Muting Phil Simms In 2007?

[Lampshade]

I like Simms, too.

Chris Collinsworth, imo, is far and away the best. Two years ago I thought he was horrendous, but he's turned into the most insightful guy out there. He could do with a different partner than the suckiness that is Bryant Gumbel.

 

[BradfordPatsFan]

You've been in the booth before, haven't you?

Yes but not done much broadcasting. Let's just say, I've watched how it works and when it goes well, it is quite impressive.

 

[BradfordPatsFan]

Don Criqui and Randy cross are so bad they're almost enjoyable as a comedy skit of a horrible announcing team. I hope Criqui retires before he dies on the air. I just hope Randy Cross retires because he sucks.

As an experiment, do what I used to. Listen to thegamelive for local radio broadcasts. Almost every local broadcaster is better than the best TV announcer.

They know the roster, down and distance and the rules.

It's called preparation. TV guys don't do it.

Great point on local vs national guys. The local guys are around the team all week and just really have to prepare for the opposition. The national guys have to learn both teams and also, their audience is more than just the two markets where the teams are playing. They cannot focus just on the two teams. They have to give a league-wide perspective on some things.

As for Criqui, I could not agree more. I was watching an Orange Bowl game on ESPN Classic from the 70's and he was the announcer. I was shocked. He's done final fours, NFL playoff games, etc. His time has passed though. A few years back in a preseason game, he called a pass incomplete. The only problem was, the wr had caught it, standing in the middle of the end zone, handed the ball to the official, and the place kicking team was coming onto the field before he realized he was wrong and said, "Well, they are going to give him a touchdown. It was close."

 

[patsox23]

Simms. Jaws. Moose is okay.

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

Yes but not done much broadcasting. Let's just say, I've watched how it works and when it goes well, it is quite impressive.

Same here, and you're right... from High School football games on the radio to nationally televised games, play by play and color guys have a tough-ass job, and when a team clicks and works well together, it's impressive. ...and much harder to do than many think. I've done plenty of broadcasting, but never from the booth, there's no way my brain ever worked fast enough for that gig. Tons of respect for folks that do it. (Except for the MFN crew last year)


And Gawd, that Don Criqui moment was embarrassing. I just cringed inside as I waited for him to figure it out.

 

[Crowpointer]

"Well, they are going to give him a touchdown. It was close."

That reminds me I was flipping through the channels last night and stumbled onto Dodgeball. Cotton McKnight " Yes, I'm being told that Average Joe's does not have enough players and will be forfeiting the championship match " Pepper Brooks "It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for 'em. "

 

[BTTA]

They all suck, but Simms is easily the best.

Wow, I guess you are one of the best in the world at your chosen profession?

They can't all suck, or someone else would be doing it. The marketplace is going to insist that they are chosen largely through a meritocracy.

 

[Pujo]

Wow, I guess you are one of the best in the world at your chosen profession?

I'd like to think so, but it's not for me to say.

They can't all suck, or someone else would be doing it. The marketplace is going to insist that they are chosen largely through a meritocracy.

They can all suck, as long as they suck less than the guys who could replace them. Maybe it's the job that sucks, but point is it's grating to listen to it.

 

[dhamz]

I'm not a Simms fan. He is an apologist for every QB no matter how bad they are playing. The best example is the 01 AFC title game in Pitt. He actually spent all but the last 5 minutes praising how great Kordell was playing.

He does it week in, week out and it makes him impossible to take seriously.

 

[dhamz]

Simms' play-by-play man, the Mortician, is a partner in crime. He announces football like he announces golf, with no sense of the moment, no vocal range, mixed in with extravagant cliches meant to hype drama which ring insincere. He finally broke loose from his sluggish monotone in last season's AFCCG, but only to wave pom-poms for the Colts during their comeback. It was shameful... almost like he received the script at halftime and was ready for the outcome.

Funny you should say that about Nantz. I have a friend who interned at CBS back in the day and he said JN actually practices his clock ticking down lines on everyone around him in hopes to come up with his own "Do you bleieve in miracles" call.

Unfortunately for him all he ever comes up with is awful stuff like "there is a wizard in the stands but the magic is on the court" for UCLA winning its last basketball title.

 

[unoriginal]

Back to the announcers, I am looking forward to Jaws, I like Collingsworth (at least he doesn't wash every players balls like most of the sheep).

Simms wears Patriot underoos. He defends to the hilt every QB, no matter how awful. He has no natural gift for speech, and his on-air personality is arrogant. ... I prefer Fox's Aikman. One partnership I would love to see is Bradshaw, Howie Long and Kenny Albert. They did the Sugar Bowl last season and I thought they were tremendous. When you have real friends in the booth, with a gift for gab, and HOF experience, the chemistry becomes superb and the viewer feels more comfortable. It was the best booth since the old MNF days IMO.

Chris Collinsworth, imo, is far and away the best. Two years ago I thought he was horrendous, but he's turned into the most insightful guy out there. He could do with a different partner than the suckiness that is Bryant Gumbel.

I'm not a Simms fan. He is an apologist for every QB no matter how bad they are playing. The best example is the 01 AFC title game in Pitt. He actually spent all but the last 5 minutes praising how great Kordell was playing.

He does it week in, week out and it makes him impossible to take seriously.

I agree with these points. Simms is a decent personality on the air but he is all style and no substance. You compare him with Aikman, who is not afraid to critique QB play, which is about half the offensive game, and he comes out pretty poorly. I feel Aikman is much better at line X and O stuff as well. Simms is like a more focused version of Joey "Sunshine" Theismann, only in that every QB is exceptional to him, not every player.

