unclevlad Posted January 5, 2021 Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 Aikman has been playing Captain Obvious quite a bit, yeah. And at times, his enunciation has seemed off. I agree Collinsworth's hyperbole is tiresome, but to be honest, that's a pandemic among sports talkers that's a lot older than covid. But flip it around: how many analysts are notably better than Collinsworth? On balance...probably not that many. There's a lot of very mediocre color guys in NFL booths. Hey, look at ESPN's problems finding a decent crew for MNF. (And I hated Gruden personally, so their issues go back a long ways IMO.) Of course, ESPN's issues with broadcasters are, IMO, largely of their own making....or Disney's making, if you prefer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archer Posted January 5, 2021 Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 8 hours ago, slikmar said: I really like him as the "color" guy on his broadcasts. My brother was in Texas for 6 years, at the end of Romo's run and the beginning of Dak's. He will rant about how much the idiot fans would blame Romo and praise Dak, who actually, at that time, had worse stats. I'll cop to being an idiot fan. I like a team that will throw the ball down the field. During the Romo era, there was way too much of "the intent of the play is to throw the ball 2.5 yards". Especially the repeated, "It's third down and we need five yards. Let's pass the ball and send out all of our receivers three yards downfield. The quarterback can throw to whichever receiver is open and we can punt next down. Sounds like a plan. Let's go out and execute the play!" I understand every play isn't successful. I understand that not every play is going to be exciting. I don't really understand repeated third down passing plays where none of the receivers attempt to go deep enough to get a first down (whether you need five yards or twenty). Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted January 5, 2021 Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 My enjoyment of football on TV is greatly enhanced when I mute the TV. The biases of commentators seals that deal for me. If the game in question involves a local team, I may turn on local radio for their commentary, but in general I simply watch game when there's action, and go back to my writing pad when the non-game stuff has the focus. And the highlights: Highlight clips should include the 15 seconds or so of the play as shown on the real-time feed, from beginning of snap count to blowing of the whistle. Then add one or two 5-to-10 second clips of the play that weren't on the real-time feed (the deep routes, maybe the behind-the-QB angle). You can cut and leave on the floor the content-free 25 seconds of player celebration and other cr*p that way too often these days actually gets more screen time than the actual play. I will make an exception to all this if they really show what I want to watch. Promise to take Skip Bayless and Steven A Smith, dip them both in liquid nitrogen, and run them through a chipper one after the other (including the coin toss for who goes first), and I'll make popcorn and watch front-to-back raptly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted January 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 51 minutes ago, Cancer said: My enjoyment of football on TV is greatly enhanced when I mute the TV. The biases of commentators seals that deal for me. If the game in question involves a local team, I may turn on local radio for their commentary, but in general I simply watch game when there's action, and go back to my writing pad when the non-game stuff has the focus. I love our local Bengal commentators. The color guy is a former member of the team from the early 80s. He gets super-excited on every big play for the Bengals and openly cheers for the team, yet also openly criticizes poor play on the field. His enthusiasm really adds to the enjoyment of the game for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archer Posted January 5, 2021 Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 You know, I still learn stuff about the game when I watch a MLB game. But I don't when listening to NFL commentators. unclevlad 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slikmar Posted January 5, 2021 Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 Directv this season did their red zone channel free for all subscribers and I found myself leaving on there all days sundays. Not a fan of their commentator (Siciliano I think) as he can be too snarky and does way to much of the fantasy football geek stuff, but no commercials and basically a day of something always happening is a great way to watch in the background. It's why I wish in normal seasons they would offer just that channel (not the individual games necessarily) for a reasonable price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted January 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 1 hour ago, archer said: You know, I still learn stuff about the game when I watch a MLB game. But I don't when listening to NFL commentators. I guess I'd understand if you'd said, "I still learn stuff when I listen to an MLB game" because on radio many other topics get discussed during the game. I honestly can't remember the last time I learned something new watching a baseball game. There's very little nuance compared to other major sports and an extremely finite number of possible situations and strategies. You could easily get away with no manager while playing it. I definitely agree about NFL commentary, but there's 2 big reasons for that. I honestly think the networks don't think average fans want actual analysis and there's just not enough time in between plays to adequately and accurately break down everything going on. That's why I love shows like NFL Matchup and I also enjoyed the show Gruden used to have where he grill young QBs on breaking down gamefilm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 Payback for "years of cut blocks" Pariah and unclevlad 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 16 minutes ago, Cancer said: Payback for "years of cut blocks" Yeahhhh...I can see that. KaPOWWWww..... Just proves football players are insane. Hit like that makes my toenails ache.... And on the flip side, the defense has to deal with the nasty cut blocks. At least the NFL's ditched the high-low double team blocks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 RE: Idiot commentators: I freely confess to being one of the 1% who enjoyed Dennis Miller's run on Monday Night Football. It gave me the opportunity to feel like there was an inside joke going on, and I was on the inside for once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 