Davis' old formula, but the next season when many of their aged stars were injured, the Raiders were losers. Count 'em: Rich Gannon, Rod Woodson, Dana Stubblefield, Bill Romanowski, Trace Armstrong, Terrance Shaw all sustained career-ending injuries in 2003 and Raiders won only four games that year after winning 11 and a Super Bowl birth the previous year.
When Jerry Jones had a disciplinarian head coach (Parcells, Jones) the Cowboys were winners and were disciplined, having few penalties. The problem, in Jones' point of view was they wanted too much control over personnel decisions. Jones felt they had too much power, so they were fired and brought in puppets like Switzer, Gailey, Campo, and Phillips, the teams struggled and were not disciplined. Owners like Jones, Davis, and Snyder will never hire a general manager or allow their coach to make decisions for the good of the team.
Stat of the Week: The Broncos followed a 45-point loss up with a 20-point win. And I guess Tim Tebow threw his first touchdown pass. Big woop. It was like a one-yard square-out. He celebrated like he had just thrown a game-winning Hail Mary.
Meanwhile, I am just done with Favre and the Vikings. He turned the ball over four more times and was the sole reason for the Vikings defeat. The Vikings season is done. The players have no respect for their coach. That is what really pissed me off. I'm sorry, but I am not in the Childress is a bum boat. The Fox NFL Sunday put it nicely. Basically Jimmy Johnson said "man up, put your differences aside, and play some damn good football." The Vikings have done nothing but improved year-after-year with Childress and without the Vikings older stars like Moss and Culpepper; six wins, eight wins, 10 wins, 12 wins. And the Bears on an off-day, are now tied for the division lead.
College Football Score From A School You've Never Heard Of (Last Week of D-II/III Regular Season): California of Pennsylvania 57, Cheyney 6. Watch the replay.
Next Week: The Vikings are once again on national TV as they play at home against the Packers. CBS has the doubleheader. Gumbel and Dierdorf journey to the Meadowlands to call the action for Houston and the Jets. Nantz and Simms will be at Indianapolis-New England, which will be seen by the whole CBS network (there are no other late games on CBS). Cleveland-Jacksonville and Cincinnati-Buffalo are two lowest-rated games on CBS (I think they are the network's "D" and "E" games. Living in Ohio sucks sometimes!) Even if WTTE does not show a game at 1:00, Seattle-New Orleans at 4:05 should be good.
Micheal Vick has always been talented, but he has never had quality coaching to meet his talent. Sure, he had Dan Reeves, but Reeves was no offensive genius. And Jim Mora Jr., although he installed a West Coast offense in Atlanta, tried to limit Vick to a pocket passer, which he is not. However, Reid, an offensive genius and quarterback guru, is still allowing Vick to be spontaneous and run, but moreover wants Vick to always see the throw first and work through his progressions before taking off and running with it. This does come at a price, however. Vick has already been injured this season when he took off an ran and it is bound to happen again every time Vick takes off. That is why keeping Kevin Kolb is smart if you're the Eagles. Both of them will be free agents after this season, and the Eagles will be so much better off if they are resigned. Kolb, though, will have to be content with being paid backup-quarterback money, because that is what he is going to be.
Before last night's game Redskins' defensive coordinator Jim Haslett equated the Eagles offense to that of the Rams from a decade ago. When I first read that statement I though it was ludicrous. After seeing how many times Reid wanted Vick to pick up big gains on passing plays I could see where Haslett was coming from, not to mention he did a terrible job defending the Eagles' attack.
Andy Reid's coaching record is 114-70-1, a winning percentage of .62. 1999 and 2005 have been the Eagles only losing seasons with Reid at the helm.
To say that owners like Dan Snyder, Jerry Jones, and Al Davis are a dying breed in the NFL is an understatement. They are throw backs to the 70s and 80s when the NFL was trying to be flashy and attract fans with boisterous coaching and players and high-priced free agents making impacts on teams. That is not the NFL of the 2010s. It wasn't even the NFL of the 2000s. Do you know what the Eagles owner looks like? The Steelers? The Giants? Didn't think so.
