Whitlock unloads on NBC's "Sunday Night Football" show

[Deberg_1990]

Great read. Pretty much agree with all of it.

Im tired of networks trying to "broaden the demographics" at the expense of the hardcore fans.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8331492


Everyone I mention in today's column — except Jay Mariotti — is someone I like personally, respect professionally and hope will understand I have a job to do. My job is to tell you what I honestly think, not to play kissy-face with my peers in the media.

What in the hell is NBC doing adding another person to its NFL studio show who doesn't really care or know anything about the NFL?

The last thing "Football Night in America" needed was Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann trying to out-cute each other while highlights play in the back-back-background. The return of The Big Show is going to look, sound and feel like The Big Show-offs, another overdone football distraction.

NBC executives must have missed the memo: The Big Show era is dead. ESPN killed it. Every Tom, Dick and Stu Scott wannabe beat the other side of the pillow, cold and Pooh season and en fuego to death.

It ain't coming back.

What's worse is that Football Night was already hamstrung by an overcrowded set featuring talking heads with limited insight about, connection to and passion for the NFL.


Bob Costas, a brilliant broadcaster, is a baseball man. He named a son after Kirby Puckett. No shame in that. But a baseball man is out of place hosting the highest-profile football studio show.

Olbermann, a brilliant broadcaster, is a left-wing political pundit. You don't think football when you see Olbermann. You think Bill O'Reilly. Olbermann's work on Football Night comes off like he spends an hour each week thinking about the NFL. His disjointed and confusing commentary last season about Michael Vick exposed how out of place he is talking football on a big stage.

Tiki Barber quit football in his prime because the entire concept of the game utterly bored him, and that's just how he comes across during the brief, off-the-main-set segments he is allowed to speak. I'm glad Tiki is embracing life outside the locker room and wants to evolve well beyond being a football player. I just don't want to witness it during a prime-time football show. I can monitor Tiki's evolution five days a week on the "Today Show."

Jerome Bettis, terrific fullback, should be hosting a pro bowlers studio show. As a broadcaster, he's not ready for the main stage. He's not Emmitt Smiff, but Jerome hasn't mastered the art of speaking in provocative, insightful sound bites.

On paper, Peter King is qualified to star on Football Night as an information man. No one follows the game more thoroughly than King, the Sports Illustrated scribe. He's a true insider who can get on the phone with damn near any coach or executive in the league. Unfortunately for King, the guys breaking the most news these days are the journalists with the best access to agents and players.

Nope, Football Night has just one star — Cris Collinsworth. He loves the game. He immerses himself in the game. He's willing to be outspoken about the game. He's just not on camera enough because the show has to make room for all the guys moonlighting as football experts. Collinsworth has no one to talk to on his level. I'd bet he's the only person on the show who actually watches game film.


Dan Patrick, a brilliant broadcaster, won't help. He's a clever radio host, but he's not a football guy. Patrick will be one more person on the show who has little real interest in the game.

I'm sure all these guys are football fans. Hell, they probably operate great fantasy teams. But they'll all contribute to one big, sloppy mess on Sunday nights. In terms of relevance and chemistry, the NBC show will lose more ground to Terry, Howie, Jimmy and Curt Menefee.

I'm not pimping Fox's studio show because I work for FOXSports.com. I don't roll like that. Just about everyone in the industry agrees that Fox's studio show is the best in football. The reason it's the best is because the main guys are all still football men first. They still love the game and follow it with tremendous passion. Or at least that's how they appear on Sunday afternoons. They act like they'd rather watch football on Sundays than grill George W. Bush about his Iraq policy.

Tiki, Olbermann and Costas are too intelligent and sophisticated to care about football the way Terry, Howie and Jimmy do. Bettis, King and Patrick just aren't good fits considering all the other dynamics in play.

NBC's show will be so bad that about the only thing that could be worse would be if ESPN decided to team Stu Scott, Jay Mariotti and Emmitt Smiff in the Monday Night Football booth.

[markk]

costas is good.

if whitlock wants to rail at someone for trying to 'broaden the demographics' talk to ABC. monday night football is just a commercial for abc's other properties and a show targeted toward women. they have soap opera actors hang around in the booth or have those ridiculous reality show like elements added at halftime to gear the program toward women.

ABC thinks men are a captive audience because it's the NFL, so it's safe to have the worst commentators in human history and reorient the whole broadcast toward keeping women interested.

[beach tribe]

I think this is the first time I've completely agreed with the Twit.

[Hammock Parties]

Emmitt Smiff lol

It's too bad Dick Vermiel isn't 15 years younger.

[Frazod]

I love the way he singles out Mariotti. That guy may well be the biggest dickhead on earth.

[alpha_omega]

Originally Posted by Claythan

Emmitt Smiff lol

Yep....i laughed at that one as well.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Ho hum. Bore me some more, Jason.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

Ho hum. Bore me some more, Jason.

Its the off-season. What the heck is he supposed to write about? The Chiefs 2008 Super Bowl run?

[jidar]

I hear what Whitlock is saying and while he has a point, I don't agree with what he's saying.

The fact is, every one of those guys has extensive live broadcasting experience and more than a little NFL smarts. Are they the most insightful around? Maybe not, but to suggest they aren't knowledgeable enough for a prime time NFL show is ridiculous. It's NFL commentary not brain surgery.

Costas and Collinsworth together is a proven combination for NFL commentary and the rest of them just have to fill out the roster.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

Its the off-season. What the heck is he supposed to write about? The Chiefs 2008 Super Bowl run?

I suppose there are any number of ideas he could come up with. But, as usual, another ho-hum column.

[BigRock]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

I suppose there are any number of ideas he could come up with. But, as usual, another ho-hum column.

It wasn't too ho-hum to Dan Patrick. He said he's willing to be quizzed in his NFL knowledge against studio hosts from Fox and CBS, and if he didn't know more than them, he'd quit the NBC gig.

And if he does know more, Jason has to quit writing for Fox Sports.

[Demonpenz]

That would be sweet to have Steve Lyons and Craig kilborn have a sports show. With more betting, more alchohol and fun

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by BigRock

It wasn't too ho-hum to Dan Patrick. He said he's willing to be quizzed in his NFL knowledge against studio hosts from Fox and CBS, and if he didn't know more than them, he'd quit the NBC gig.

And if he does know more, Jason has to quit writing for Fox Sports.

Its obviously somewhat Personal for JW. I wonder if he got passed over or something??

Most of what hes calling out is not their football IQ, its their passion for the game that he seems to have issue with the most.

[blueballs]

Hello
we turn in to watch the game
you kidding me

[Pablo]

Originally Posted by frazod

I love the way he singles out Mariotti. That guy may well be the biggest dickhead on earth.

Truth. His douchetastic-ness may only be rivaled by the likes of Stephen A. Smith and Jim Rome.

But Rome's not THAT bad..he's still a douche from time to time.