The NFL Network – Why So Bush League?

The NFL is one of the most successful and profitable organizations on the planet grossing in the billions every year from merchandising, tv contracts, marketing, etc. Major League Baseball is no longer “America’s Pastime”…professional football has taken baseball’s place as the favorite sport in the country. In the fall, Sundays are not just associated with going to church but watching pro football in the afternoon as well. And Super Bowl Sunday has become a holiday unto itself...all it’s missing is greeting cards.

So my question is, with all the success the NFL has enjoyed over the past 20-30 years and all the resources it has at it’s finger tips, why can’t the NFL actually produce a quality broadcast of an NFL game? The NFL Network has been around for a couple of years and broadcasts 8 games a year, starting in late November. Before last night’s big game between the Cowboys and the Cheeseheads, I hadn’t had the pleasure of watching an NFL Network broadcast because I am a customer of Time Warner cable, which doesn’t include the NFL Network in its channel line up. And after witnessing last night’s broadcast, I’m pretty sure I’m not missing that much…as far as the broadcast of an actual game.

Last night’s broadcast (not the game, but the broadcast of the game) was so bush league and amateurish that I almost felt I was watching a high school game on public access. The graphics reminded me of watching an NFL game from the 70’s and early 80’s on ESPN Classic. Several times, during a commercial, the network would just cut back to a play getting ready to be run (which I’m sure the company that made that commercial thoroughly enjoyed seeing). There were even quite a few plays where a replay wasn’t shown. But nothing was as terrible as Bryant Gumbel.

Bryant Gumbel DOES NOT need to be doing play-by-play for high school games much less an NFL game. First of all, he doesn’t have the voice for it. When I think of solid play-by-play commentators, I think of Joe Buck, Al Michaels and Bob Costas. They have deep voices that sound clear whereas Gumbel’s voice reminds me of watching Olympic Figure Skating. Also, I imagine Joe Buck and Al Michaels actually prep for games they are announcing. Bryant Gumbel barely knew what the football’s shape was last night. Here are just a few of Bryant Gumbel’s mistakes during the game:

-At the beginning of the game when he’s welcoming the audience to the broadcast, it takes Gumbel several seconds to remember where they are…like Texas Stadium is so hard to remember.

-After the Packers are already on the field and as the Cowboys are taking the field, Gumbel says “Here comes comes the Packers!” Hey Bryant, here’s a hot tip: try watching what is going on before opening your mouth about it.

-As Dallas was setting up for their first field goal, to tie the Packer’s at 3-3, Gumbel says “And Packer fans don’t much like them going for the tie.” What? The Cowboys are the ones kicking for the tie, smart one. But thanks for playing.

-When Gumbel’s partner and color analyst Cris Collinsworth was talking about Cowboys running back Marion Barber, Gumbel added “Mike McCarthy characterized [Barber] as the heart of the Green Bay offense.” All I could do is shake my head.

-After the game was over, Gumbel announces the final score and says that “we will try to get an interview with Rick Romo.” Yeah, I can see how you get the names Tony and Rick mixed up…they sound so much alike.

I’m not a huge fan of Cris Collinsworth but he was really one of the only decent aspects of the broadcast, stem to stern. Bryant Gumbel should stick to Real Sports on HBO, where he is, at least, decent. But, me thinks, he should stay out of the commentating booth altogether.

The NFL probably has more money than some countries in this world yet they can’t produce and broadcast their product without it looking like a high school production. They need to study the presentations of Fox, CBS and NBC and they might learn a thing or two. But at this point, the NFL might not care as they are “America’s Pastime.”

10-1 vs 10-1

Whoa Nellie (as Keith Jackson would say) have we got a wild game coming up tomorrow. Dallas (10-1) and Green Bay (10-1) play Thursday night at Texas Stadium. This is a HUGE game and could well determine who has home field throughout the playoffs. It is quite conceivable that both teams could run the table and win out after Thursday:

Dallas ' remaining games: @ Detroit, Philly, @ Carolina and @ Washington
GB's remaining games: Oakland, @ St. Louis, @ Chicago and Detroit

So the loser of tomorrow's game could be 14-2 and not have home field advantage...crazy. NFC is weak, weak, weak. And I don't know about you but I'm not too crazy about Dallas going up to Green Bay in mid-late January for the playoffs as that is a brutal place to play AND Dallas has NEVER won at Green Bay (they have won in Milwaukee, but not Green Bay). But then again, Brett Farve has never won at Texas Stadium so the idea of the Packers coming back down to Dallas for a possible NFC Championship game may not thrill Packer fans.

