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2012 NFL BROADCASTING GRADES & RECAP - Awful Announcing
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TMC
Jan 15, 2013, 2:15:34 AM1/15/13
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http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2013/january/grading-the-nfl-s-top-broadcasting-teams-2012-edition.html
Written by Brad Gagnon on Monday, 14 January 2013 15:35.
NFL announcers are like NFL officials. Fans tend to hate them all,
which means the least hated ones are -- by default -- the most liked.
In both cases, it's almost impossible to keep everyone happy. They all
assume you have a bias or they feel you're adding too much or not
enough to the game. Or all of the above. The point is that calling
games is tougher than most of us realize. But that doesn't mean we're
going to go easy as we wrap up the 2012 football season with an
assessment of the top broadcast teams from each of the four major
networks and a look back at the year that was in NFL broadcasting.
NBC: A- / A
Play by Play: Al Michaels, Analyst: Cris Collinsworth
Both Michaels and Collinsworth are at or near the top, but I actually
give NBC the edge over the rest of the networks because of
Collinsworth. Like every color guy, he takes a lot of heat on Twitter.
And while he doesn't have the same sex appeal as Jon Gruden (did I
really just write that?) my sense is he does more homework than any of
his peers. He's quick on his feet, gets to the point and his analysis
is usually spot-on, which makes up for the dryness. This example from
October is NFL analysis at its best.
It's hard not to like Michaels, who takes way less public criticism
than Joe Buck or Jim Nantz. I think he has a better sense of humor and
has more fun than Nantz or Mike Tirico, and his sly gambling
references are always welcome. He doesn't overreact, but that's
something all of the top national play-by-play guys tend to do a nice
job avoiding. But at the same time, what I like is that he also
doesn't underreact to important moments. I find Michaels watches the
game like most fans and reacts to the developments without trying to
be flashy or hyperbolic. Another strength of Michaels is his ability
to break things down quickly. He has a strong short-term memory and
can summarize the plot in order to give context to an important moment
in a very swift and clear fashion.
Lastly, Michaels possesses the voice that represents the game as we
know it. He's been the voice of primetime football for two and a half
decades. His voice says "this game matters." That's important.
Fox: B+ / C+
Play by Play: Joe Buck, Analyst: Troy Aikman
Buck is right there with Michaels for me, but at times he failed to
properly relay the importance of some of the biggest moments he called
in 2012. That's always been his biggest criticism from fans, but Buck
is much improved in that category than he was a year or two ago. You
can even tell he's even beginning to win fans over in the social media
world who are ultra quick to criticize. I really like listening to
him. I think his sense of humor is awesome (seriously) and I'd argue
that he's smoother than any other play-by-play announcer in
professional football (and maybe North American professional sports).
He's quick and clever and he knows the games he works inside and out
(better than Jim Nantz and maybe even better than Michaels). His
problem is that he's less likeable than Michaels or Tirico. He doesn't
seem phony, but it's that perceived lack of passion that makes it feel
as though he's indifferent.
Aikman is a poor man's Collinsworth. He's not very entertaining, he's
less knowledgeable and he probably only rose to that role because he's
Troy Aikman. That said, he has fantastic chemistry with Buck and he
isn't afraid to come down hard on his former team, the Cowboys.
Considering how often this pair does Dallas games, that's important.
Ultimately, I'd prefer to see a guy like Mike Mayock with Buck.
That'll likely never happen and Aikman will keep this job until he
wants to leave.
NFL Network: B / A
Play by Play: Brad Nessler, Analyst: Mike Mayock
NFL Network gains extra points here because Mayock is a personal
favorite. In fact, I don't think there's an 'A' team color guy in
sports who takes less criticism than the extremely knowledgeable 54-
year-old, whose stock has risen significantly the last few years.
Because he's such a huge draft geek, he knows everyone on every
roster. He can get a little technical for the average fan, but he's
very good at explaining the nuances of the game. Nessler is a reliable
veteran who does a nice job, but you appreciate it just a little bit
more when you consider how terrible NFL Network booths with Bryant
Gumbel, Matt Millen, and Joe Theismann were in the past.
