I've finally decided to give this a try. I've tried my hardest to view games from every commentator team for both Sunday afternoon networks.
I wish it were possible to list some people individually (I suppose I could), because there is a difference between the skill levels of some teams. Dick Stockton and Ron Pitts I bet would be tiered higher if they had better analysts, as would Brian Billick if he were paired with a better announcer. Conversely, I think Jim Nantz would be doing worse if he were not with Phil Simms.
It seems stupid, but I applaud analysts and announcers to actually do what they're supposed to do (talk about the blocks, the coverage, who made the tackle, etc), because too few do. Some teams get too caught up in talking about the prominent players on the team or the dreaded storyline.
Play-by-play men are listed first, then analysts, with their network in parenthesis.
*****Five Stars*****
Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan (Fox) - Never heard of them? Chances are you haven't. They're fifth in the batting order according to the network, but they're money on Sunday afternoons. Rosen handles the game well, quick to identify substitutions, yardage, penalties, etc. I love that in football play-by-play, and not enough p-b-p guys do it. And Ryan, a former defensive end, obviously focuses more on what's going on in the trenches, but to my liking, he'll identify changes in the starting line-ups from what the network shows in their graphic (say, if the offense comes out three-wide and/or the defense counters with a nickel or dime). Rosen does this throughout the game, too.
Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf (CBS) - Gumbel could very well become the football play-by-play voice of a generation. CBS, when they came back to football, made Gumbel their lead play-by-play man in an effort to attract more African-American viewers to their telecasts. The network had him take a two-year hiatus to host CBS's Mickey Mouse pre-game show (more on that later), and since '06, he's been the #2 play-by-play man at the eye network.
Gumbel is usually very quick to identify yardage and penalties and will often get into a little analysis with his partner (in what little time there is allowed between plays). Example from this past week in fact: The Colts are out-rushing the Raiders. Reason why, Gumbel identifies the Raiders are keeping a safety or two more than 15-yards off the line of scrimmage and Peyton Manning keeps audibling to runs and Dierdorf is letting us know exactly what kind of defense it is play-in, play-out for a series. Sweet. Could use who actually made the tackle more, but I won't nit-pick, because nobody does it anyway. Will also let us know who of the skill position players are in on a given play, even if they are well known (perhaps this is their spotter).
I've gotten used to Dierdorf's pronouncements over the years, they don't bother me ("If this linebacker, quarterback, running back doesn't get into the Hall of Fame, it'll be the biggest travesty since...") because he can really get into some good analysis, and not just within the trenches or just with the quarterback, but everywhere on the field and is probably the best at telling the viewers just how a play developed.
Jim Nantz, Phil Simms (CBS) - Simms is hands-down the best analyst, and just based on that I'm giving this team a five-star rating. He'll point out and identify things that seem so mundane that one would think would not manner in the realm of football when in fact they do. However when I hear this I think he's either a genius or he's making it up. Another thing I absolutely enjoy is that his analysis goes beyond the X's and O's and will get into the emotion of the game and how if affects players and how they perform. Speaking of X's and O's, I would say on a healthy third of the plays of the game, Simms will correctly guess what the offense will do on a given play based up how the defense is lined up. It all goes back to his quarterbacking days. About the extent of the conversation between Nantz and Simms about the action would be Nantz asking a question and Simms answering. Nantz is good, and he deserves to be at the top of the batting order. He's smooth, and to my liking, identifies the subs well.
****Four Stars****
Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworksi, Jon Gruden (ESPN) - Second-year for Gruden, and it's going well so far. I actually knocked them off a star because a.) I want Gruden to go back into coaching and get the hell out of the broadcasting booth, and b.) I'm not fond of three-man broadcasting teams for football. Tirico is a top-notch p-b-p guy. He gets into it and will identify yardage and tacklers often, but because he is in a three-man booth with two other analysts, he rarely gets in on the between-the-play action (for some reason, I enjoy it when the play-by-play guy can carry on an intelligent conversation with their analyst. It means they actually have a "feel" for the game, even if they never played it.) Their slight downfall is when they get wrapped up in the storyline, whether its the Brett Favre lovefest or Mark Sanchez or whatever. Stuff about the quarterback seems to get Jaworski on a roll. I would say this team has Favreitis. I'm sure you know what that is, and working for ESPN, by default, you have it.
Don Criqui, Steve Beuerlein (CBS) - This team is probably the biggest disparity between the two individuals of the broadcast team that I can tell. You call tell Criqui is from the old-school because he is deadly accurate with his calls (meaning he called games before all the scrolls and on-screen graphics and such). He'll even call-out passing patterns on some plays and identify blockers, which is nearly unheard of from p-b-p. And while Beuerlein is not terribly insightful, this team is not terrible, and should probably being moved up the CBS totem pole. They are clearly better than a #7 team. Just for good measure I watch Houston-Denver, which was Tebow's second start. Not a whole lot about the ol' storyline or Tebow, other than stuff that is actually helpful toward his development. Beurlein, I think you can do more. Criqui play-in, play-out sets you up with stuff to digest for us on the replay, about the blocking and such. Criqui will say something like "Good blocking and he picks up 11." Beurlein, you should have the capacity to tell us why the blocking was good, not just about the athleticism of the quarterback and the receiver. Why am I spending so many words on a #7 team? Because I want them to do better and move up in the batting order. I think Beurlein can become a better analyst. There are flashes of how he can be an elite analyst, just do it play-in, play-out, OK? Oh, and please, CBS, you've got a good gig going, just be sure to move this team up in 2011, OK? Thanks.
Al Micheals, Cris Collinsworth (NBC) - Micheals is the gold-standard for football play-by-play. Collinsworth is an excellent analyst, but can, annoyingly, be a smart-ass, and will shower the telecast with I-told-you-sos when a rip is called for. Case and point, the finale of the San Francisco-Philadelphia game. Read an earlier post of mine for the details.
Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston (Fox) - First things first. Dump Siragusa. Most consider him a second analyst when he is basically a sideline guy who wants to talk about the dumbest, randomest stuff, and doesn't appear to put much effort into his spiels. If he's gone, then this team would almost be perfect, at least tie for best on Fox. Albert, unlike some play-by-play people above him on the Fox totem pole, actually has a "feel" for the game (that's the only way I can describe it). Albert does the stuff a play-by-play guy is supposed to do and does it well; identifying tacklers and the yardage on a given play. He probably got tips from his dad. It also seems this team has done their share of NFC West games, but never once have I heard them exhaustively yacking about how crappy the NFC West is and this and that. In a word, they show up, do their game, talk about the action on the field, and that's about it. They don't get caught up in the storyline or Favreitis. Johnston is one of the more articulate analysts out there (he doesn't sound like some half-wit ex-jock) and he does a solid job at analysing all aspects of the game.
Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts (CBS) - Fouts was an excellent college analyst, and unfortunately was just a sidenote for ABC's Monday Night Football with Dennis Miller as "the third guy," so we never really got to see his true colors as an NFL analyst. He quietly signed on as an analyst on CBS and was assigned the #3 spot with the now-retired Dick Enberg. Obviously being an-ex quarterback, that is where his expertese lies. Eagle is kind of lazy on his yardage, but again, that really doesn't bother me, but he is excellent at identifying tacklers and those who assisted on the stop. Lovely.
***Three Stars***
ESPN No. 2 Team Of Brad Nessler and Trent Dilfer (ESPN) - I was semi-surprised to not see the trio of Mike Greenburg, Golic, and Ditka this year, as it seems ESPN is promoting Mike & Mike so much lately. ESPN put in Nessler and Dilfer for the second game of their opening Monday doubleheader (Kansas City-San Diego). Nessler, who mostly does college football play-by-play, has a silk smooth delivery, but sort of lacks on accuracy; not indicating yardage alot of the time and only IDing tacklers some of the time. Dilfer is obviously good at describing the pass-catch side of the action, but other than that, not so good. He's not terrible, but I wanted more. Perhaps if they did more games then it might be better.
Dick Stockton, Charles Davis (Fox) - Stockton has always been a top-notch play-by-play guy. He is smooth despite his strong New York accent and does everything a solid play-by-play guy should do well. He would fare better in my ratings if he were paired with a better analyst (he has in the past).
Ron Pitts, John Lynch (Fox) - Pitts has done almost everything in the realm of football on TV. He's been a sideline reporter, an analyst, and now, a play-by-play man, and he's done a fantastic job at all three. The problem lies in his partner who I think still has not grown accustom to an NFL broadcasting booth. He's also not very smooth, either, and I always think he's trying to rap.
Kevin Harlan, Soloman Wilcots (CBS) - This team would be tiered lower if not for Wilcots, who is a fantastic, smooth, and low-key analyst, and has been for years. Like breakdown of the coverage? You'll get it here. Wilcots is an ex-defensive back. Yeah, Harlan IDs the subs, and of the certain offensive sets, but we'll get such obviousness like "The defense is in a 4-3" or "Four in the secondary." Both of those happen on the majority of defensive snaps, just sayin'.