Shrutebag was right this morning: "The NFL is a nuts-and-bolts, thinking man's league." I agree with that statement. The Giants with Bill Parcells, a nuts-and-bolts thinking man's head coach, won two Super Bowls at the twilight of the flashy NFL of the 80s and early-90s with nuts-and-bolts thinking man's players. There are too many players on those teams to count.
Al Davis, after years of losing and .500 seasons with high-priced, washed-up free agents, finally turned a corner and hired a young coach and largely this year's Raiders are built with young players through the draft. Yes, the Raiders went to a Super Bowl in the past decade with Davis' old formula, but the next season when many of their aged stars were injured, the Raiders were losers. Count 'em: Rich Gannon, Rod Woodson, Dana Stubblefield, Bill Romanowski, Trace Armstrong, Terrance Shaw all sustained career-ending injuries in 2003 and Raiders won only four games that year after winning 11 and a Super Bowl birth the previous year.
When Jerry Jones had a disciplinarian head coach (Parcells, Jones) the Cowboys were winners and were disciplined, having few penalties. The problem, in Jones' point of view was they wanted too much control over personnel decisions. Jones felt they had too much power, so they were fired and brought in puppets like Switzer, Gailey, Campo, and Phillips, the teams struggled and were not disciplined. Owners like Jones, Davis, and Snyder will never hire a general manager or allow their coach to make decisions for the good of the team.
Stat of the Week: The Broncos followed a 45-point loss up with a 20-point win. And I guess Tim Tebow threw his first touchdown pass. Big woop. It was like a one-yard square-out. He celebrated like he had just thrown a game-winning Hail Mary.
Meanwhile, I am just done with Favre and the Vikings. He turned the ball over four more times and was the sole reason for the Vikings defeat. The Vikings season is done. The players have no respect for their coach. That is what really pissed me off. I'm sorry, but I am not in the Childress is a bum boat. The Fox NFL Sunday put it nicely. Basically Jimmy Johnson said "man up, put your differences aside, and play some damn good football." The Vikings have done nothing but improved year-after-year with Childress and without the Vikings older stars like Moss and Culpepper; six wins, eight wins, 10 wins, 12 wins. And the Bears on an off-day, are now tied for the division lead.
College Football Score From A School You've Never Heard Of (Last Week of D-II/III Regular Season): California of Pennsylvania 57, Cheyney 6. Watch the replay.
Next Week: The Vikings are once again on national TV as they play at home against the Packers. CBS has the doubleheader. Gumbel and Dierdorf journey to the Meadowlands to call the action for Houston and the Jets. Nantz and Simms will be at Indianapolis-New England, which will be seen by the whole CBS network (there are no other late games on CBS). Cleveland-Jacksonville and Cincinnati-Buffalo are two lowest-rated games on CBS (I think they are the network's "D" and "E" games. Living in Ohio sucks sometimes!) Even if WTTE does not show a game at 1:00, Seattle-New Orleans at 4:05 should be good.
09 November 2010
Week 10 NFL Broadcasting Assingments & Maps
Let's see if this will work this week. Fox has the doubleheader, although they're showing some real woofers in their late slot.