ESPN: B+ / C-
Play by Play: Mike Tirico, Analyst: Jon Gruden
I still think ESPN made a terrible decision when it moved Ron Jaworski
out of the booth and kept Gruden, increasing his air time. Jaworski
sometimes annoyed me and he didn't always make succinct points, but he
really knows his stuff and knows X's and O's like no other. Gruden
knows his quarterbacks, but I don't think he studies like Jaws did.
His bigger issue, of course, is that he's still afraid to criticize
anybody, probably because he never knows where his next head coaching
offer might come from. Collinsworth, Aikman and Phil Simms aren't as
concerned about who they offend, which is important.
That said, Gruden was more tolerable this year than any of his
previous seasons on Monday Night Football. He's still a caricature who
relies too heavily on a handful of fallback phrases and words, but --
intentionally or not -- he was able to make me laugh a few times in
2012. That prevents him from getting a D grade, but to move any higher
he'll have to become more critical and will have to get a better grip
on the damn rulebook.
Tirico, on the other hand, is the smartest play-by-play guy in the
game, period. I love that about him. He rarely makes mistakes and is
on top of things from start to finish. He carries Gruden, which is no
easy task. He's likeable and friendly and -- despite not having
legendary pipes -- he definitely knows how to react in big moments. I
put him right there alongside Michaels and Buck as the top play by
play men in the sport.
CBS: B- / C
Play by Play: Jim Nantz, Analyst: Phil Simms
Things got worse for Simms this year. The king of unintentional color
commentary comedy was his hilarious self again in 2012, as he stumbled
over phrase after phrase and dispensed a steady mix of clichés,
nonsensical statements and flat-out falsehoods. He states the obvious
too often and just doesn't deliver the types of performances you'd
expect from an "A team" analyst. I do think he has a deep knowledge of
the game and I find him to be likeable, but that isn't enough to get
by on. Again, I think CBS would be much better served with Dan Fouts
in this role.
Nantz is Nantz. He's probably factually incorrect more often than the
top play-by-play guys mentioned above and he certainly isn't as
entertaining as Michaels or Tirico. I personally prefer Ian Eagle and
Marv Albert. But, CBS loves him and he'll be in their top broadcast
booth until the end of time.
If you're as frustrated with some of these guys as we are, don't get
your hopes up regarding potential changes. Buck and Aikman have been
together for 11 years now while Nantz and Simms are coming off their
ninth year together. Tirico and Gruden have been teamed up for 4 years
on ESPN and of course, Michaels has essentially been in the same role
for 26 years. These guys are pretty much locked in until they decide
to walk away (see: Pat Summerall and John Madden). For rising stars
like Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan, Mike Mayock and Brian Billick (and those
who prefer them to the veterans above), that's an unfortunate
reality.
Elsewhere...
-In my mind, Kenny Albert and Thom Brennaman are both solid B play-by-
play guys for Fox. I went back and listened to some of their calls
from this season on NFL Game Rewind and I couldn't come to a
conclusion regarding who I enjoy more, but both are capable of getting
the job done. The problem is that Albert is stuck with Daryl Johnston
and Tony Siragusa. I don't know anybody who enjoys Siragusa's
obnoxious presence as the third man on Fox's 'B' team, and Billick has
already surpassed Johnston in my books. In fact, he's done so in Fox's
books, too, apparently. That's probably why he and Brennaman got a
divisional playoff game this week in place of Albert, Moose and Goose.
Yes, Billick had a rough Sunday afternoon as has been covered, but
that shouldn't taint his entire body of work over the course of the
season.
-Fox made the change for the second crew working the Divisional Round
playoff game and it's time for CBS to do the same. Ian Eagle and Dan
Fouts have gone from that underrated announcing team everyone loves to
a legitimate top flight pairing. They're certainly deserving of that
#2 slot and the playoff assignment. Dierdorf and Gumbel have seemingly
been around for ages, but it's time another deserving pair got that
opportunity.