**Two Stars**
Joe Buck, Troy Aikman (Fox) - This is really the highest I could go with this team. Aikman is solid analyst, maybe a little shakey on line play, but it really doesn't bother me. Aikman seems to also be able to describe the development of a play really well, which is good. The bad: Favreitis. New England-Minnesota, Favre love abounds, even after he was removed from the game and Tavarus Jackson was doing well for the Vikes and trying to bring them back, moreso from Aikman than Brennaman. Now for Joebaby, he just doesn't have it. He doesn't have it in his heart or in his head to do football play-by-play. Only points out the obvious stuff, does not concern himself with accuracy; who made the stop, yardage, penalties, etc. I know he speaks during a play, but they're just words. I don't know if he's lazy, he doesn't care, or if he really has no idea what's going on out there, but better should come from a #1 team.
Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick (Fox) - This team likes to plug the stars and talk about the old storyline a bit too much. We're all aware of the implications of the NFC West, we get it. They seem to have forgotton the fact that there is a game going on down on the field and instead talk about the quarterback or the star linebacker. I'm not saying that all time should be spent in the trenches, but at least give a majority of your attention to the action on the field. I have a feeling, though, that this team is going to move up the Fox totem pole for all the wrong reasons (to me). This season Brennman spelled Buck during the baseball playoffs when in the past it had been either Stockton or Albert (and honestly, it was a nice restbit from Buck). Brennaman is a Buck clone, very monotonus in his delivery and not terribly accurate on his calls, either.
Sometimes Billick will get on a roll and actually get to talking about what's actually going on in front of them. That I enjoy. Obviously he will talk about the coaching side of it and team chemistry, which is cool because that, typically, is a side of football that not covered enough in telecasts. He'll also do a pretty good job at explaining why a certain play was called on a certain down and distance. What I'm getting at is Billick is a solid analyst who, if paired with a better partner, may be higher rated.
Bill Macatee, Rich Gannon (CBS) - Just average all around. I saw them in several Cleveland games this season and the show was just very boring. A little love for Peyton Hillis sprinkled in from Gannon, but other than that very boring. But how much should we expect from a #6 team?
*One Star*
Gus Johnson, Steve Tasker (CBS) - The Denver-Oakland game where Tim Tebow started was by far the worst game from a broadcasting standpoint. It was just one big Tim Tebow plug, which a.) I've had my fill of, and b.) Tebow and the Broncos did not do well. So whatever the director or producer had lined up for Johnson and Tasker to talk about just blew up in his face, and they had nothing else to fall back on, which tells me that Johnson and Tasker just decided to keep talking about it, ignoring the play on the field. Tasker has always been a plugger for the stars, whether they're doing well or not. And Johnson, don't get me started. Even though he's done play-by-play for years I still don't think he has the feel of the game. Not accurate in his calls whatsoever, never has been. He's relied on being into the emotion of the game and being an annoying yeller, whether or not it's a big play. We CAN hear you, you know that, right?
Zero Stars
Chris Rose, Torry Holt (Week 13, Fox) - Fox had a musical chairs of commentators in their seventh and eighth spots. It was either Chris Myers and Kurt Warner or Chris Rose and somebody. Well for the Week 13 Cleveland-Carolina game, Rose was paired with newcomer to the booth Torry Holt and it was a disaster. Holt offered nothing in the way of analysis and had trouble on really simple things like finishing sentences and using the proper verb tense when he speaks. I'm not kidding. It was cover-your-ears awful.
This is a work in progress. I have one game with Chris Rose and Kurt Warner and from the NFL Netowork that was actually meaningful so I can sit though it (thank god for NFL Game Rewind).
Now for pre-game shows. They're all useless noise. I don't watch them, or I try my best not to. But I guess if I had a choice, I'd watch Fox NFL Sunday. Football Night in America is a complete and utter joke. Dan Patrick is making inhuman noises during highlights and Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison are just sort of there. Bring back Olbermann. Even though both Olbermann and Patrick have past experience as spors broadcasters, I don't know, I guess Olbermann made the show tolerable, even after they wanted to make it a spin-off of his regular MSNBC show, and gave it a bloated cast.
And since ESPN is just one big case of Farveitis, I never bothered to watch Sunday NFL Countdown or Monday Night Countdown. Same goes with NFL Live. Whether its Mark Schlereth or Trent Dilfer or Herman Edwards dick-riding Favre or Marcellus Wiley blabbering about god knows what - just stop!
Now let's move onto one final thing: why Fox sucks. Or, why their coverage this year has been so down. For whatever reason, Fox totally abandoned the Saints, or the whole NFC South for that matter in its national coverage, instead opting for whoever was playing in the NFC East, including three-straight Giants games or the Vikings. Here are their games below:
Week 1: Green Bay-Philly
Week 2: Chicago-Dallas
Week 3: Dallas-Houston
Week 4: Washington-Philly
Week 5: Green Bay-Washington
Week 6: Dallas-Minnesota
Week 7: Washington-Chicago
Week 8: Minnesota-New England
Week 9: N.Y. Giants-Seattle
Week 10: Dallas-N.Y. Giants
Week 11: Green Bay-Minnesota
Week 12: New Orleans-Dallas (Thanksgiving); Philly-Chicago (Sunday, #2 team)
Week 13: Dallas-Indianapolis
Week 14: N.Y. Giants-Minnesota
Week 15: Philly-N.Y. Giants
Week 16: N.Y. Giants-Green Bay
Week 17: Green Bay-Chicago
The games where Jim Nantz and Phil Simms of CBS were sent to were a little more varied:
Week 1: Cincinnati-New England
Week 2: New England-N.Y. Jets
Week 3: Indianapolis-Denver
Week 4: Baltimore-Pittsburgh
Week 5: Tennessee-Dallas
Week 6: Baltimore-New England
Week 7: New England-San Diego
Week 8: Jacksonville-Dallas
Week 9: Indianapolis-Philly
Week 10: N.Y. Jets-Cleveland
Week 11: Indianapolis-New England
Week 12: New England-Detroit (Thanksgiving); Jacksonville-N.Y. Giants (Sunday, #2 team)
Week 13: Oakland-San Diego
Week 14: New England-Chicago
Week 15: N.Y. Jets-Pittsburgh
Week 16: N.Y. Jets-Chicago
Week 17: Indianapolis-Tenneessee
27 December 2010
I Can Finally Put Into Words Why I Hate Fox!
http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2010-articles/december/eric-shanks-is-an-idiotits-called-a-focus-group.html
Somebody else has put into words the way I feel about Fox, and I'm not going to take credit for the thought, either.
In case you haven't heard (and you very well may not have), Fox has decided to put in music during random parts of their NFL games at the direction of Fox Sports' new president, Eric Shanks, the guy behind the glowing puck in their hockey coverage. Worse yet, Shanks has proclaimed that the music will be used during the Super Bowl -- when hundreds of millions of people around the world will be watching.
Am I looking forward to Super Bowl? Hell no. You know why? Because Fox is covering it. It's going to suck no matter what teams play, because we'll have to listen to Joe Buck and random dramatic music that will probably be played during the most tense moments of the game, ruining the moment.
A commenter in the post I linked above basically gave the reasons I've been trying to explain why I don't like Fox Sports right now (I don't hate Fox the network or News Corp. It has nothing to do with that. I just don't like Fox Sports.)
Yes, Fox used to be cool. They were the pioneers of the scoring bug and the electronic first down line. But now they are just living on their past innovations and now just being arrogant and proposing outlandish ideas to try and enhance the sports on TV experience, which, for now, high definition does it enough.
I don't watch NASCAR, hell I don't even watch that much baseball, but I'm sure they suck because Fox is failing. Joe Buck simply cannot do play-by-play whether its baseball or football. Yes, he's boring, but actually that does not bother me. Pat Summerall (before he went senile) was dry and boring too, but he's one of the best announcers ever. Buck just doesn't have the "feel" for the game that so many announcers have. In football, he almost never bothers to announce yardage or who made the tackle. And Buck has said that he does not like doing baseball play-by-play, so why should he be kept? But if Buck likes football play-by-play then he should continue to do that, but do the obscure games like he used to (fourth in the batting order from 1994-98. Usually working with Tim Green).
Somebody else has put into words the way I feel about Fox, and I'm not going to take credit for the thought, either.
In case you haven't heard (and you very well may not have), Fox has decided to put in music during random parts of their NFL games at the direction of Fox Sports' new president, Eric Shanks, the guy behind the glowing puck in their hockey coverage. Worse yet, Shanks has proclaimed that the music will be used during the Super Bowl -- when hundreds of millions of people around the world will be watching.