Thursday November 11 - Veterans Day
Baltimore Ravens @ Atlanta Falcons (NFLN, 8:20PM) - Bob Papa, Matt Millen, Joe Theisman - Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
Fox Early:
Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears (FOX, 1PM) - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa - Soldiers Field, Chicago, IL
Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (FOX, 1PM) - Dick Stockton, Charles Davis, Jim Mora Jr. - Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Detroit Lions @ Buffalo Bills (FOX, 1PM) - Ron Pitts, John Lynch - Ralph Wilson Stadium, Buffalo, NY
CBS Early:
New York Jets @ Cleveland Browns (CBS, 1PM) - Jim Nantz, Phil Simms [National] - Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, OH
Cincinnati Bengals @ Indianapolis Colts (CBS, 1PM) - Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf - Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, INTennessee Titans @ Miami Dolphins (CBS, 1PM) - Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts - Sun Life Stadium, Miami, FL
Houston Texans @ Jacksonville Jaguars (CBS, 1PM) - Gus Johnson, Steve Tasker - Everbank Field, Jacksonville, FL
Fox Late:
Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants (FOX, 4:15PM) - Joe Buck, Troy Aikman [National] - Meadowlands Stadium, E. Rutherford, NJ
Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals (FOX, 4:15PM) - Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick - University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ
St. Louis Rams @ San Francisco 49ers (FOX, 4:15PM) - Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan - Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA
CBS Late:
Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos (CBS, 4PM) - Kevin Harlan, Solomon Wilcots - Invesco Field, Denver, CO
New England Patriots @ Pittsburgh Steelers (NBC, 8:20 PM) – Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth - Heinz Field, Pittsburgh PA
Monday November 15
Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington Redskins (ESPN, 8:30) - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, Jon Gruden - FedEx Field, Washington DC
The Packers, Saints, Raiders, and Chargers have byes.
The Columbus, Ohio market is showing all of the network's #1 games at all times. Once again we see the the loser Cowboys on a nationally televised game. Oh, well. Despite being the #1 game, most of the country is seeing Broncos-Chiefs at 4:05 Eastern. Only small pockets of the midwest and northeast are seeing Jets-Browns. Most of the mid-atlantic, midwest, and west are seeing CBS's #2 game, Indy-Cincinnati.
The Kansas City markets has not been showing Rams game, which is upsetting many fans there, and rightly so. Watching the Cowboys stinking up the national TV scene has got to end, although I'm not sure seeing Seattle-Arizona is going to be any better. Their last game wasn't.
Thursday November 11 - Veterans Day
Baltimore Ravens @ Atlanta Falcons (NFLN, 8:20PM) - Bob Papa, Matt Millen, Joe Theisman - Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
Fox Early:
Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears (FOX, 1PM) - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa - Soldiers Field, Chicago, IL
Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (FOX, 1PM) - Dick Stockton, Charles Davis, Jim Mora Jr. - Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Detroit Lions @ Buffalo Bills (FOX, 1PM) - Ron Pitts, John Lynch - Ralph Wilson Stadium, Buffalo, NY
CBS Early:
New York Jets @ Cleveland Browns (CBS, 1PM) - Jim Nantz, Phil Simms [National] - Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland, OH
Cincinnati Bengals @ Indianapolis Colts (CBS, 1PM) - Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf - Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, INTennessee Titans @ Miami Dolphins (CBS, 1PM) - Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts - Sun Life Stadium, Miami, FL
Houston Texans @ Jacksonville Jaguars (CBS, 1PM) - Gus Johnson, Steve Tasker - Everbank Field, Jacksonville, FL
Fox Late:
Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants (FOX, 4:15PM) - Joe Buck, Troy Aikman [National] - Meadowlands Stadium, E. Rutherford, NJ
Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals (FOX, 4:15PM) - Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick - University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ
St. Louis Rams @ San Francisco 49ers (FOX, 4:15PM) - Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan - Candlestick Park, San Francisco, CA
CBS Late:
Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos (CBS, 4PM) - Kevin Harlan, Solomon Wilcots - Invesco Field, Denver, CO
New England Patriots @ Pittsburgh Steelers (NBC, 8:20 PM) – Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth - Heinz Field, Pittsburgh PA
Monday November 15
Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington Redskins (ESPN, 8:30) - Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, Jon Gruden - FedEx Field, Washington DC
The Packers, Saints, Raiders, and Chargers have byes.
The Columbus, Ohio market is showing all of the network's #1 games at all times. Once again we see the the loser Cowboys on a nationally televised game. Oh, well. Despite being the #1 game, most of the country is seeing Broncos-Chiefs at 4:05 Eastern. Only small pockets of the midwest and northeast are seeing Jets-Browns. Most of the mid-atlantic, midwest, and west are seeing CBS's #2 game, Indy-Cincinnati.
