The NFL Thread

[Jaime L]

[quote name='Slyfinger' post='1756128' date='Apr 15 2009, 14.52']To Jamie L and the Redskin contingent, I proudly present to you, The Cooley Zone!

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsWq3lNGqZs&feature=player_embedded"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsWq3lNGqZs...player_embedded[/url]


...and if you've seen this before fuck it, this requires further viewing.[/quote]

Too awesome.

[quote name='Maithanet' post='1756252' date='Apr 15 2009, 16.18']Cooley has a strange sense of humor. I saw a video of him talking about how good he is at ultimate frisbee. Being something of an ultimate freak myself, I found this to be AWESOME. Then I saw a clip of the redskins scrimmaging at ultimate and I couldn't stop laughing. They were just so big, and so awkward. I'm sure they could dominate if they put their minds to it (particularly the WR/CBs), but instead it was just hilarious.

Found it.

[url="http://chriscooley47.blogspot.com/2009/04/redskins-nation.html"]http://chriscooley47.blogspot.com/2009/04/...ins-nation.html[/url][/quote]

I don't see the clip?

But love that he plays Ultimate. Could you imagine trying to cover him on a deep route? How much would it suck to look across the field and see that you drew Cooley as your matchup?

So let's see, the guy's always cracking jokes, he makes all his fellow Redskins play Fantasy Football and he plays Ultimate. The guy is basically me if I were a professional athlete. Could totally see hanging out with him...not sure how many of those guys could say that about.

[quote]Sports Illustrated is reporting that Madden has retired. Mixed feelings on this one. At one time, he was the most insightful broadcaster I saw. Then he got big and dumbed it down for a larger audience. Miss the old Madden who would REALLY break down OL play.

Hope he enjoys his leisure time.[/quote]

Sad news.

John Madden [i]is[/i] football. Always thought he was getting way too much criticism the last few years. Yeah he's easy to make fun of, and yeah he says obvious things, but he's still one of the best color guys in the league. And any game that he's covering just feels like a bigger deal because of who he is. Agree that he's not as insightful as he once was, but he still makes a few observations each game that I don't hear other guys making.

While I'd be happy if Collinsworth took his spot, I'd have been happier if I could've counted on Collinsworth each week for one game and Madden for another.
Think it's a definite loss. He'll be missed.

[Bronn Stone]

Listened to Madden live on Bay Area radio. He wanted to make sure that everyone understood that the decision wasn't driven by health concerns. He just wants to spend more time with his grandkids. He'll still be keeping the bus and going around to events in it. He just won't be broadcasting football games.

He also says he made the decision some time ago but agreed with NBC to delay announcing it publicly until he was sure he was sure. NBC reps (Ebersol, et. al) flew to the Bay Area yesterday and tried to talk him into a part time deal but he really had made up his mind the time had come.

[Rockroi]

[quote]It's okay for you to think that. I think that Brady's going to be a failure when he returns to New England. It'll be interesting to see which one of us is right, especially since if I'm wrong I won't be able to post in these threads come playoff time - and if I'm right Rockroi won't.[/quote]

Its a little more complicated than that. Brady could have a spectacular season (proving you wrong) but I could still be silent come the playoffs because in order for me to win the bet, the Pats can finish no worse than 5th in offense with the stats they had last season. Thus, Brady could play like gangbusters and I'd STILL have to be quiet.

Its the least of my issues at the moment. Understandably, if Brady is hurting during the seaosn, I really won't have much to say during the playoffs anyway.

[Space Bandito]

Thanksgiving just got a little worse without Madden. At least we still have Dan Dierdorf. :P

[Week]

I wish this signaled the end of Frank Caliendo's career...unfortunately he'll continue to keep bringing out Madden just like he brings back Bush and that dead horse he's been beating for the last few years.

[Bronn Stone]

KCBS radio has put up [url="http://podcast.kcbs.com/kcbs/1693823.mp3"]Madden's interview[/url]. He gets a bit emotional.