Am I looking forward to Super Bowl? Hell no. You know why? Because Fox is covering it. It's going to suck no matter what teams play, because we'll have to listen to Joe Buck and random dramatic music that will probably be played during the most tense moments of the game, ruining the moment.
A commenter in the post I linked above basically gave the reasons I've been trying to explain why I don't like Fox Sports right now (I don't hate Fox the network or News Corp. It has nothing to do with that. I just don't like Fox Sports.)
Yes, Fox used to be cool. They were the pioneers of the scoring bug and the electronic first down line. But now they are just living on their past innovations and now just being arrogant and proposing outlandish ideas to try and enhance the sports on TV experience, which, for now, high definition does it enough.
I don't watch NASCAR, hell I don't even watch that much baseball, but I'm sure they suck because Fox is failing. Joe Buck simply cannot do play-by-play whether its baseball or football. Yes, he's boring, but actually that does not bother me. Pat Summerall (before he went senile) was dry and boring too, but he's one of the best announcers ever. Buck just doesn't have the "feel" for the game that so many announcers have. In football, he almost never bothers to announce yardage or who made the tackle. And Buck has said that he does not like doing baseball play-by-play, so why should he be kept? But if Buck likes football play-by-play then he should continue to do that, but do the obscure games like he used to (fourth in the batting order from 1994-98. Usually working with Tim Green).
26 December 2010
Eagles-Vikings Game Postponed To Tuesday
Due to the snowstorm blanketing much of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, the Eagles-Vikings game scheduled for tonight has been moved to a Tuesday, 8:00 PM kickoff. Since the game was supposed to be a nationally televised game, I'm assuming Tuesday night's make-up game will be the same, unlike the Giants-Vikings game from two weeks ago that was only shown regionally.
And, to be honest, it would be silly to restrict this game from national coverage, which they did for the aforementioned Vikings-Giants game from Week 14 (although it was free to attend the game. That was the only consolation.)
The only problem with that is a.) I have nothing to do tonight. I guess I'll have to watch Top Gear, which the American version is nowhere near as good as the British version. And b.) access to NFL Game Rewind is blocked because there is normally a game during this time, so I can't watch the games from this afternoon that weren't shown in my area (read: the good ones)
And, to be honest, it would be silly to restrict this game from national coverage, which they did for the aforementioned Vikings-Giants game from Week 14 (although it was free to attend the game. That was the only consolation.)
The only problem with that is a.) I have nothing to do tonight. I guess I'll have to watch Top Gear, which the American version is nowhere near as good as the British version. And b.) access to NFL Game Rewind is blocked because there is normally a game during this time, so I can't watch the games from this afternoon that weren't shown in my area (read: the good ones)
23 December 2010
I'm Sorry But This Weekend's Slate Of Games Suck
I am seeing Browns-Ravens for my single game on CBS, Redskins-Jaguars for the first game of the doubleheader, and Giants-Packers for the second game. For the third straight week the Fox team of Sam Rosen and Tim Ryan will be in my living room. I think they both are underrated for how obscure games they frequently do, and I enjoy watching their games. One good thing about Ravens-Browns is that Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts are doing the game. I have yet to see a full game of theirs this season.
The Raiders game, called by Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf, is blacked out in the San Francisco market, so Chargers-Bengals (Johnson and Tasker) is being shown instead. Phil Simms and Jim Nantz will call the action of N.Y. Jets-Chicago.
I sort of wish San Francisco-St. Louis were being shown here. A.) I have yet to see a Rams game. B.) It's their "A" game in the early slot. Just because it's a west coast game doesn't mean it should not be shown here. It hasn't stopped WTTE before. Fox all season has clearly been behind CBS, particularly in their games and the selection of games picked by local affiliates week-in-week-out. I guess scheduling the Vikings and Cowboys for nearly every nationally televised game would do that, but it goes beyond that.
The problem is I don't where the blame lies. Is in the NFL? The network? Or the local affiliate's program director? Clearly there is a cog in the system that is distorting something from preventing the best action from being shown on Sunday afternoons, instead opting for the so-called "regional" matchup. Or, being a college town, showing a game of a team with prominent ex-Buckeyes (Troy Smith, A.J. Hawk, etc). I just realized something. Troy Smith is supposed to start this Sunday's 49er game, so maybe WTTE will switch!
The Raiders game, called by Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf, is blacked out in the San Francisco market, so Chargers-Bengals (Johnson and Tasker) is being shown instead. Phil Simms and Jim Nantz will call the action of N.Y. Jets-Chicago.
I sort of wish San Francisco-St. Louis were being shown here. A.) I have yet to see a Rams game. B.) It's their "A" game in the early slot. Just because it's a west coast game doesn't mean it should not be shown here. It hasn't stopped WTTE before. Fox all season has clearly been behind CBS, particularly in their games and the selection of games picked by local affiliates week-in-week-out. I guess scheduling the Vikings and Cowboys for nearly every nationally televised game would do that, but it goes beyond that.
The problem is I don't where the blame lies. Is in the NFL? The network? Or the local affiliate's program director? Clearly there is a cog in the system that is distorting something from preventing the best action from being shown on Sunday afternoons, instead opting for the so-called "regional" matchup. Or, being a college town, showing a game of a team with prominent ex-Buckeyes (Troy Smith, A.J. Hawk, etc). I just realized something. Troy Smith is supposed to start this Sunday's 49er game, so maybe WTTE will switch!
21 December 2010
The Tebow Love-Fest Has To End
I'm blogging while watching Sunday's Broncos-Raiders game on NFL Game Rewind and my god, is the Tebow love rampid. So much so, it's sickening. And not just from one announcer, but from both. CBS was tracking Tebow like Fox or ESPN would do with Favre, with Gus Johnson giving us the play-by-play along the way ("There is Tebow talking with his quarterback coach about that last series." -- one that was a three and out). Hype. Hype. Hype. Storylines abound. Talk this about Tebow. Talk that. Talk about the awards. Talk about Tebow's college accomplishments and all the fluff that go with ("the most accomplished college player of his generation.") It was sick I tell you! Sick! I hate to sound like Paul Zimmerman here, but when a storyline gets in the way of the game action - especially when the player who all the talk is about is not doing well - it's just asinine!
I get it. He's a great athlete and a great person and an emotional leader and a Christian. Please end it there! I still don't think he's even a very good quarterback, which is not the same thing as being a good athlete. Where is all the love come from? It can't be one thing or another. Plenty of athletes are Christians. Plenty of athletes are capable and emotional leaders. But ever in NFL history has a single player been so hyped out of college and then hyped in the NFL before he has done a damn thing?! And even though the Rams are currently 1st place in the NFC West, it has been barely talked about how well Sam Bradford has played. What's been covered, annoyingly more, is how terrible the NFC West is and how the NFL should have a seeding system based on record. Everybody should have seen that the NFC West was going to be bad this year. Why is it such a surprise now?
Please, folks, let's stop the Tebow love - here and now.
In other NFL news, I don't know if you heard or not, but Brett Favre started against the Bears on Monday Night in a game that was played outdoors in the cold and snow in Minnesota, seperated shoulder and all. Favre knows how to grab the media's attention. He'll tell Ed Werner that he has no plans on starting and then seemingly majestically, he'll start. Is it too much to think that Favre intended on starting all along, but just kept telling the media that he won't for his own sick and twisted reason? I guess it's nice to be in a position to be able to hold the media hostage, with them biting their nails, wating on what you're going to say and do next. I don't think anybody, even the Vikings, would think that they would lose two quarterbacks to injury in the consecutive games, so I wouldn't have blamed them for starting a rookie, or getting a scab through free agency (in this case, Patrick Ramsey).
This was a wasted season for the Vikings and Favre a.) should not have came back, and b.) been benched early in the season. After the New England game at the latest. And it's a shame that Brad Chidress was sacrificed for his team's failure.
Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention this. In last week's TMQ, Gregg included an email from a reader where the reader basically told TMQ he was wrong and that his comparison was stupid and wrong.
I noted many big colleges have more staff in the athletic department than in the English department. Matt Howland of Penn State replies, "I think your comparison of ratios with employees serving the football team and the English department serving the entire student body is flawed. The proportionate amount of time needed to teach one student in one English class is tiny compared to the amount of time football players and other athletes spend time preparing to compete. I think a more fair comparison is relating the English staff to English majors, rather than to the entire student body."
One thing I have always thought about Gregg Easterbrook is that he has a relatively small ego - compared to, say, Colin Cowherd. I'm glad that TMQ was man enough to include this comment in his column.