The Kansas City markets has not been showing Rams game, which is upsetting many fans there, and rightly so. Watching the Cowboys stinking up the national TV scene has got to end, although I'm not sure seeing Seattle-Arizona is going to be any better. Their last game wasn't.
08 November 2010
Week 9: Brett Favre Promoted To Saint, Chidress Still A Bum, ESPN Says
We are now halfway through the NFL season, and thankfully some more storylines are emerging other than the infighting within the Vikings organization and the hapless Cowboys. I'm going to sound a bit like Colin Cowherd hear (pimping my own ego and how right I was when I made a prediction) but what did I say last week? The AFC West could be the most exciting division?! I still think I'm right. The Chargers, Raiders, and Giants are all on streaks where they look like they could dominate the latter part of the season. I'll say this again too. Teams that do well in the postseason are ones that have hot streaks in the middle of the season, allowing room to drop a few games at the beginning and the end. The Chargers have a peachpuff schedule from here on out and could easily be 6-5 going into their bout with the Raiders on December 5. Speaking of the Raiders, they have won three straight, and three of their five wins this year have come against AFC West opponents. Don't give up on the Chiefs yet though, they still lead the AFC West. Then we have the New York Giants, holders of the best record and best team in the NFC. They have won five straight and will get a sixth next week (they play the Cowboys at the Meadowlands). The Falcons too are 6-2, however they have the Ravens in the Georgia Dome next week.
My ESPN Rant of the Week: Let me make this clear. I am an ESPN hater by any means. Some of my favorite sports personalities work for the network (Chris Berman, Tom Jackson, Mike Tirico, Mike & Mike, Ron Jaworski). Jon Gruden is pretty good too, but I think his time would be better spent if he were to get back into coaching. I just don't like some of the people there (Trent Dilfer, Mark Schlereth, Colin Cowherd, Tony Kornheiser). Every Monday Trent Dilfer comes onto Colin Cowherd's show and basically they talk about how great Brett Favre is and how much of an asshole Brad Childress is. They do talk about other stuff but it usually boils down to Favre or other stuff Cowherd is comfortable talking about (I'm sorry, but he is just not a very good analyst). Well on Monday, Dilfer said that Favre's comeback on Sunday against the Cardinals was perhaps the second-best comeback in NFL history, behind "that Vinny Testaverde thing like 15 years ago". Tell if I'm wrong. Did he not say something to that effect? What about Peyton Manning against the Buccaneers in 2003? And besides, it was two freaking touchdowns! I think that happens fairly often, but not that common, but still, how short-sighted is that statement made by Dilfer? (Note: "the Vinny Testaverde thing" was in 2000, which last I checked was only 10 years ago)
Wade Phillips was fired on Monday. Who didn't see that one coming? Jason Garrett was promoted to interim head coach. Will it save the Cowboys' season? Doubtful. The Cowboys will still have to retool their entire coaching staff for next season whether there is football or not.
Stat of the Week: The Raiders are 3-0 against AFC West opponents. Divisional wins are paramount to getting to the playoffs.
Stat of the Week 2: The Browns have won their last two games by a score of 64-31.
Stat of the Week 3: Antwaan Randle El's career passer rating is 157.5, the highest for someone who has thrown more than 20 passes. A perfect passer rating is 158.3
Sweet Play of the Week: 1st and 10 at the Pats 11-yard line. Browns line up in a trick formation with Josh Cribbs and quarterback, receiver Chansi Stuckey literally right behind him, Peyton Hillis the deep back, and Colt McCoy split out wide. Quick snap, quick handoff to Stuckey, touchdown.
Amusement of the Week: Lions kicker Jason Hanson was injured, so 307-pound rookie defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh came in and made a PAT attempt. Unfortunately the try doinked off the crossbar, no good.