-CBS clearly has a deeper batch of announcers than Fox does and that
was even more apparent this year than perhaps ever before. CBS has
nationally recognized names like Greg Gumbel, Marv Albert, Ian Eagle,
and Kevin Harlan filling out their top five teams on the play by play
side. The gap in quality is also particularly glaring when it comes
to analysts, though. I'll take Dan Dierdof, Dan Fouts, Solomon
Wilcotts and Steve Tasker over Johnston, Billick, John Lynch and Tim
Ryan any day. I'm willing to bet if you polled 100 fans, at least 90
would prefer a given CBS announcing team over their Fox counterpart.
-This season will also be remembered for Chris Berman's debut as an
NFL play by play announcer. Although there was much fear and
trepidation at the thought of Chris Berman calling an NFL game, his
performance was uncharacteristically subdued and rather uneventful.
-The NFL pregame shows took a hit this year in ratings and are facing
a problem of losing relevancy with so much information available
through the internet and social media. It doesn't help the growing
irrelevancy of pregame shows that the most newsworthy additions this
season were comedians - Rob Riggle for Fox and Frank Caliendo for
ESPN. One joke that went awry was this clumsy line by Terry Bradshaw
that he later apologized for.
-CBS faced a huge amount of criticism for their handling of the Jovan
Belcher murder-suicide, but seemed to quickly learn their lesson as
they gave the proper coverage to Jerry Brown's tragic death a week
later. These real-life stories also led to the single most talked
about moment on an NFL broadcast this year - Bob Costas' halftime
essay on guns.
-The best and worst moments on NFL broadcasts this season may have
came from ESPN's Monday Night Football postgame show. The honest
commentary from ESPN's Monday Night Football postgame after the
infamous Packers/Seahawks "fail mary" game was the network at its
finest. While the Packers radio call was particularly memorable, the
entire ESPN postgame from Bristol to Seattle delivered a fantastic
show. The result was the most watched SportsCenter ever. At the other
end of the spectrum was Rick Reilly.
Written by Brad Gagnon on Monday, 14 January 2013 15:35.
NFL announcers are like NFL officials. Fans tend to hate them all,
which means the least hated ones are -- by default -- the most liked.
In both cases, it's almost impossible to keep everyone happy. They all
assume you have a bias or they feel you're adding too much or not
enough to the game. Or all of the above. The point is that calling
games is tougher than most of us realize. But that doesn't mean we're
going to go easy as we wrap up the 2012 football season with an
assessment of the top broadcast teams from each of the four major
networks and a look back at the year that was in NFL broadcasting.
NBC: A- / A
Play by Play: Al Michaels, Analyst: Cris Collinsworth
Both Michaels and Collinsworth are at or near the top, but I actually
give NBC the edge over the rest of the networks because of
Collinsworth. Like every color guy, he takes a lot of heat on Twitter.
And while he doesn't have the same sex appeal as Jon Gruden (did I
really just write that?) my sense is he does more homework than any of
his peers. He's quick on his feet, gets to the point and his analysis
is usually spot-on, which makes up for the dryness. This example from
October is NFL analysis at its best.
It's hard not to like Michaels, who takes way less public criticism
than Joe Buck or Jim Nantz. I think he has a better sense of humor and
has more fun than Nantz or Mike Tirico, and his sly gambling
references are always welcome. He doesn't overreact, but that's
something all of the top national play-by-play guys tend to do a nice
job avoiding. But at the same time, what I like is that he also
doesn't underreact to important moments. I find Michaels watches the
game like most fans and reacts to the developments without trying to
be flashy or hyperbolic. Another strength of Michaels is his ability
to break things down quickly. He has a strong short-term memory and
can summarize the plot in order to give context to an important moment
in a very swift and clear fashion.
Lastly, Michaels possesses the voice that represents the game as we
know it. He's been the voice of primetime football for two and a half
decades. His voice says "this game matters." That's important.