I get it. He's a great athlete and a great person and an emotional leader and a Christian. Please end it there! I still don't think he's even a very good quarterback, which is not the same thing as being a good athlete. Where is all the love come from? It can't be one thing or another. Plenty of athletes are Christians. Plenty of athletes are capable and emotional leaders. But ever in NFL history has a single player been so hyped out of college and then hyped in the NFL before he has done a damn thing?! And even though the Rams are currently 1st place in the NFC West, it has been barely talked about how well Sam Bradford has played. What's been covered, annoyingly more, is how terrible the NFC West is and how the NFL should have a seeding system based on record. Everybody should have seen that the NFC West was going to be bad this year. Why is it such a surprise now?
Please, folks, let's stop the Tebow love - here and now.
In other NFL news, I don't know if you heard or not, but Brett Favre started against the Bears on Monday Night in a game that was played outdoors in the cold and snow in Minnesota, seperated shoulder and all. Favre knows how to grab the media's attention. He'll tell Ed Werner that he has no plans on starting and then seemingly majestically, he'll start. Is it too much to think that Favre intended on starting all along, but just kept telling the media that he won't for his own sick and twisted reason? I guess it's nice to be in a position to be able to hold the media hostage, with them biting their nails, wating on what you're going to say and do next. I don't think anybody, even the Vikings, would think that they would lose two quarterbacks to injury in the consecutive games, so I wouldn't have blamed them for starting a rookie, or getting a scab through free agency (in this case, Patrick Ramsey).
This was a wasted season for the Vikings and Favre a.) should not have came back, and b.) been benched early in the season. After the New England game at the latest. And it's a shame that Brad Chidress was sacrificed for his team's failure.
Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention this. In last week's TMQ, Gregg included an email from a reader where the reader basically told TMQ he was wrong and that his comparison was stupid and wrong.
I noted many big colleges have more staff in the athletic department than in the English department. Matt Howland of Penn State replies, "I think your comparison of ratios with employees serving the football team and the English department serving the entire student body is flawed. The proportionate amount of time needed to teach one student in one English class is tiny compared to the amount of time football players and other athletes spend time preparing to compete. I think a more fair comparison is relating the English staff to English majors, rather than to the entire student body."
One thing I have always thought about Gregg Easterbrook is that he has a relatively small ego - compared to, say, Colin Cowherd. I'm glad that TMQ was man enough to include this comment in his column.
17 December 2010
I Rip Gregg Easterbrook Because His Column Has Turned To Shit
Yeah. TMQ used to be cool. It used to be somewhat funny and had some insightful analysis, but now, uh-uh. Twice this season Gregg Easterbrook has made the focus of his TMQ not about sports and earlier this year wrote a dedicated column scathing "24". That was probably the beginning of the end for my interest in his column and usually I read it on The Bottom of the Barrel as well as their prognostication. One thing TMQ has going for it is that Gregg Easterbrook is the last ESPN personality that isn't dick-riding Brett Favre and the array of storylines that come with. And for that, I'm surprised he wasn't fired (yes I am being cynical).
For the first time in a while, Gregg offers up some real analysis for the focus of his TMQ before branching off into something only the Football Gods knows.
Sunday's snowstorms -- the Metrodome collapsed, blizzard conditions at Soldier Field -- remind us that alone in team athletics, football is a sport performed in the elements. Football begins in the sweltering heat and humidity of summer, proceeds through the rain and wind of autumn, and advances to snow and freezing cold. Most team sports are indoors most or all the time. Baseball clubs retire to Florida and Arizona in winter to train in ideal conditions, then call their games -- racing for shelter -- over anything more than a sprinkle. Football performs in heat, cold, wind, sleet, snow and rain.
What sucks is that right off the bat I agree with what Gregg is saying here. At one point or another during an NFL season a team is going to have to play a game in the elements; whether it's rain, snow or strong winds. About the only thing the NFL will stop for his lighting or wild fires.
Perhaps the collapse of the Metrodome was the football gods telling Brett Favre it's time to bronze his cleats.
(Rimshot)
This tells us you shouldn't be afraid to throw in snow: Bring a passing game plan, as Belichick brought to Chicago. Tom Brady threw 40 times for 27 completions and 369 yards, as if the game had been played on a flawless California blue-sky day. By halftime, New England held a 193-14 passing-yards lead, and the second half should have been canceled to let the crowd go home. In snow, when footing is bad, it's difficult to change direction -- so throw down the middle. Don't throw sideways patterns like outs, and forget sweeps and tosses. Guess what the Patriots did, and guess what the Bears did.
Anyone remember the Snow Bowl? The Patriots threw all over the Raiders in that one, and it was played during a steady snowfall. There is a basic defensive gameplan that a defense could use to stop the Patriots, where the defense plays tight coverage on the receivers, but doesn't pressure the quarterback or play really deep coverage.
And then, surprisingly, we get some actual analysis from Gregg that aren't outlandish or crazy.
All the above make New England the NFL's best team of the moment -- the only on-field criticism I can think of is they may be peaking too soon. But this being the Patriots, there's a dark side. In 2007, Belichick admitted to years of what seemed to everyone except him as cheating. If New England returns to the Super Bowl, the sports world might have to relive Spygate -- including the unresolved questions of why Belichick wouldn't come clean until forced, and why he never really apologized. If the Patriots win this year's Super Bowl, people might wonder if they are cheating still. Probably not, but considering the elaborate, systematic nature of their previous clandestine efforts, this can't be ruled out. Many football enthusiasts, including in the league front office, might not mind if the Patriots are knocked off early in the playoffs, and Spygate: The Sequel doesn't happen.
I knew the spygate bug would return, especially with Gregg, who ripped the shit out of Belichick back in '07 (just look through Gregg Easterbrook's archives on his ESPN Page 2 site), calling him something to the effect of "The NFL's best coach, but the NFL's worst sport."
The actual analysis and down-to-earth statements end here, and the Gregg Easterbrook of 2010 rears its ugly head again.
In college football news, the Heisman went to Cam Newton. Considering the trophy is supposedly presented to the player who "best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity," it is another sign of the decline of standards that for the second time in six years -- Reggie Bush in 2005, Newton in 2010 -- an award for "excellence with integrity" went to a player with ethical question marks. The "integrity" part seems to have become a big joke to the Heisman voters.
I'm pretty sure Newton's integrity has never been questioned and it's been damn near proven it was his father and agents who were at fault. So why should Cam Newton be blamed for this? Deep down Gregg is just pissed that a quarterback won the award and not an obscure lineman. Because by Vince Lombardi, that's where football happens.
TMQ continues to maintain this award should be renamed the Heisman Trophy for the Quarterback or Running Back Who Receives Most Publicity. Awarded 76 times, the trophy has gone to 71 quarterbacks or running backs. No linebacker or offensive lineman has won, only one defensive back has won, and the two winners sometimes described as linemen -- Larry Kelley of Yale in 1936 and Leon Hart of Notre Dame in 1949 -- made their marks as receivers on offense, though also played defensive end, as in their eras many players went both ways. If John Heisman, who was a center and tackle for Brown and Penn before going into coaching, were alive and playing today, there's no chance he could win the award that bears his name.
Thank the Football Gods for AutoText.
TMQ thinks the best college football player of 2010 was left tackle Gabe Carimi of Wisconsin, recipient of the Outland Trophy. There were many tremendous performers at Oregon, Auburn, Stanford and other schools; Carimi was best from my perspective. Wisconsin piled up amazing rushing yardage with simple tactics, often "50" or "70" runs behind the left tackle. Carimi was never involved in recruiting monkey business. Unlike Newton, who may have cheated when at Florida, there are no questions about Carimi as a genuine student. Carimi made the 2010 Academic Big Ten team, which means at least a 3.0 GPA.
He was never recruited? So that means he was a crappy player in high school? Probably not (I don't know) Just sayin'. There are many football players who are recruited. So because a player is recruited means that they're an asshole in Gregg's "perspective".
Proof of solid classroom performance should be part of the Heisman search for collegiate "excellence." Instead, to the Heisman voters, integrity and academic performance have become irrelevant. All that matters is hype and ratings. This is a distressing message for the Heisman Trust to send about college football. If John Heisman were around, he might take his name off his own award.
The award has always, to a degree, been about hype. Even the players who won the award back in the days of "real football" created some buzz or hype. Seriously, this statement sounds like it came from a message board weasel in his mom's basement, bitching about the Heisman's "bias".
Another threat to Western civilization is the NFC West, in which no team has a winning record. At 4-9, the Arizona Cardinals are still in contention. The NFC West could have a division winner at 7-9, hosting a home playoff game, while a 10-6 team doesn't even make the postseason. Should the NFC West be an automatic qualifier for the BCS? Could any NFC West club make the New Mexico Bowl, which on Saturday will pair two schools that don't have winning records? A looming NFL playoff fiasco -- losing teams in, winning teams out -- is another argument for a seeded tournament.