I'm not buying into this 'Dallas is going to win by at least 2 TDs crap' that I'm hearing in the local media. I think this is going to be a close game and the one that scores last may end up winning. I see this game shaping up like Dallas' first game this year vs. the Giants, with Dallas winning closely in the end. But I can also see the game going GB's way too because Dallas' secondary is the Achilles heel of the team and passing the ball is what GB does best.

I fear what Farve is going to do to Dallas' secondary. Really, the times that Dallas has faced a decent, or better, QB this year their defensive backfield has been carved up. Look what Eli Manning and Jason Campbell did (I think Campbell is maybe a touch better than Q-Car, but not much) not to mention Tom Brady. I don't want to beat a dead horse but you know the Pack are going to try to get Roy Williams in coverage and you also know if that happens the chances of that pass going for big yardage or even a touchdown are pretty great. Green Bay is running the ball better these days with Ryan Grant so Dallas can't just sit back and wait for Farve to pass every down.

Plus, I think this may be the best defense Dallas has faced to this point. The Packers defensvie line gets after the QB pretty good and if Romo is careless with the ball (as he has been a couple of times this year) then Green Bay has two great cornerbacks in Charles Woodson and Al Harris who can take it back for a score if they get an interception.

I'm not saying GB is going to win but I really think Dallas' only shot is to outscore the Packers. Offensively, I give a slight nod to Dallas and defensively GB is just better in my opinion b/c the Packers have the superior secondary. I don't know...I'm trying to talk myself into Dallas winning by 14-17 pts but for that to happen, I really think GB (and Farve) is going to have to play very badly with Dallas taking advantage of every opportunity...and I just don't think that will happen.

In the end, I think Dallas will win by 3-7 pts...Dallas 35, Green Bay 31.

J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets

Well, Thanksgiving Day is upon us once again. I say this every year but I can't believe it came so quick. I'm sure our family does the same thing that most families do on this day. We sleep in late (or try if we have little ones), eat a later breakfast, sit down for Thanksgiving Dinner about 2:00 and settle in for the Cowboys game about 3:15. Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for everything God has blessed you with. I am blessed to have been given a beautiful and loving wife, a healthy son, good family and friends, a good job to provide for my family and the Cowboys being 9-1 after 10 games (most people, my wife included will probably roll their eyes at that last one...but hey, up until recently America's Team hasn't been very blessed).

The Thanksgiving Day football tradition continues today when Dallas takes on the NY Jets who happen to be 2-8. Now I really don't think Dallas will lose (I spelled it right that time, Chance/Ryan) but there are a few things that scare me about the Jets. Pittsburgh, who everyone thought (and really still thinks) is a top tier AFC team got beat by the Jets in OT this past weekend. That was definitely a "what?" game. That could have been a fluke game where Pittsburgh took for granted they would beat the Jets and wound up getting beat themselves. But of the Jets 8 losses, 6 of them have been 7 points or less meaning that they have been in almost every game but just haven't been able to finish them out. And NY has at least one good player at just about every position, sans quarterback. Also, NY's running back, Thomas Jones, ran really well against what was thought to be a stout Pittsburgh defense. So even though Dallas' strength, on defense, is stopping the run, the Cowboys will need to be on their toes. And Leon Washington is probably up there with Devin Hester as far as running kicks/punts back...and Dallas' kick/punt coverage teams haven't been doing so well lately.