Fox: B+ / C+
Play by Play: Joe Buck, Analyst: Troy Aikman
Buck is right there with Michaels for me, but at times he failed to
properly relay the importance of some of the biggest moments he called
in 2012. That's always been his biggest criticism from fans, but Buck
is much improved in that category than he was a year or two ago. You
can even tell he's even beginning to win fans over in the social media
world who are ultra quick to criticize. I really like listening to
him. I think his sense of humor is awesome (seriously) and I'd argue
that he's smoother than any other play-by-play announcer in
professional football (and maybe North American professional sports).
He's quick and clever and he knows the games he works inside and out
(better than Jim Nantz and maybe even better than Michaels). His
problem is that he's less likeable than Michaels or Tirico. He doesn't
seem phony, but it's that perceived lack of passion that makes it feel
as though he's indifferent.
Aikman is a poor man's Collinsworth. He's not very entertaining, he's
less knowledgeable and he probably only rose to that role because he's
Troy Aikman. That said, he has fantastic chemistry with Buck and he
isn't afraid to come down hard on his former team, the Cowboys.
Considering how often this pair does Dallas games, that's important.
Ultimately, I'd prefer to see a guy like Mike Mayock with Buck.
That'll likely never happen and Aikman will keep this job until he
wants to leave.
NFL Network: B / A
Play by Play: Brad Nessler, Analyst: Mike Mayock
NFL Network gains extra points here because Mayock is a personal
favorite. In fact, I don't think there's an 'A' team color guy in
sports who takes less criticism than the extremely knowledgeable 54-
year-old, whose stock has risen significantly the last few years.
Because he's such a huge draft geek, he knows everyone on every
roster. He can get a little technical for the average fan, but he's
very good at explaining the nuances of the game. Nessler is a reliable
veteran who does a nice job, but you appreciate it just a little bit
more when you consider how terrible NFL Network booths with Bryant
Gumbel, Matt Millen, and Joe Theismann were in the past.
ESPN: B+ / C-
Play by Play: Mike Tirico, Analyst: Jon Gruden
I still think ESPN made a terrible decision when it moved Ron Jaworski
out of the booth and kept Gruden, increasing his air time. Jaworski
sometimes annoyed me and he didn't always make succinct points, but he
really knows his stuff and knows X's and O's like no other. Gruden
knows his quarterbacks, but I don't think he studies like Jaws did.
His bigger issue, of course, is that he's still afraid to criticize
anybody, probably because he never knows where his next head coaching
offer might come from. Collinsworth, Aikman and Phil Simms aren't as
concerned about who they offend, which is important.
That said, Gruden was more tolerable this year than any of his
previous seasons on Monday Night Football. He's still a caricature who
relies too heavily on a handful of fallback phrases and words, but --
intentionally or not -- he was able to make me laugh a few times in
2012. That prevents him from getting a D grade, but to move any higher
he'll have to become more critical and will have to get a better grip
on the damn rulebook.
Tirico, on the other hand, is the smartest play-by-play guy in the
game, period. I love that about him. He rarely makes mistakes and is
on top of things from start to finish. He carries Gruden, which is no
easy task. He's likeable and friendly and -- despite not having
legendary pipes -- he definitely knows how to react in big moments. I
put him right there alongside Michaels and Buck as the top play by
play men in the sport.
CBS: B- / C
Play by Play: Jim Nantz, Analyst: Phil Simms
Things got worse for Simms this year. The king of unintentional color
commentary comedy was his hilarious self again in 2012, as he stumbled
over phrase after phrase and dispensed a steady mix of clichés,
nonsensical statements and flat-out falsehoods. He states the obvious
too often and just doesn't deliver the types of performances you'd
expect from an "A team" analyst. I do think he has a deep knowledge of
the game and I find him to be likeable, but that isn't enough to get
by on. Again, I think CBS would be much better served with Dan Fouts
in this role.
Nantz is Nantz. He's probably factually incorrect more often than the
top play-by-play guys mentioned above and he certainly isn't as
entertaining as Michaels or Tirico. I personally prefer Ian Eagle and
Marv Albert. But, CBS loves him and he'll be in their top broadcast
booth until the end of time.