Wow, there's a lofty pronouncement! Sound the cannons. Release the pigeons. Has this topic not been beaten to death already? A seeding system in the NFL is not going to, and should not, happen. There were cries about this years ago when the NFC had an overwhelming advantage over the AFC in the Super Bowl. And who says a 10-6 team won't make it to the postseason this year? Seriously, if the Packers stink up their last three games, they're out of contention. And it's very possible because their next three opponents are the Pats, Giants and Bears, probably the best the NFL has to offer.
Leading 7-0 in the second quarter at Tennessee, Indianapolis faced third-and-14 on its 37. Flaming Thumbtacks corner Cortland Finnegan, who's a lot better at starting fights than playing football, had man coverage on Reggie Wayne, who ran a simple "go." Rather than keep his eyes on the receiver -- proper technique for man coverage -- Finnegan made the high school mistake of looking into the backfield trying to guess the play. As Wayne was blowing past him, Finnegan was looking backward at Peyton Manning: 50-yard reception by Wayne, and soon the Colts led 14-0. Looking into the backfield not only is fundamentally poor, it shows Finnegan is lazy. He was hoping to see that the Colts' call was a draw or something short, which would allow him to quit on the play.
How sure are you it was man? And even if it was, could it possibly have been a breakdown of coverage? Maybe there was another safety who was supposed to be helping Finnegan if he got beat. Screams zone to me, and Wayne blazed through it. And if Finnegan were to abandon his zone, he would get chewed out by his coaches for not being disciplined. Of course I take offense to Gregg making generalizations when I made one myself, but nobody's perfect.
"Was by Leslie Frazier, when he turned in a lineup card with Brett Favre scratched. See the league's official Game Book here, under "Not Active."
For the first time in a while, Gregg offers up some real analysis for the focus of his TMQ before branching off into something only the Football Gods knows.
Sunday's snowstorms -- the Metrodome collapsed, blizzard conditions at Soldier Field -- remind us that alone in team athletics, football is a sport performed in the elements. Football begins in the sweltering heat and humidity of summer, proceeds through the rain and wind of autumn, and advances to snow and freezing cold. Most team sports are indoors most or all the time. Baseball clubs retire to Florida and Arizona in winter to train in ideal conditions, then call their games -- racing for shelter -- over anything more than a sprinkle. Football performs in heat, cold, wind, sleet, snow and rain.
What sucks is that right off the bat I agree with what Gregg is saying here. At one point or another during an NFL season a team is going to have to play a game in the elements; whether it's rain, snow or strong winds. About the only thing the NFL will stop for his lighting or wild fires.
Perhaps the collapse of the Metrodome was the football gods telling Brett Favre it's time to bronze his cleats.
(Rimshot)
This tells us you shouldn't be afraid to throw in snow: Bring a passing game plan, as Belichick brought to Chicago. Tom Brady threw 40 times for 27 completions and 369 yards, as if the game had been played on a flawless California blue-sky day. By halftime, New England held a 193-14 passing-yards lead, and the second half should have been canceled to let the crowd go home. In snow, when footing is bad, it's difficult to change direction -- so throw down the middle. Don't throw sideways patterns like outs, and forget sweeps and tosses. Guess what the Patriots did, and guess what the Bears did.
Anyone remember the Snow Bowl? The Patriots threw all over the Raiders in that one, and it was played during a steady snowfall. There is a basic defensive gameplan that a defense could use to stop the Patriots, where the defense plays tight coverage on the receivers, but doesn't pressure the quarterback or play really deep coverage.
And then, surprisingly, we get some actual analysis from Gregg that aren't outlandish or crazy.
All the above make New England the NFL's best team of the moment -- the only on-field criticism I can think of is they may be peaking too soon. But this being the Patriots, there's a dark side. In 2007, Belichick admitted to years of what seemed to everyone except him as cheating. If New England returns to the Super Bowl, the sports world might have to relive Spygate -- including the unresolved questions of why Belichick wouldn't come clean until forced, and why he never really apologized. If the Patriots win this year's Super Bowl, people might wonder if they are cheating still. Probably not, but considering the elaborate, systematic nature of their previous clandestine efforts, this can't be ruled out. Many football enthusiasts, including in the league front office, might not mind if the Patriots are knocked off early in the playoffs, and Spygate: The Sequel doesn't happen.
I knew the spygate bug would return, especially with Gregg, who ripped the shit out of Belichick back in '07 (just look through Gregg Easterbrook's archives on his ESPN Page 2 site), calling him something to the effect of "The NFL's best coach, but the NFL's worst sport."
The actual analysis and down-to-earth statements end here, and the Gregg Easterbrook of 2010 rears its ugly head again.
In college football news, the Heisman went to Cam Newton. Considering the trophy is supposedly presented to the player who "best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity," it is another sign of the decline of standards that for the second time in six years -- Reggie Bush in 2005, Newton in 2010 -- an award for "excellence with integrity" went to a player with ethical question marks. The "integrity" part seems to have become a big joke to the Heisman voters.
I'm pretty sure Newton's integrity has never been questioned and it's been damn near proven it was his father and agents who were at fault. So why should Cam Newton be blamed for this? Deep down Gregg is just pissed that a quarterback won the award and not an obscure lineman. Because by Vince Lombardi, that's where football happens.
TMQ continues to maintain this award should be renamed the Heisman Trophy for the Quarterback or Running Back Who Receives Most Publicity. Awarded 76 times, the trophy has gone to 71 quarterbacks or running backs. No linebacker or offensive lineman has won, only one defensive back has won, and the two winners sometimes described as linemen -- Larry Kelley of Yale in 1936 and Leon Hart of Notre Dame in 1949 -- made their marks as receivers on offense, though also played defensive end, as in their eras many players went both ways. If John Heisman, who was a center and tackle for Brown and Penn before going into coaching, were alive and playing today, there's no chance he could win the award that bears his name.
Thank the Football Gods for AutoText.
TMQ thinks the best college football player of 2010 was left tackle Gabe Carimi of Wisconsin, recipient of the Outland Trophy. There were many tremendous performers at Oregon, Auburn, Stanford and other schools; Carimi was best from my perspective. Wisconsin piled up amazing rushing yardage with simple tactics, often "50" or "70" runs behind the left tackle. Carimi was never involved in recruiting monkey business. Unlike Newton, who may have cheated when at Florida, there are no questions about Carimi as a genuine student. Carimi made the 2010 Academic Big Ten team, which means at least a 3.0 GPA.
He was never recruited? So that means he was a crappy player in high school? Probably not (I don't know) Just sayin'. There are many football players who are recruited. So because a player is recruited means that they're an asshole in Gregg's "perspective".
Proof of solid classroom performance should be part of the Heisman search for collegiate "excellence." Instead, to the Heisman voters, integrity and academic performance have become irrelevant. All that matters is hype and ratings. This is a distressing message for the Heisman Trust to send about college football. If John Heisman were around, he might take his name off his own award.
The award has always, to a degree, been about hype. Even the players who won the award back in the days of "real football" created some buzz or hype. Seriously, this statement sounds like it came from a message board weasel in his mom's basement, bitching about the Heisman's "bias".
Another threat to Western civilization is the NFC West, in which no team has a winning record. At 4-9, the Arizona Cardinals are still in contention. The NFC West could have a division winner at 7-9, hosting a home playoff game, while a 10-6 team doesn't even make the postseason. Should the NFC West be an automatic qualifier for the BCS? Could any NFC West club make the New Mexico Bowl, which on Saturday will pair two schools that don't have winning records? A looming NFL playoff fiasco -- losing teams in, winning teams out -- is another argument for a seeded tournament.
Wow, there's a lofty pronouncement! Sound the cannons. Release the pigeons. Has this topic not been beaten to death already? A seeding system in the NFL is not going to, and should not, happen. There were cries about this years ago when the NFC had an overwhelming advantage over the AFC in the Super Bowl. And who says a 10-6 team won't make it to the postseason this year? Seriously, if the Packers stink up their last three games, they're out of contention. And it's very possible because their next three opponents are the Pats, Giants and Bears, probably the best the NFL has to offer.
Leading 7-0 in the second quarter at Tennessee, Indianapolis faced third-and-14 on its 37. Flaming Thumbtacks corner Cortland Finnegan, who's a lot better at starting fights than playing football, had man coverage on Reggie Wayne, who ran a simple "go." Rather than keep his eyes on the receiver -- proper technique for man coverage -- Finnegan made the high school mistake of looking into the backfield trying to guess the play. As Wayne was blowing past him, Finnegan was looking backward at Peyton Manning: 50-yard reception by Wayne, and soon the Colts led 14-0. Looking into the backfield not only is fundamentally poor, it shows Finnegan is lazy. He was hoping to see that the Colts' call was a draw or something short, which would allow him to quit on the play.
How sure are you it was man? And even if it was, could it possibly have been a breakdown of coverage? Maybe there was another safety who was supposed to be helping Finnegan if he got beat. Screams zone to me, and Wayne blazed through it. And if Finnegan were to abandon his zone, he would get chewed out by his coaches for not being disciplined. Of course I take offense to Gregg making generalizations when I made one myself, but nobody's perfect.