So, those are the things that scare me about the Jets. But even with all those things, I still think Dallas wins. I think that because the Jets beat Pittsburgh this past weekend, Dallas will not take them for granted...NY should have Dallas' full attention. And I think Dallas got a wake up call themselves last weekend when they almost let their game vs. a very mediocre Washington team slip by. In the NFL, you really have to be on your toes for every game because every team has capable players. So even though Dallas will be without Patrick Creighton today (he better be there next week vs. the Packers as Dallas will probably need to outscore Green Bay to win that one), I like Dallas 27-10 over the Jets.

The Deadskins

The are few teams in sports I dislike more than the Washington Deadskins (LSWho?, Filthadelpia Eagles, Neuter Lame Losin' Irish). It doesn't matter how good or bad Washington is, I've got no love for them and hope Dallas beats the tar out of them every time. Washington's coach, Joe Gibbs, is pretty classy though and makes it a little more difficult to dislike the team.

Washington comes to Dallas this weekend and, you know, I really don't know how they hang with Dallas. It feels kinda of weird saying that as I really haven't felt like that in quite a while. I think it might be close for a quarter, maybe a half of the game. Reasons I think this: Dallas' offense is really becoming elite and Washington is missing 2 big cogs on defense (Cornerback Carlos Rogers and Safety Sean Taylor); Dallas' defense has really started to play well and, in my opinion, will only get better with the addition of Tank Johnson in the nose tackle rotation; I look for Witten to have a big day and T.O. Owens as well; Dallas' 3rd down conversion rate is almost 50% (4th best in the league) while Washington is 38% (bottom 10 in the league); Plus Washington has won in Dallas 1 time since the late 90's and I don't see that trend broken this weekend. All that adds up to a Dallas win.

However, Dallas is now 8-1 and this team hasn't had that much success in the last decade really so it will be interesting to see if the team starts "believing their own press" and gets complacent. If that happens Washington, or any other team for that matter, will win. But, I really don't think that will happen. Romo is having too much fun, T.O. Owens is having too much success and the team looks like it's getting better and better each week. My prediction: Dallas 35, Washington 17.

Movie Review - American Gangster

I know this blog is typically sports related but from time to time I will probably post something unrelated to sports, as is the case here. The first movie I've seen, since July, is American Gangster. Now I typically love most things with Denzel Washington...I think he is a tremendous talent. Movies like Glory and Training Day are stellar examples of what he can do.

American Gangster was good, but not great. I mean, it was exactly what I thought it would be, albeit a little long (2 hrs, 45 min.) We've seen this story before though. It is basically the same story as Scarface, staring Al Pacino. There are some variations between the two movies (Scarface was more violent overall) but it was basically the same story.

The interesting part of the movie revolves around Frank Lucas' (Denzel Washington's character) double life. On one hand he is a cold, calculating drug king pin who isn't afraid of putting a bullet in someones head in broad daylight with many people watching. On the other hand, he looks like the perfect son who buys his mom a plantation style house, takes her to church every Sunday and hosts Thanksgiving dinner for his family. Denzel does a good job of the role although it isn't my favorite role he has played (again, Glory and Training Day were better on his part).

Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe's character) is the relentless "good cop" who finally brings down Frank Lucas. Robert's life was interesting as well because he had high integrity and honor in his job (he found 1 million dollars in unmarked bills in a car and didn't keep a single dollar for himself) yet his personal life was a complete mess. And again, I like Russell Crowe in this movie but it isn't my favorite role he has played either (Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind were better).

All in all, it was a solid movie that could have been shortened and made better. But, it was entertaining and worth a look. However, there is a lot of drug use, quite a bit of nudity (nude women made the drugs...they were nude to keep them from stealing any of it) and parts of the movie, especially the end, are pretty violent so leave the kiddos at home for this one.

The Beast of the East

Well, Dallas is now on top of the NFC East by 2 games (really 3 games due to the tie breaker Dallas now has over NY) and legitimately has a chance to run the table and go undefeated in the division. I'm not saying it will happen for sure but they stand a solid chance of doing it. Dallas surprised me for the second straight week. Last week, I was shocked at how easily the Cowboys ran over Filthadelphia. And this week, I was shocked that Dallas won, much less by double digits. The Giants needed the game more than the Cowboys but yet when the chips were down, Manning seemed to crumble. Dallas was able to apply enough pressure to get him thinking too much. This was evident in the delay of game penalties he took. How does a QB have 3 delay of game penalties in one game? No excuse for that. NY is a good team but they have some issues to solve it seems if they are going to go anywhere in the playoffs. Manning needs to get a little tougher and not get rattled so much when things break down.