[DanteGabriel]

My favorite Madden moment was during the end of Super Bowl 24, when the 49ers were whipping the Broncos 55-10. The camera panned across the dejected Broncos' sideline, and Madden gives us this (as close to verbatim as I can remember): "After a game like this, they always say, 'Hey, at least they didn't quit.' Well yeah they didn't quit! They make you play the whole game!"

[quote name='Jaime L' post='1757169' date='Apr 16 2009, 11.19']While I'd be happy if Collinsworth took his spot, I'd have been happier if I could've counted on Collinsworth each week for one game and Madden for another.[/quote]
Collinsworth is getting the job.

This makes me happy.

[url="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/196368-Cris_Collinsworth_Tapped_To_Replace_Madden.php"]http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/1...lace_Madden.php[/url]

[ZANNI_1276]

[quote name='DanteGabriel' post='1757414' date='Apr 16 2009, 14.44']Collinsworth is getting the job.

This makes me happy.

[url="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/196368-Cris_Collinsworth_Tapped_To_Replace_Madden.php"]http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/1...lace_Madden.php[/url][/quote]

Wow, so Collinsworth got it huh...So they went from one announcer who sounded like he didn’t know anything but really did, to a guy who sounds like he knows everything but really doesn't.

No tears here about madden retiring - he should have hung it up 5 years ago, grant it the guy was great 15 years ago but the excessive fawning over the absolute ridiculousness and colorful insight that was really neither colorful nor insightful over the past 5 to 6 years turned him more into a charicture as opposed to a legitimate announcer. Good luck to him though.
Bad news is we are now subjected to more Collinsworth. And while this makes you happy it merely makes me cringe....

[Jaime L]

[quote name='ZANNI_1276' post='1757471' date='Apr 16 2009, 15.56']Bad news is we are now subjected to more Collinsworth. And while this makes you happy it merely makes me cringe....[/quote]

But if you don't find Collinsworth or late career Madden insightful, who [i]do[/i] you like? It's easy to complain about the guys putting themselves out there, but in the field of NFL announcing, it's a lot harder to find a better alternative. It's not like these guys at the top of slate are preventing some promising young color guys from getting exposure. Have you seen most of the CBS-Fox guys..? We're talking the shallow end of a kiddie pool.

For his part, I think Collinsworth is one of the few announcers who talks about the game in the way that an educated football fan watches it. He'll usually be the only guy you see commenting on the 800 lbs gorilla in the room, and on big plays, he'll highlight who blew the assignment, who opened the running lane. He'll also call out bullshit when he sees it, as opposed to say, an Aikman, who will just go with whatever Buck feeds him or whatever he feels like he's expected to say. Except for maybe Jaws (and Jaws comes with Kornheiser so nevermind), there isn't anyone I'd rather have in the booth for a big game.

[ZANNI_1276]

[quote name='Jaime L' post='1757765' date='Apr 16 2009, 21.18']But if you don't find Collinsworth or late career Madden insightful, who [i]do[/i] you like? It's easy to complain about the guys putting themselves out there, but in the field of NFL announcing, it's a lot harder to find a better alternative. It's not like these guys at the top of slate are preventing some promising young color guys from getting exposure. Have you seen most of the CBS-Fox guys..? We're talking the shallow end of a kiddie pool.