If you're as frustrated with some of these guys as we are, don't get
your hopes up regarding potential changes. Buck and Aikman have been
together for 11 years now while Nantz and Simms are coming off their
ninth year together. Tirico and Gruden have been teamed up for 4 years
on ESPN and of course, Michaels has essentially been in the same role
for 26 years. These guys are pretty much locked in until they decide
to walk away (see: Pat Summerall and John Madden). For rising stars
like Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan, Mike Mayock and Brian Billick (and those
who prefer them to the veterans above), that's an unfortunate
reality.
Elsewhere...
-In my mind, Kenny Albert and Thom Brennaman are both solid B play-by-
play guys for Fox. I went back and listened to some of their calls
from this season on NFL Game Rewind and I couldn't come to a
conclusion regarding who I enjoy more, but both are capable of getting
the job done. The problem is that Albert is stuck with Daryl Johnston
and Tony Siragusa. I don't know anybody who enjoys Siragusa's
obnoxious presence as the third man on Fox's 'B' team, and Billick has
already surpassed Johnston in my books. In fact, he's done so in Fox's
books, too, apparently. That's probably why he and Brennaman got a
divisional playoff game this week in place of Albert, Moose and Goose.
Yes, Billick had a rough Sunday afternoon as has been covered, but
that shouldn't taint his entire body of work over the course of the
season.
-Fox made the change for the second crew working the Divisional Round
playoff game and it's time for CBS to do the same. Ian Eagle and Dan
Fouts have gone from that underrated announcing team everyone loves to
a legitimate top flight pairing. They're certainly deserving of that
#2 slot and the playoff assignment. Dierdorf and Gumbel have seemingly
been around for ages, but it's time another deserving pair got that
opportunity.
-CBS clearly has a deeper batch of announcers than Fox does and that
was even more apparent this year than perhaps ever before. CBS has
nationally recognized names like Greg Gumbel, Marv Albert, Ian Eagle,
and Kevin Harlan filling out their top five teams on the play by play
side. The gap in quality is also particularly glaring when it comes
to analysts, though. I'll take Dan Dierdof, Dan Fouts, Solomon
Wilcotts and Steve Tasker over Johnston, Billick, John Lynch and Tim
Ryan any day. I'm willing to bet if you polled 100 fans, at least 90
would prefer a given CBS announcing team over their Fox counterpart.
-This season will also be remembered for Chris Berman's debut as an
NFL play by play announcer. Although there was much fear and
trepidation at the thought of Chris Berman calling an NFL game, his
performance was uncharacteristically subdued and rather uneventful.
-The NFL pregame shows took a hit this year in ratings and are facing
a problem of losing relevancy with so much information available
through the internet and social media. It doesn't help the growing
irrelevancy of pregame shows that the most newsworthy additions this
season were comedians - Rob Riggle for Fox and Frank Caliendo for
ESPN. One joke that went awry was this clumsy line by Terry Bradshaw
that he later apologized for.
-CBS faced a huge amount of criticism for their handling of the Jovan
Belcher murder-suicide, but seemed to quickly learn their lesson as
they gave the proper coverage to Jerry Brown's tragic death a week
later. These real-life stories also led to the single most talked
about moment on an NFL broadcast this year - Bob Costas' halftime
essay on guns.
-The best and worst moments on NFL broadcasts this season may have
came from ESPN's Monday Night Football postgame show. The honest
commentary from ESPN's Monday Night Football postgame after the
infamous Packers/Seahawks "fail mary" game was the network at its
finest. While the Packers radio call was particularly memorable, the
entire ESPN postgame from Bristol to Seattle delivered a fantastic
show. The result was the most watched SportsCenter ever. At the other
end of the spectrum was Rick Reilly.
stevev
Jan 16, 2013, 12:14:10 AM1/16/13
to
"TMC" wrote in message
news:c50fcf8e-ca9f-4362...@v7g2000yqv.googlegroups.com...
Blah, blah, blah. Oh, BTW, the NFL players themselves voted Collinsworth
the worst.
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