Dallas played very well but even in the midst of playing well, they screwed up a bunch. The Cowboys are one of the most penalized teams in the league and yesterday was no different. The Dallas penalty that drove me absolutely batty was right before half time when Kevin Burnett tackled Brandon Jacobs and taunted him. It wasn't even a great tackle for a loss or anything like that. The off-shoot of that penalty was the Giants getting a field goal and taking back any momentum Dallas had pulled away from NY. My bald spot got bigger because of that penalty. If I were the coach, I would have sat his butt down and played him very sparingly in the 2nd half letting him think about what he did. But, it's lucky that I'm not the coach because it didn't seem to hurt Dallas in the long run.

I do have a thought or two about T.O. Owens. I've heard people say within the past few weeks that he is a changed man. I've heard people say he seems more at home in Dallas than in San Fran or Philly. I've heard people say that maybe a leopard can change it's spots. Well, I say that is all hogwash. Do I like T.O. Owens? No. Will I ever like him? I doubt it very seriously. He is a tremendous talent and I like what he can do for the team. But the man, I don't like...just as I didn't like Deion when he played in Dallas. I cheer for the team whenever Owens makes a great play or scores a TD. I cheer for the Star, not the player (in this sense at least). Owens is on his "best behavior" because Dallas is 8-1 and he has played a sizable role in that. If Dallas were 4-5 and he had only 4 TDs and 400-500 receiving yds, things WOULD be different...make no mistake. I still think he can be a disruptive force and can destroy ANY team (and he has even said as much) so I just hope the Cowboys can keep him happy.

If things collapse in December the way they did last year, then you WILL see the other side of T.O. Owens and it won't be pretty.

G-Men vs. Los Vaqueros...Rd. 2

Well, it's Saturday night before Dallas and NY play and to tell you the truth, I don't have a strong sense of how the game will go. For instance, I just knew Dallas would beat Buffalo...and they did, albeit they didn't make it easy to watch. And I knew Dallas would get beat by New England. But tomorrow's game...I don't know, I just don't have a strong feeling either way. I guess I'm about 52% sure that NY will find a way to win. I've been thinking it over all week and there are several reasons why I think Dallas will loose, but there are several reasons I think Dallas will win too.

First, I'll go over why I think Dallas could win. I truly believe that Dallas is the best team in the NFC and will remain so the rest of the year (no second December meltdown like last year) having a very good shot at home field advantage in the playoffs and possibly their 9th trip to the Super Bowl. Tony Romo is part Jedi knight and somehow makes winning look easy. The team seems to have gelled pretty well and T.O. Owens has, for the most part, kept his big mouth shut and even played a couple of good games too...plus, Dallas' true deep threat (Terry Glenn) has yet to play a snap so who knows what that offense will do once he can come back! The defense has gotten better since the beginning of the year, still hasn't allowed a 100 yd rusher this year and now Dallas will add another cog in Tank Johnson who can be important in the rotation at nose guard. Dallas is also not afraid or intimidated about playing on the road (see the pounding Dallas gave Filthadelphia last week). So you mix all that up in a pot and what possibly comes out is a "W" for the Cowboys.

Now, reasons why I think Dallas could loose. The Giants, after starting off 0-2 have won 6 straight (even though their last 4 wins were against arguable the worst 4 teams in the NFL). Their defense has really started getting after the QB (they sacked McNabb 12 times in one game) and has played very well during their 6 game win streak. Manning has also improved as the year has progressed and the chemistry he has with WR Plaxico Burress is downright lethal. Brandon Jacobs was the most prolific RB in the league in the last month gaining 100 yds in 3 of the last 4 games. Dallas' secondary is still a question mark, to me, and if NY can get Roy Williams isolated in pass coverage, that will probably either go for major yardage or a touchdown for NY. Plus in this series, in the last 9-10 years, it seems the home team usually fairs better than the road team. So you mix all that up in a pot and what possibly comes out is an "L" for the Cowboys.