"Was by Leslie Frazier, when he turned in a lineup card with Brett Favre scratched. See the league's official Game Book here, under "Not Active."
It was sour because Favre's iron-man streak -- his first start came when the elder George Bush was president, when Charles and Diana were still married -- concluded. It was sweet because no quarterback ever started 297 straight NFL games before, and no one ever will again."
Now Blogger has decided to take a shit and make everything bold. I'm anticipating Gregg is going to get fired for speaking ill about Favre and positively about his benching. I usually agree with Gregg on Favre stuff.
"'Voyage of the Dawn Treader' -- TMQ's favorite of the seven Narnia books -- opened in big-budget special-effects format Friday. I shudder to think of attending after hearing the director say he altered the story to "improve" it."
So Gregg Easterbrook is an Narnia nerd (sort of like a trekie)? This amuses me because aren't the Chronicles of Narnia books for kids? Of course, last year, Gregg said his favorite movie of 2009 was Wall-E. And later on Gregg says Voyage of the Dawn Treader is his favorite because it has a Christian theme, and then proceeds to say that the filmakers should take Christian elements out of the story, only to say to keep them. Easterbrook's double-talk is what always gets under my skin.
"Instead, Mike Shanahan sent out the kicking team for a singleton to force overtime. This is fraidy-cat thinking: If Shanahan goes for two and the play fails he is blamed; if he does the expected and kicks, the players are blamed for any loss. Beyond that, it was plain dumb given the game situation. Struggling Redskins place-kicker Graham Gano already had missed a 24-yard field goal attempt and barely made his sole PAT kick. The odds of a blown PAT here -- what happened, of course -- were much higher than usual. But Shanahan wanted to shift the blame from himself onto the players. The players "made mistakes," Shanahan said in his postgame news conference. The Redskins are the team of the nation's capital, and the one thing Washington is good at is blame-shifting! "Snapper, Holder Shoulder Blame for Loss," read the headline of a Monday Washington Post story, which blamed the players and said almost nothing about the fact that 5-8 Washington might have gone for the win. Gano will be waived soon, if he hasn't been already, and Shanahan will blame him for the loss. Shanahan should blame his own poor decision."
I'm sure if the Redskins went for the deuce and didn't convert, then Gregg would have ripped them for that and said they should have gone for a singleton instead.
"Coaches have good and bad performances just like players. Shanahan's performance Sunday was cover-your-eyes awful."
Even Bill Belichick has a bad weekend. Week 9 of this year ring any bells?
"Trailing 27-21 with 4:14 remaining, their season sinking slowly into the west, the Tennessee Titans faced fourth-and-1 on their own 34 against the Indianapolis Colts. You need only a yard, are playing at home, and averaged 5.7 yards per offensive snap on the game -- go for it! You've lost four straight and need to reverse this losing psychology -- go for it! Boom was the sound of the punt, and now the Flaming Thumbtacks have lost five straight."
Their own 34? That's not what I would call great field position. That's still about five yards from the no-man's land where going for it would make sense. And to say that just because they punted means an automatic loss is lunacy -- just like Gregg Easterbrook.
"Often, defenses relax when an offensive star jogs off."
Oh yeah? Says who? Is this another made-up theory by Gregg Easterbrook to make himself sound smarter than all the players and analysts out there.
"Reaching first-and-goal at the Dallas 1, game scoreless, the Philadelphia Eagles came out in a shotgun spread while the Cowboys lined up in a dime. Perhaps it is just as well that Vince Lombardi did not live to see a dime defense versus a shotgun spread on first-and-goal at the 1. Noticing the Boys had no middle linebacker on the field, Michael Vick simply ran up the middle for the touchdown, with six blockers versus five defenders."
This play was pretty cool. And I'm glad Vince Lombardi isn't around today. He was an overrated coach to begin with, and besides, football has evolved alot since Lombardi. And even during his time he was seen as a bit of a simpleton with his coaching on both sides of the ball.
"No one has ever been a better "all-around" college football player than Marecic."
Is this a fact or just another outlandish statement? And he's a running back (okay, a two-way player, but still, a running back), so he should automatically be disqualified, damn it. And why aren't small schools considered in Heisman voting? Because there are enough players in D-1 to begin with and alot of D-II and D-III schools play teams that really, really suck and win huge and have exasperated stats. That's why.
The Single Worst Play of the Season So Far...until next week. I swear there have been like six of these this season. This TMQ started out well but then burst into flames.
And I promise I'll do announcer reviews. I have NFL Game Rewind now so I can now watch games with announcers I haven't heard for free.
12 December 2010
Patriots-Bears (Somewhat) Live Blog
Due to limitations of Blogger, I can't entirely blog the game "live".
4:04 - Watching bonus coverage of Jacksonville-Oakland. Maurice Jones-Drew just scored a touchdown with 1:34 to give Jax the lead. Finished watching the Cincy-Pittsburgh woofer, but Gumbel and Dierdorf doing the game made it a little better, and there was a fight on the field after the game was over between some players. That was cool. Unfortunately it wasn't snowing, but it will be in Chicago.
4:08 - Sideline mic just caught someone yelling "What the fuck!"
4:09 - Wow, Kevin Harlan, four in the secondary! That only happens on a majority of NFL defensive plays! He's another one I can't understand the blogosphere's love affair of. At least he's currently working with Soloman Wilcots.
4:13 - Just before the sack they showed a shot of Tom Cable on the sidelines and the ball boy standing next to him is wearing what looks like a real heavy parka while Cable is just sporting a sweatshirt. It's currently 60 degrees in Jacksonville.
4:14 - Raiders lose. They're probably out playoff contention.
4:11 - Darren McFadden, 209 yards and three touchdowns - nice.
4:15 - It's really fuckin' snowy and windy (30-40 MPH) and a wind chill of 9 in Chicago. Yay Jim Nantz and Phil Simms.
4:17 - Pats go five-wide on first down. Why am I not surprised? And it goes to Welker. Again, why I am not surprised?
4:18 - Pats go three-and-out, and still no one thinks the Bears are good, but Mike Martz has never had to call plays in the elements. And Hester just blazed down the sideline in the snow. He has better traction than my car.
4:21 - This is the sixth play of the game and still I have no idea what the yardage is. Oh, the NE 45. Guess I should pay attention to the on-screen graphics. Bears run on their first three plays and go three-and-out. And Phil Simms says the weather isn't bad enough for his liking.
4:24 - Pats go five-wide again...and it's to Welker.
4:26 - Alright! A quarterback breaking down line play. And on all of the Pats passing plays, they have gone Shotgun (note to Bears defense). And after two bad incompletions, Brady hits Welker on 3rd & 10 for a first down.
4:28 - Monsters of the Midway swarm Danny Woodhead! (And the Pats went Shotgun and passed!)
4:29 - Brady is throwing in the wind pretty well. I think because the rush is slowed down, it's actually easy to pass in the snow, but the wind is another thing. And while I was typing, the Patriots passed with Brady under center (it was a play fake).
4:31 - Pass tipped by Urlacher, clanged incomplete, almost picked off by Chris Harris.
4:31 - Rob Gronkowski is huge. He is a head taller than Wes Welker.
4:34 - "Surfin' U.S.A." by The Beach Boys playing on the P.A. system at Soldier Field. And Bill Belichick looks like a Turkish terrorist with his scarf covering half his face.
4:36 - I don't think the 2011 Jeep Wrangler existed during the Cold War (in reference to the commercial for Call of Duty: Black Ops).
4:39 - Does Vince Wilfork even tuck in his jersey?
4:40 - Terrible spot by the refs on the Knox reception.
4:45 - First quarter over already? At least there was a touchdown.
4:47 - Brady and Welker are shredding the Bears defense, with a little bit of Green-Ellis (at least Jim Nantz isn't saying his full name every time he touches the ball). Miami up on the Jets, as are the Chargers over the Chiefs.
4:52 - Cameraman bought the fake, but Nantz didn't.
4:55 - Yardage, Jim? You're not having a strong game to this point. Pats just scored another touchdown on an inside handoff to Danny Woodhead on a four-wide formation. Bears D getting smoked.
5:02 - That was a really wobbly pass. Knox's ass was down when it was ruled a fumble. Could go either way.
5:06 - Call stands. Pats up by three touchdowns.
5:13 - Bears go three-and-out again. What is their deal? The Patriots currently have the same amount of touchdowns as the bears do first downs (three).
5:17 - Just a little checkdown to Woodhead that was short of the first down. Wasn't there anybody deeper? Gotta check the tape. And Phil Simms just made an inhuman noise. Pats 24-0.
5:22 - Another Bears turnover. Did I just hear a cathedral bell ring?
