The best local guys for football coverage on radio

[FredFromDartmouth]

You have to pick and choose, but there are some guys on local radio that can talk football. On the Sports Hub you have to give it to DA. Zolak is sort of silly but he is a really good football guy with good stories about the old days on the Patriots. Andy Gresh is great if you can get him.

On WEEI you have to fight through the baseball talk but Smerlas and The Pink Pachyderm are not bad. Holley is not bad either when they give him a chance to talk football (instead of, say, hockey); additionally, Holley has a lot of class and dignity, a thing sorely lacking on WEEI.

WFAN in the morning is great, but Boomer's football talk is diluted by that wiseacre Greg Carton; however unlike many of the Beantown sportsbeat guys, Carton is never offensive or mean spirited.

My favorites were were Gresh and Zo, but now I think you have to say that DA is the best for football.

 

[okterrific]

PFW in Progress. How ironic that the so-called "House Organ" is by far the most objective source for Pats/football coverage. EEI and the Sports Hub (well, Felger and Mazz anyway, I don't listen to that other crap) represent two opposite extremes. The PFW guys are also far more knowledgeable on the league in general, which again is quite ironic, considering their job is to cover the Pats solely.

 

[Jackson 2]

Holley and Curran. Zolak when he decides to shed his middle school cafeteria shtick. Smerlas and DeOssie know their stuff, but the "we're tough guys and amyone who disagrees with us is a ****y" act severely impacts their effectiveness. Felger knows football, but his extreme biases render his viewpoints pretty much invalid. Perillo is somewhat knowledgeable, but because he works for the Patriots he bends over backwards not to be a homer, which ends up equalling contrariness to an unreasonable degree. The rest? A virtual wasteland, which is embarrassing for a media market this size. My opinions only.

 

[Rob0729]

I really like Damon Amendolara's football coverage. Not coming from this area, I think he has a much better view of the overall NFL and maybe a less bias view than most on the subject. I see him adapting a few of the local Boston sports talk show schtick from time to time though. I am worried that another year here and he will be just as bad as the rest.

Personally, I don't think most of the others can talk football all that well.

Holley's coverage of the sport has gone down hill over the years. He was very knowledgeable, but he seems to be stuck in the Patriot Reign era many times. His partner, Ned Flanders, is too vanilla to have much of an opinion worthy of mentioning.

Smerlas knows his stuff, but still wants to stick to his bafoon act rather than really talk the sport and he sucks DeOssie into it. Both are far more informative in their 30 minute tailgate show on NESN than they are in a month worth of appearances on the Big Show. I was hoping with Sheppard gone, Smerlas would grow up, but he hasn't.

Curran has kinda gotten a little too pissy since the Brady story for my taste. He hasn't gotten over that. Partly because the fans won't let him.

Dennis and Callahan are only good when they have Boomer, Adam Schefter, or Brady on and even then they ask stupid questions.

I like Zolak's knowledge, but he is too frat boy. Tanguay can be decent on the subject.

Felger knows his stuff, but he is too much into "the Pats are cheap" mantra which can get very annoying. Maz knows very little and it shows a lot.

Ordway knows a decent amount, but he is Ordway. He can't get out his own way a lot of the time. He is more interested in making callers like Dakota from Braintree or Steve from Fall River look like the morons they are rather than talking real football with real callers.

Don't listen to Toucher and Rich enough to care what they think.

I sometimes wonder if Mike Adams even knows there is a football team in New England.

 

[StraightCashHomey81]

PFW in Progress. How ironic that the so-called "House Organ" is by far the most objective source for Pats/football coverage. EEI and the Sports Hub (well, Felger and Mazz anyway, I don't listen to that other crap) represent two opposite extremes. The PFW guys are also far more knowledgeable on the league in general, which again is quite ironic, considering their job is to cover the Pats solely.

My thoughts exactly

 

[Tunescribe]

I like Smerlas and DeOssie, but the Hub has WEEI beat for Patriots talk. Many times I've flipped from 'EEI where they're droning on about baseball to 98.5 FM and was pleasantly surprised to hear Pats talk. I think 'EEI pushes Red Sox talk not because it's demanded by listeners, but because they carry the Sox games.

 

[DarrylS]

Smerlas, DeOssie, Curran, Holley and Paul Perillo.. in no particular order...

Gresch is a tool, he used to be on RI Radio and was more concerned with wet t-shirt contests than football, otoh have to respect a guy who has lasted this long and seems to continually gain popularity..