If Dallas were playing this in the friendly confines of Texas Stadium, I really think I would pick them to win without hesitation. However, they are playing in NY whose fans dislike Dallas almost as much as Philly fans, so the stadium and atmosphere is going to be rockin'. I think the game is going to be like last year's game in NY where the game will be close and in the end, one team will make one more play than the other which will probably be the difference in the game. And because the game is in NY, I think the Giants win the game by 3-7 pts.

I certainly do hope I'm wrong. A friend of mine that lives in NY and is a Giants fan, Mike Luciano, emailed that he is going to the game and will have a picture of Lawrence Taylor tattooed to his left pec. I just have this feeling Mike will be leaving Giants Stadium in a good mood. And while I normally would never wish any ill will on any friend, I do hope Mike leaves the stadium a little dejected because somehow Dallas pulls out a victory. But I guess we will see...

The City of Brotherly Shove

Most of you who know me know that I have absolutely no love for Philadelphia. In fact, you might have heard me say more than a few times that there are very few redeemable things, besides the cheese steak, Rocky Balboa and my friend Matt Lynskey (one of the best guys I know), that have ever come out of Philly. I don't necessarily dislike the team, per se, and I think Andy Reid is a solid coach. But as far as the fans and the people of the city, they live in a cauldron of hate. They hate their mothers, their fathers, their sisters, their brothers, they person sitting next to them on the city bus, they hate the people they work with, etc. They live to hate. I mean, the Eagles fans once threw battery filled snow balls at Santa...Santa! If they will do that to jolly ole St. Nick, where do they stop? And if you're the QB for the Eagles and you throw 3 TDs and 1 pick, the fans will boo you for throwing that interception rather than cheer you for throwing 3 TDs. They live play by play and it's definitely a "what have you done for me lately (as in the most recent play)" city.

It really seems they hate no city more than Dallas and no team more than the Cowboys. The only time Philadelphians tolerate each other is when they galvanize in the Vet, or now the Link, against America's Team. I remember in the late 90's, when Dallas was playing in Philly, Micheal Irvin was hit by a Philly defender and lay motionless on the turf for several minutes. He ended up being lifted onto a stretcher, loaded into an ambulance and taken to the hospital...motionless the whole time. And the sorry fans of Philly cheered. They actually cheered that someone might have just been paralyzed right in front of them. They loved it. I don't think I have ever exhibited worse behavior by a group of fans than that. It's no wonder why the Eagles stadium actually has a judge and a jail inside of it.

Dallas has beaten Philadelphia only 1 time, in Philly, since 2000 (only 3 times total in that span). So needless to say, the Eagles fans have had a lot to cheer about lately. There really is not another game that I dread more than when Dallas plays Philly in Philly. Every year, it just seems they are filled with venom when Dallas comes to town. And the team feeds off that which usually produces good results for the Eagles. However, I sense an ill wind blowing in the face of all those mullet headed, pizza-stained-shirt-wearing Eagles fans.

This year, the Eagles have been up and down every week. You never quite know which team is going to show up. They hang 50+ points on Detroit one week and then get man handled by the Giants the next week. Currently, they are last in the NFC East and even though they have won 2 of their last 3 games, if they have any hope of getting back into the race, they really can't afford to loose this weekend.

However, the Cowboys are returning from some much needed rest on their bye week. And this Dallas team is much different than the Dallas teams from recent years. They have more weapons on offense, they have an offensively minded offensive coordinator, they now have a QB that is half Jedi knight, and their defense can create turnovers and pressure the QB more than in recent years. And even though Philly needs the game more than Dallas does and the game is being played at night, I think Dallas does what it needs to do to win. I don't know how they will do it but someone for Dallas will make enough plays on offense and defense to come out of Philly victorious weather it be by 1 point or 10 points. And even if Philly does loose, the witch won't be dead just yet...but she will be well on her way.