5:26 - Pats 27-0. Jay Cutler standing there like a statue. He is probably in shock. And there is snow blowing upwards at Soldier Field because of the wind.
5:29 - Come on, Bears. You should be familiar with weather like this. Cutler just hit Forte on a curl-in, and I'm remember Warner and Faulk doing the same thing eons ago...
5:30 - Two-minute warning. Bears need to punt again, and that stupid iPad commercial is on
5:33 - Julian Edelman's punt return calling back by penalty. First hiccup by the Pats all game.
5:36 - Come on, Urlacher, pick that pass off!
5:37 Brady to Branch for six on the last play off the half. 33-0 Pats. Dinner time for me. Hopefully I'll be back by the third quarter. Bears fans boo.
5:58 - Okay, I'm back. Looks like we've switched to Miami-N.Y. Jets with Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts. My first look at this team this year I'm pretty sure.
6:01 - Eagle just spotted an extra lineman for the Jets by name and Fouts telestrated him. Good stuff! For how many games of the Jets I've seen, the last two ball handlers are guys I've never heard of.
6:02 - Hell, even Sanchez can't throw a good spiral. What is up with these quarterbacks?!
6:07 - It's 3rd and 15 and what do the Dolphins do? Two tight end set and they run a sweep. No attempt to convert whatsoever, and on top of that there was a holding penalty.
6:11 - We cut away and what happens? Hester breaks one that sets up a touchdown. Ian Eagle is right, Hester could run on ice.
6:13 - Cotchery could have gone all the way, and Sanchez's escape was magnificent. Too bad it failed and almost ended in an interception.
6:16 - Seam pattern by Fasano for a big gain, but more importantly, Ricky Williams was split out wide!
6:18 - Wow. Way to go Henne. Totally effed up the handoff. Yeah the ball was wet, but a wet football is not something a quarterback should be shocked about.
6:20 - I see this game is real sloppy too. I thought I'd like these games with the advert weather most of the country is having, the product is suffering.
6:28 - Nolan Carrol of the Dolphins hurt because a Jets player or personnel on the sideline tripped him. It's dirty but kind of funny (in an ironic way).
6:31 - Looks like the refs missed a pass interference on Braylon Edwards.
6:35 - End of the 3rd Quarter. Miami 10-3 over the Jets...still.
6:42 - Jets are getting it moving on offense. It's about time. Maybe they heard Ian Eagle say they haven't scored a touchdown in eight quarters.
6:46 - I was watching video of the roof collapse at The Metrodome during the commercial.
6:47 - That Brown to Marshall screw-up is sure to be on the next NFL Follies. I didn't know Ronnie Brown was left-handed either.
6:49 - This might sound racist to some but I seriously just saw the first McDonald's commercial I've seen in years with white people in it. Maybe I just don't pay close enough attention.
6:53 - Just realized I went a whole series without posting. Here you go. Did I pick the wrong weekend to live blog or what? 15 punts, 16 first downs TOTAL. Yikes. And Shaun Green is out.
6:58 - Finally a big play. Sanchez-Holmes for 43.
6:59 - And then Sanchez overthrowns Dustin Keller.
7:00 - POINTS! A field goal by the Jets! And no commercial between possessions? Whatever will the yaks yak about? Miscues. And Tony Sporano wearing sunglasses at night in the rain is just sweet. I know he is sensitive to light, but still. Crowd's back into it, too.
7:05 - No commercials between possessions again. Maybe all their sponsors went broke.
7:08 - "The Jets have been the Cardiac Kids all year." What do they go? Go three-and-out. And the Dolphins only have 32 passing yards. There's 2:33 left. We could have five more punts!
7:11 - Here we go! Punt number 10 on the afternoon for the Dolphins!
7:21 - Dolphins win 10-6. Two straight losses for the Jets. Dolphins still in it at 7-6.
4:04 - Watching bonus coverage of Jacksonville-Oakland. Maurice Jones-Drew just scored a touchdown with 1:34 to give Jax the lead. Finished watching the Cincy-Pittsburgh woofer, but Gumbel and Dierdorf doing the game made it a little better, and there was a fight on the field after the game was over between some players. That was cool. Unfortunately it wasn't snowing, but it will be in Chicago.
4:08 - Sideline mic just caught someone yelling "What the fuck!"
4:09 - Wow, Kevin Harlan, four in the secondary! That only happens on a majority of NFL defensive plays! He's another one I can't understand the blogosphere's love affair of. At least he's currently working with Soloman Wilcots.
4:13 - Just before the sack they showed a shot of Tom Cable on the sidelines and the ball boy standing next to him is wearing what looks like a real heavy parka while Cable is just sporting a sweatshirt. It's currently 60 degrees in Jacksonville.
4:14 - Raiders lose. They're probably out playoff contention.
4:11 - Darren McFadden, 209 yards and three touchdowns - nice.
4:15 - It's really fuckin' snowy and windy (30-40 MPH) and a wind chill of 9 in Chicago. Yay Jim Nantz and Phil Simms.
4:17 - Pats go five-wide on first down. Why am I not surprised? And it goes to Welker. Again, why I am not surprised?
4:18 - Pats go three-and-out, and still no one thinks the Bears are good, but Mike Martz has never had to call plays in the elements. And Hester just blazed down the sideline in the snow. He has better traction than my car.
4:21 - This is the sixth play of the game and still I have no idea what the yardage is. Oh, the NE 45. Guess I should pay attention to the on-screen graphics. Bears run on their first three plays and go three-and-out. And Phil Simms says the weather isn't bad enough for his liking.
4:24 - Pats go five-wide again...and it's to Welker.
4:26 - Alright! A quarterback breaking down line play. And on all of the Pats passing plays, they have gone Shotgun (note to Bears defense). And after two bad incompletions, Brady hits Welker on 3rd & 10 for a first down.
4:28 - Monsters of the Midway swarm Danny Woodhead! (And the Pats went Shotgun and passed!)
4:29 - Brady is throwing in the wind pretty well. I think because the rush is slowed down, it's actually easy to pass in the snow, but the wind is another thing. And while I was typing, the Patriots passed with Brady under center (it was a play fake).
4:31 - Pass tipped by Urlacher, clanged incomplete, almost picked off by Chris Harris.
4:31 - Rob Gronkowski is huge. He is a head taller than Wes Welker.
4:34 - "Surfin' U.S.A." by The Beach Boys playing on the P.A. system at Soldier Field. And Bill Belichick looks like a Turkish terrorist with his scarf covering half his face.
4:36 - I don't think the 2011 Jeep Wrangler existed during the Cold War (in reference to the commercial for Call of Duty: Black Ops).
4:39 - Does Vince Wilfork even tuck in his jersey?
4:40 - Terrible spot by the refs on the Knox reception.
4:45 - First quarter over already? At least there was a touchdown.
4:47 - Brady and Welker are shredding the Bears defense, with a little bit of Green-Ellis (at least Jim Nantz isn't saying his full name every time he touches the ball). Miami up on the Jets, as are the Chargers over the Chiefs.
4:52 - Cameraman bought the fake, but Nantz didn't.
4:55 - Yardage, Jim? You're not having a strong game to this point. Pats just scored another touchdown on an inside handoff to Danny Woodhead on a four-wide formation. Bears D getting smoked.
5:02 - That was a really wobbly pass. Knox's ass was down when it was ruled a fumble. Could go either way.
5:06 - Call stands. Pats up by three touchdowns.
5:13 - Bears go three-and-out again. What is their deal? The Patriots currently have the same amount of touchdowns as the bears do first downs (three).
5:17 - Just a little checkdown to Woodhead that was short of the first down. Wasn't there anybody deeper? Gotta check the tape. And Phil Simms just made an inhuman noise. Pats 24-0.
5:22 - Another Bears turnover. Did I just hear a cathedral bell ring?
5:26 - Pats 27-0. Jay Cutler standing there like a statue. He is probably in shock. And there is snow blowing upwards at Soldier Field because of the wind.
5:29 - Come on, Bears. You should be familiar with weather like this. Cutler just hit Forte on a curl-in, and I'm remember Warner and Faulk doing the same thing eons ago...
5:30 - Two-minute warning. Bears need to punt again, and that stupid iPad commercial is on
5:33 - Julian Edelman's punt return calling back by penalty. First hiccup by the Pats all game.
5:36 - Come on, Urlacher, pick that pass off!
5:37 Brady to Branch for six on the last play off the half. 33-0 Pats. Dinner time for me. Hopefully I'll be back by the third quarter. Bears fans boo.
5:58 - Okay, I'm back. Looks like we've switched to Miami-N.Y. Jets with Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts. My first look at this team this year I'm pretty sure.
6:01 - Eagle just spotted an extra lineman for the Jets by name and Fouts telestrated him. Good stuff! For how many games of the Jets I've seen, the last two ball handlers are guys I've never heard of.