I've mentioned this before but I usually leave football games muted or on very low volume, mainly to avoid the commentary. Football is the kind of thing I rarely give my full attention to anyway--I tend to just have it on while doing other things like folding laundry or housecleaning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 1 hour ago, Pariah said: RE: Idiot commentators: I freely confess to being one of the 1% who enjoyed Dennis Miller's run on Monday Night Football. It gave me the opportunity to feel like there was an inside joke going on, and I was on the inside for once. It's good to let it out, it's the first step towards recovery.... (Well, OK, Miller was less annoying that, say, Booger. Only because he said less, at least as best I can recall.) I grew up spoiled beyond belief...60s Los Angeles, then 70s and 80s Denver. LA: Dick Enberg (Rams), Chick Hearn (Lakers), the GOAT Vin Scully (Dodgers). Denver: Bob Martin and Larry Zimmer did Bronco radio. If you weren't in the area, you might never have heard them, but people consistently turned off the TV sound for the radio calls. We always did. Martin is in the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. Zimmer was (I think he's retired) a total fixture for decades on Bronco and Buff broadcasts. The biggest problem, IMO, with the announcers today is that they grew up in TV, not radio. In radio you have to tell the story. That forces you to sharpen your game reading, and your narrative skill. With the analysts, half the problem is they've gone 100% to ex-coaches or ex-athletes, and they often lack the delivery. And yeah, I don't pay close attention either...but for me that's easier to do by sound. Maybe I was radio-trained, but that's what works better for me. All we hear is radio ga ga Radio goo goo Radio ga ga All we hear is radio ga ga Radio blah blah Radio, what's new? Radio, someone still loves you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 Martin & Zimmer were awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cygnia Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 Browns reminding folks that they're still the Browns even if they did make the playoffs... Browns WR Rashard Higgins and OT Jedrick Wills Jr. cited for drag racing by Westlake Police Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted January 6, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 Eh, one man's 'drag race' is another man's 'reenactment of that scene near the end of Grease'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted January 6, 2021 Report Share Posted January 6, 2021 12 hours ago, Pariah said: Martin & Zimmer were awesome. Larry Zimmer also had a face made for radio. I'm not sure he could get a TV gig if he was just starting out today. Early prediction for the weekend...take the Steelers to cover, and cover, and cover. If you can get odds on Steelers -13, I'd consider it. No Stefanski, some players out, Steelers are gonna be out to slap them down. Beating them last week did the Browns NO favors, and now all of this? Good chance this could be over before the 4th quarter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted January 8, 2021 Report Share Posted January 8, 2021 For my fellow number junkies https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-did-nfl-teams-score-so-much-this-season/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archer Posted January 9, 2021 Report Share Posted January 9, 2021 5 hours ago, unclevlad said: For my fellow number junkies https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-did-nfl-teams-score-so-much-this-season/ C'mon, offense is easier than defense. With teams which aren't getting to play together as a cohesive unit week in and week out, you should expect that defense would suffer from that more than offense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted January 9, 2021 Report Share Posted January 9, 2021 Carlos Dunlap on being traded to Seattle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted January 9, 2021 Report Share Posted January 9, 2021 Analysts need to go back to class about some things... Indy's down 14; score with about 10 minutes left in the 4th, so it's at 8. THEN, on top of that, they're handed a penalty to let the ball be spotted at the 1...they take that option and go for 2. Charles Johnson's going "I don't get it, take the point." He's never done anything like a decision tree, obviously, and particularly a weighted decision tree...bringing the ball to the 1 increases the chance of the 2-point conversion working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted January 9, 2021 Report Share Posted January 9, 2021 The Bills win ending a 25 year drought in the playoffs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted January 10, 2021 Report Share Posted January 10, 2021 Boom, boom, come on, out go the lights...Rams convert a fumble recovery into an *easy* TD to go up 17. What the heck happened to the Seattle offense? Good start but, not counting the game against the Jets where they dropped 40...23, 12, 20, 20, and 26 points. Now put that up against the #1 defense in the league and, gee, yeah, they have been pretty much futile. Another game where the refs made an absolutely horrible call, after a couple in the first game. The play that knocked out Wolford *wasn't* a personal foul? You have got to be kidding me. Worse, this was the kind of hit the NFL is desperate to remove; the kid went to the hospital for further examination. By definition that is cause for concern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted January 10, 2021 Report Share Posted January 10, 2021 The Seahawk front office has neglected the O-line for several years now, and it shows. Russell Wilson has been around long enough that his faults are known, and the Rams do have the best DL unit in the league. The running back corps is solid when it's healthy, which hasn't been the case since, oh, SB48. I have the impression that the squad really, really missed the preseason. The WR and TE corps and special teams are arguably tops in the league, but when your QB is running for his life there are limits to how far you can go. I explicitly am not watching the game today, because I kind of expected something along these lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted January 10, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2021 I believe the Rams D is #1 in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted January 10, 2021 Report Share Posted January 10, 2021 By DVOA they’re fourth after the Steelers, Saints, and Football Team. But still elite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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