College Football Score From Schools You've Never Heard Of (D-I Edition): Michigan 67, Illinois 65 (3OT) in the highest-scoring game in Big Ten history.
College Football Score From Schools You've Never Heard Of: Mount Ida 69, Anna Maria 18.
College Football Score From Schools You've Never Heard Of With Pregame Meal Of Ambien And Warm Milk Score: College of New Jersey 7, Kean 0. Sole touchdown was scored in the fourth quarter.
Next Week: Sources say Brett Favre plans on shaving before the Vikings game at Chicago. ESPN will have up-to-the-minute coverage with breakdown on SportsCenter, First Take, NFL Live, and The Herd With Colin Cowherd afterwards.
My ESPN Rant of the Week: Let me make this clear. I am an ESPN hater by any means. Some of my favorite sports personalities work for the network (Chris Berman, Tom Jackson, Mike Tirico, Mike & Mike, Ron Jaworski). Jon Gruden is pretty good too, but I think his time would be better spent if he were to get back into coaching. I just don't like some of the people there (Trent Dilfer, Mark Schlereth, Colin Cowherd, Tony Kornheiser). Every Monday Trent Dilfer comes onto Colin Cowherd's show and basically they talk about how great Brett Favre is and how much of an asshole Brad Childress is. They do talk about other stuff but it usually boils down to Favre or other stuff Cowherd is comfortable talking about (I'm sorry, but he is just not a very good analyst). Well on Monday, Dilfer said that Favre's comeback on Sunday against the Cardinals was perhaps the second-best comeback in NFL history, behind "that Vinny Testaverde thing like 15 years ago". Tell if I'm wrong. Did he not say something to that effect? What about Peyton Manning against the Buccaneers in 2003? And besides, it was two freaking touchdowns! I think that happens fairly often, but not that common, but still, how short-sighted is that statement made by Dilfer? (Note: "the Vinny Testaverde thing" was in 2000, which last I checked was only 10 years ago)
Wade Phillips was fired on Monday. Who didn't see that one coming? Jason Garrett was promoted to interim head coach. Will it save the Cowboys' season? Doubtful. The Cowboys will still have to retool their entire coaching staff for next season whether there is football or not.
Stat of the Week: The Raiders are 3-0 against AFC West opponents. Divisional wins are paramount to getting to the playoffs.
Stat of the Week 2: The Browns have won their last two games by a score of 64-31.
Stat of the Week 3: Antwaan Randle El's career passer rating is 157.5, the highest for someone who has thrown more than 20 passes. A perfect passer rating is 158.3
Sweet Play of the Week: 1st and 10 at the Pats 11-yard line. Browns line up in a trick formation with Josh Cribbs and quarterback, receiver Chansi Stuckey literally right behind him, Peyton Hillis the deep back, and Colt McCoy split out wide. Quick snap, quick handoff to Stuckey, touchdown.
Amusement of the Week: Lions kicker Jason Hanson was injured, so 307-pound rookie defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh came in and made a PAT attempt. Unfortunately the try doinked off the crossbar, no good.
College Football Score From Schools You've Never Heard Of (D-I Edition): Michigan 67, Illinois 65 (3OT) in the highest-scoring game in Big Ten history.
College Football Score From Schools You've Never Heard Of: Mount Ida 69, Anna Maria 18.
College Football Score From Schools You've Never Heard Of With Pregame Meal Of Ambien And Warm Milk Score: College of New Jersey 7, Kean 0. Sole touchdown was scored in the fourth quarter.
Next Week: Sources say Brett Favre plans on shaving before the Vikings game at Chicago. ESPN will have up-to-the-minute coverage with breakdown on SportsCenter, First Take, NFL Live, and The Herd With Colin Cowherd afterwards.
04 November 2010
Week 9 Broadcasting Assingments
Blogger decided to take a shit on me, so basically I have nothing. Check out this weekend's broadcasting assignments on Awful Announcing.
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