6:02 - Hell, even Sanchez can't throw a good spiral. What is up with these quarterbacks?!
6:07 - It's 3rd and 15 and what do the Dolphins do? Two tight end set and they run a sweep. No attempt to convert whatsoever, and on top of that there was a holding penalty.
6:11 - We cut away and what happens? Hester breaks one that sets up a touchdown. Ian Eagle is right, Hester could run on ice.
6:13 - Cotchery could have gone all the way, and Sanchez's escape was magnificent. Too bad it failed and almost ended in an interception.
6:16 - Seam pattern by Fasano for a big gain, but more importantly, Ricky Williams was split out wide!
6:18 - Wow. Way to go Henne. Totally effed up the handoff. Yeah the ball was wet, but a wet football is not something a quarterback should be shocked about.
6:20 - I see this game is real sloppy too. I thought I'd like these games with the advert weather most of the country is having, the product is suffering.
6:28 - Nolan Carrol of the Dolphins hurt because a Jets player or personnel on the sideline tripped him. It's dirty but kind of funny (in an ironic way).
6:31 - Looks like the refs missed a pass interference on Braylon Edwards.
6:35 - End of the 3rd Quarter. Miami 10-3 over the Jets...still.
6:42 - Jets are getting it moving on offense. It's about time. Maybe they heard Ian Eagle say they haven't scored a touchdown in eight quarters.
6:46 - I was watching video of the roof collapse at The Metrodome during the commercial.
6:47 - That Brown to Marshall screw-up is sure to be on the next NFL Follies. I didn't know Ronnie Brown was left-handed either.
6:49 - This might sound racist to some but I seriously just saw the first McDonald's commercial I've seen in years with white people in it. Maybe I just don't pay close enough attention.
6:53 - Just realized I went a whole series without posting. Here you go. Did I pick the wrong weekend to live blog or what? 15 punts, 16 first downs TOTAL. Yikes. And Shaun Green is out.
6:58 - Finally a big play. Sanchez-Holmes for 43.
6:59 - And then Sanchez overthrowns Dustin Keller.
7:00 - POINTS! A field goal by the Jets! And no commercial between possessions? Whatever will the yaks yak about? Miscues. And Tony Sporano wearing sunglasses at night in the rain is just sweet. I know he is sensitive to light, but still. Crowd's back into it, too.
7:05 - No commercials between possessions again. Maybe all their sponsors went broke.
7:08 - "The Jets have been the Cardiac Kids all year." What do they go? Go three-and-out. And the Dolphins only have 32 passing yards. There's 2:33 left. We could have five more punts!
7:11 - Here we go! Punt number 10 on the afternoon for the Dolphins!
7:21 - Dolphins win 10-6. Two straight losses for the Jets. Dolphins still in it at 7-6.
Thank The Football Gods For NFL Game Rewind
With the cancellation of this afternoon's Giants-Vikings game, all affiliates have to switch to a different game, and since it was Fox's "A" game, that is a majority of Fox's affiliates. What do they switch to? Well, it's not Tampa Bay-Washington, and not the later New Orleans-St. Louis collision, but fucking Green Bay-Detroit? Green Bay-Detroit. That's right, Green Bay-Detroit.
Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
This is why I fucking hate Fox's NFL coverage. Rarely do they wish to share their good match ups with a majority of the country. I realize there are some NFL rules that regulate stuff like this and that storylines abound, but seriously, Green Bay-Detroit? How regional is that in Los Angeles? Or Bangor, Maine? The only non-regional affiliates showing St. Louis-New Orleans are Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Kudos to them.
NFL Game Rewind is a great tool to watch the real games your local program directors shaft you out of - which would constitute basically every Fox game this week. And if you have a fast enough internet connection, you can watch your game in high definition.
This is why I fucking hate Fox's NFL coverage. Rarely do they wish to share their good match ups with a majority of the country. I realize there are some NFL rules that regulate stuff like this and that storylines abound, but seriously, Green Bay-Detroit? How regional is that in Los Angeles? Or Bangor, Maine? The only non-regional affiliates showing St. Louis-New Orleans are Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Kudos to them.
NFL Game Rewind is a great tool to watch the real games your local program directors shaft you out of - which would constitute basically every Fox game this week. And if you have a fast enough internet connection, you can watch your game in high definition.
08 December 2010
I Should Be Mad But I'm Not
WTTE is going with Rams-Saints at 4:00 this Sunday. Dick Stockton and Charles Davis are doing the game, which is sweet because I have yet to see a game with that team. I have yet to see a complete Rams game either and I'm pretty sure I have yet to see a Sunday afternoon Saints game (for being the reigning Super Bowl champs, they sure haven't been on too many nationally televised games). Buck and Aikman are doing Giants-Vikings. Yeah. Knew you'd say that.
The eye network is hosting a doubleheader, and their main game is Bears-Patriots, which for some reason everybody is pissed about. I realize there are three late games on CBS that have playoff implications, but, well, I shouldn't have to explain this.
Way too much of the west though is hosting Arizona-Denver. Two 3-8s should only be shown in their home markets, especially with all the other (better) games going on.
The early games on CBS are much less interesting. Cincinnati-Pittsburgh is being distributed to most of the country, but I would imagine more affiliates would switch to Jacksonville-Oakland, as that game becomes more important in terms of playoffs.
At 9-3 the Bears still have their doubters. What makes them tick are superior special teams and defense with limited skill position talent and low-voltage offense (which is interesting considering their offensive coordinator's history). And with Jay Cutler's history of inconsistent play, analysts think he can and will lose it at the drop of a hat sometime in the next four games. I'm not saying it won't happen, but Jay Cutler has never had an offensive coordinator like Martz (despite his play calling and personnel decisions, he knows quarterbacks and offense).
I'm seeing lots of comparisons to Matt Ryan and Tom Brady in his early years. Both in the media hype surrounding them and the style of offense they play. It's quite cliche to become enamored by young quarterbacks to do well, because so many of them fail and they are set up to fail when they come to the NFL. Ryan plays very efficient, as does Brady, but there are so many factors that come into a comeback more than just the quarterback. Usually, the defense loosens up and "plays not to lose".
Jets-Patriots Analysis: Not much to say here, other than they certainly talked the talk but sure as hell didn't walk the walk. It was cold, it was windy, and Sanchez is not weather-proof and Brady is and always has been (my one Brady man-love for the blog). Basically the Jets did what they do best; trash talk and try to intimidate and they failed, much like they did back in Week 1 against the Ravens. The Jets miss Jim Leohnard (or however the hell you spell his name). And since when have the Patriots crashed and burned on a big stage, other than Super Bowl XLI, and I could go into a spiel about that, but I won't.
More to come later. I'm writing in between stuff.
The eye network is hosting a doubleheader, and their main game is Bears-Patriots, which for some reason everybody is pissed about. I realize there are three late games on CBS that have playoff implications, but, well, I shouldn't have to explain this.
Way too much of the west though is hosting Arizona-Denver. Two 3-8s should only be shown in their home markets, especially with all the other (better) games going on.
The early games on CBS are much less interesting. Cincinnati-Pittsburgh is being distributed to most of the country, but I would imagine more affiliates would switch to Jacksonville-Oakland, as that game becomes more important in terms of playoffs.
At 9-3 the Bears still have their doubters. What makes them tick are superior special teams and defense with limited skill position talent and low-voltage offense (which is interesting considering their offensive coordinator's history). And with Jay Cutler's history of inconsistent play, analysts think he can and will lose it at the drop of a hat sometime in the next four games. I'm not saying it won't happen, but Jay Cutler has never had an offensive coordinator like Martz (despite his play calling and personnel decisions, he knows quarterbacks and offense).
I'm seeing lots of comparisons to Matt Ryan and Tom Brady in his early years. Both in the media hype surrounding them and the style of offense they play. It's quite cliche to become enamored by young quarterbacks to do well, because so many of them fail and they are set up to fail when they come to the NFL. Ryan plays very efficient, as does Brady, but there are so many factors that come into a comeback more than just the quarterback. Usually, the defense loosens up and "plays not to lose".
Jets-Patriots Analysis: Not much to say here, other than they certainly talked the talk but sure as hell didn't walk the walk. It was cold, it was windy, and Sanchez is not weather-proof and Brady is and always has been (my one Brady man-love for the blog). Basically the Jets did what they do best; trash talk and try to intimidate and they failed, much like they did back in Week 1 against the Ravens. The Jets miss Jim Leohnard (or however the hell you spell his name). And since when have the Patriots crashed and burned on a big stage, other than Super Bowl XLI, and I could go into a spiel about that, but I won't.
More to come later. I'm writing in between stuff.
04 December 2010
Simms Out, Fouts In
Phil Simms will sit out tomorrow's game at San Diego tomorrow, recoving from back surgery. Dan Fouts will fill-in for him for that game.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