For his part, I think Collinsworth is one of the few announcers who talks about the game in the way that an educated football fan watches it. He'll usually be the only guy you see commenting on the 800 lbs gorilla in the room, and on big plays, he'll highlight who blew the assignment, who opened the running lane. He'll also call out bullshit when he sees it, as opposed to say, an Aikman, who will just go with whatever Buck feeds him or whatever he feels like he's expected to say. Except for maybe Jaws (and Jaws comes with Kornheiser so nevermind), there isn't anyone I'd rather have in the booth for a big game.[/quote]

Well I didn't say that I didn't find Collinsworth not insightful, he is, to the point of condescension in the most iratating "know-it-all-way". I just said that he grates on me and I would consider myself educated fan. I give the guy credit because he actually watches tape and does his homework week in and week out where as some guys don't even know who the players are for the game they are calling (see below of the other guys who quite obviously don't).
As far as Madden is concerned he really was great 15 years ago and I loved the guy but his on air masturbation of certain players crossed the line of simple admiration - the easy example is Favre but that is certainly not the only player he bestowed his unobjective love upon. Couple that with his contrived [i]"yogi-isms"[/i] he just became a shell of his former self in the booth. Perhaps he realized this?

Again, it is all subjective, some guys like vodka, some guys like gin.
But I certainly agree with you that both CBS/FOX broadcasters are all pretty weak sauce, Buck can be great as long as he can restrain himself from social commentary (which he just can't help himself from doing) and Aikman is such a "yes sir" but to his credit he is getting better. Sims ain't bad and actually I like Rich Gannon. Jaws is probably the best but again as you said with JAWS you get the Tony K experiment, who is a great writer, awesome on PTI but pretty lousy in the booth.
Gone are guys like Hank Stramm (best color guy ever, even on radio). Funny because the college guys are 100x better, guys like Blackledge, Danielson, Greise, Herbstriet but even the second tier college broadcasters are better than say Solomon W, Ian Eagle, Baldinger, Boseli (ehhmm, these are the guys who don't even know the players of the games they are calling) - but that is an entirely different discussion. But it is what is, I will still spend 12 hours every Sunday in the fall watchin'em.

Triskele - not sure about the Packers but I read it looks like Paulus is going to the U of M to play QB. Not sure WTF that is about and I agree, Rodgers is going to be an excellent QB, all they need is beef up the DEF and they will be tough again.

[Jaime L]

[quote name='ZANNI_1276' post='1758209' date='Apr 17 2009, 10.59']Well I didn't say that I didn't find Collinsworth not insightful, he is, to the point of condescension in the most iratating "know-it-all-way". I just said that he grates on me and I would consider myself educated fan. I give the guy credit because he actually watches tape and does his homework week in and week out where as some guys don't even know who the players are for the game they are calling (see below of the other guys who quite obviously don't).[/quote]

That's fair.

It doesn't affect me, but I can see how this aspect bothers other people.

[quote]Sims ain't bad and actually I like Rich Gannon.[/quote]

Gannon I think is good in what he says. It's just his voice that throws me off. He just doesn't [i]sound[/i] like an announcer. It's kinda the same complaint I have about Mike Greenberg whenever they do the dreadful Mike and Mike and Mike booth once a year. He just doesn't sound right for the role. And while I wouldn't have thought this matters, for me, I've found it kinda does to my overall NFL game experience. It's something Aikman and Simms do have. They just sound like good color guys, regardless of what they say. Think that's half the battle.

[quote]Jaws is probably the best but again as you said with JAWS you get the Tony K experiment, who is a great writer, awesome on PTI but pretty lousy in the booth.[/quote]

Exactly. Grew up loving TK. His columns were hilarious and excellent...always a must-read. His radio show was among the best Sports Radio shows I've ever heard. PTI's solid...but in the announcing booth he's an out and out disaster. It's disappointing to me that for a guy this talented, his main gig now is something he's not good at.

[quote]Gone are guys like Hank Stramm (best color guy ever, even on radio). Funny because the college guys are 100x better, guys like Blackledge, Danielson, Greise, Herbstriet but even the second tier college broadcasters are better than say Solomon W, Ian Eagle, Baldinger, Boseli (ehhmm, these are the guys who don't even know the players of the games they are calling) - but that is an entirely different discussion. But it is what is, I will still spend 12 hours every Sunday in the fall watchin'em.[/quote]

Agree with this. Really like Blackledge, Danielson and especially Herbstreit.