 

[patsox23]

PFW in Progress. How ironic that the so-called "House Organ" is by far the most objective source for Pats/football coverage. EEI and the Sports Hub (well, Felger and Mazz anyway, I don't listen to that other crap) represent two opposite extremes. The PFW guys are also far more knowledgeable on the league in general, which again is quite ironic, considering their job is to cover the Pats solely.

This, this, this, this this. Times Ten. The PFW guys are great, knowledgeable, objective and pull no punches - for OR against. That said, my weigh-in leans just as heavily on how totally CRAPPY the WEEI-type folks are as it does on the positive effects of Fred, Paul, Andy and V-Neck. (And Doc.)

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

Scott Zolak must be the luckiest guy in the world, because there is no way this guy should be on tv or radio.. Its a shame Pats all access is on cbs, because that means Zolak is on tv....Zolak was a bad QB, even worse tv/radio personality.... Not to mention a horrible guy in person..


The pfw guys are awesome... Its a shame they had to put up with Tom Cassale for 2 and half years, because he was bringing that show down, and gave bad reps to a guy Im glad see is getting some breaks in Paul Perillo, who is a underated Pats beat writer....


Best Pats beat writers- Mike Reiss, Shalise Young Tom Currenn

Best Pats Tv guy- well Paul Perillo would get my vote

Best Pats Radio guy- Mike Holley, PFW in progres guys.. and say what you want Felger does bring it..

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

What scares me, is in 2 years or sooner when Gil and Gino hang it up.. It could be Tangway and Zolak as our new play by play guys... Tangway ok, but I would be scared of Zolak... I know Fred Smerlas would never be considered ,because you have to speak clearly to be understood...

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

What scares me, is in 2 years or sooner when Gil and Gino hang it up.. It could be Tangway and Zolak as our new play by play guys... Tangway ok, but I would be scared of Zolak... I know Fred Smerlas would never be considered ,because you have to speak clearly to be understood...

Naw, that's is not so bad. Consider that Jerry Glanville used to do Patriots broadcasts!

Anyway, contrary to some guys here, I like Gresh's football coverage quite a bit. He is knowledgeable about football and is well spoken and unlike the WEEI crew, he loves to talk about it.

WEEI only talks football when they have a football guest on (and even not then); then as soon as the guest is off the air, it is back to the minutiae of baseball, even during the football season (even playoffs).

 

[Tunescribe]

Scott Zolak must be the luckiest guy in the world, because there is no way this guy should be on tv or radio.. Its a shame Pats all access is on cbs, because that means Zolak is on tv....Zolak was a bad QB, even worse tv/radio personality.... Not to mention a horrible guy in person...

Why is he horrible in person?

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

Why is he horrible in person?

I met him a couple of times just full of himself, when he was signing autograph's at the sam adams tent during half time one time, was not greatful when i said I knew some people that knew him from Pa, and was like big deal.. He is only famous for carrying Bledsoe's jock for 6 years... People that i know , who know him , also say the same things about him... I think he should consider himself lucky... Not to mention he is very childish on the radio... I do respect that he was in a locker room, and thought he would be a solid radio personality when he first was starting out, but he has regressed in alot of ways...

 

[Jackson 2]

I met him a couple of times just full of himself, when he was signing autograph's at the sam adams tent during half time one time, was not greatful when i said I knew some people that knew him from Pa, and was like big deal.. He is only famous for carrying Bledsoe's jock for 6 years... People that i know , who know him , also say the same things about him... I think he should consider himself lucky... Not to mention he is very childish on the radio... I do respect that he was in a locker room, and thought he would be a solid radio personality when he first was starting out, but he has regressed in alot of ways...

I have heard almost exactly the same from people who say they know or have met him. But in fairness, that's only what I've heard.

 

[patriotscpfc]

PFW in Progress.

Very informative.

Their blog is excellent.

They all have varying opinions on the Patriots and the NFL which creates good discussion.

Fred (despite going senile in his old age) still knows his stuff and knows the Krafts and gets info from them.

Perillo is a great writer and very good on the radio.

Andy is a brilliant radio guy, his writing is pretty good, but his evaluations are spot-on. He's never been wrong on an Offensive Lineman.

And Erik is a sweater-wearing homo. But has improved over the last year. His articles are great and he's growing a personality.

I recommend listening as you get some nuggets of info mixed in with whatever else happens on the show.