Collingsworth, from the little I've been able to catch of him on illicit NFLN web streams, is a terrific X's and O's and player evaluator. Unlike Simms, Collingsworth jumps all over players at his old position (WR), and while I can't testify to his insightfulness when it comes to line play, like Aikman he's analysed it a lot. For an ex-WR that's pretty impressive. Those are two different worlds and I think it demonstrates a commitment to evaluative color commentary. This is unlike Simms, who demonstrates a commitment to apologetic color commentary.

Colllingsworth is not a very good on-air personality however, and I think that's what rubs some posters here the wrong way. When he was in the Fox studio with Howie, JB and Bradshaw I didn't care for him all that much. In the booth however I wish I could get more of him. He is substance without style, and to me that is much preferable.

 

[TruthSeeker]

I have to respectfully disagree. I think Simms, along with Jaworski and Aikman are the best analysts on TV. I'll take any of them over Madden or Collinsworth any day of the week.

I agree 100% on Simms and Aikman (Jaworski not so much). I really enjoy Phil Simms and Troy Aikman, they may be the 2 best analysts in football broadcasts (In my humble opinion). Jaworski is pretty good, just prefer Simms and Aikman.

 

[BradfordPatsFan]

I agree 100% on Simms and Aikman (Jaworski not so much). I really enjoy Phil Simms and Troy Aikman, they may be the 2 best analysts in football broadcasts (In my humble opinion). Jaworski is pretty good, just prefer Simms and Aikman.

Jaws is amazing at breaking down a game film and explaining why things happen. For the NFL Match-Up show, he has a week to sit down and look at film from various angles and can focus on key plays. I am not sure how that will translate to working on the fly, in the booth.

 

[BradfordPatsFan]

Funny you should say that about Nantz. I have a friend who interned at CBS back in the day and he said JN actually practices his clock ticking down lines on everyone around him in hopes to come up with his own "Do you bleieve in miracles" call.

A lot of guys do that. I remember hearing a story about Michael Kay from the YES network right after he got the gig to do Yankees play by play trying out his homerun call on people at some charity function. He thought it was great, people gave him bad feedback but the season was only a day or two away and he didn't have time to perfect another so he stuck with it.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Simms is one of my favorites. Part of that, I'm sure, is that he's a true believer in the Patriots. Another part is that his reasoning tends to be insightful and occasionally well-reasoned rather than off the cuff. I guess his blind love of QBs is just one of those areas that I'm willing to ignore. Troy Aikman is also, rather surprisingly from my perspective, a very solid announcer that I actually enjoy hearing.

Overall, I don't get too upset at announcers one way or the other. I must admit, however, that the Don Criqui/Randy Cross team makes significant mistakes when it comes to the on-field action and I do say an "oh no!" when I find out that they're broadcasting the game. Regardless, I keep the volume up and just make fun of their (too frequent) mistakes. That helps me still enjoy the game.

 

[BradyManny]

I, for one, cannot wait for the day when I can selectively mute the announcer audio while still hearing the crowd and game noise.

Simms is BY FAR the best network analyst right now. He's insightful, entertaining and always reasonable. He's also a huge Pats fan...so I don't get your beef with him.

 

[fair catch fryar]

On the whole, I think that NFL broadcasts are superb, especially now that we have HDTV. Camera angles keep getting better and instant replay has emerged as an intergral part of the game (and the entertainment).

IMHO however, the weakest part of the package is the announcing. I don't like most of the national TV announcers. The top CBS announcing team is Nance and Simms. Given the attention and hype the Pats are getting thus far in 2007, I'm afraid that we are going to be hearing much of Phil Simms.

IMHO I think Phil Simms is irritating. He's a motor mouth who never shuts up during a game. He rarely provides analysis during games (X's and O's). Instead, he tends to talk about "the locker room", his opinions, and lots of fluff.

I, for one, cannot wait for the day when I can selectively mute the announcer audio while still hearing the crowd and game noise.

Anybody else feel the same way?

BTW: can anybody recommend equipment to sync up the radio to the HDTV broadcast? Last time I tried, it was enough out of sync to make it unwatchable. Thanks in advance!

Compared to what else they offer for talking heads, Phil Simms isn't that bad.

 

[RayClay]

Great point on local vs national guys. The local guys are around the team all week and just really have to prepare for the opposition. The national guys have to learn both teams and also, their audience is more than just the two markets where the teams are playing. They cannot focus just on the two teams. They have to give a league-wide perspective on some things.

As for Criqui, I could not agree more. I was watching an Orange Bowl game on ESPN Classic from the 70's and he was the announcer. I was shocked. He's done final fours, NFL playoff games, etc. His time has passed though. A few years back in a preseason game, he called a pass incomplete. The only problem was, the wr had caught it, standing in the middle of the end zone, handed the ball to the official, and the place kicking team was coming onto the field before he realized he was wrong and said, "Well, they are going to give him a touchdown. It was close."

I thought about the point that local announcers only need to research one team, but they do research them. TV guys seem like they do no research and rely on old stories from their playing days or the latest sensational sidelight the networks pushing.

I want down and distance and who made the tackle.

If you want to tell a story or explain the 3-4 defense, make sure you give me the essentials first.

Knowing the injured and season highlights of each team doesn't take much work either.

None of the TV teams are competent in this area IMO. That includes Simms, who is as good as any.

 

[Patriotic Fervor]

Whenever I feel like upchucking over the national broadcast teams (or, even some regionals), I immediately think back to last season's Pats-Lions game in Detroit, and I tend to right myself.

Man, that was really a baaaaad broadcasting booth they offered us for that game!

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

I am not sure how that will translate to working on the fly, in the booth.

The "B" Team on the MNF double header last year, of Brad Nessler doing play by play with Vermeil and Jaws doing commentary got rave reviews around here and all over. If you missed that game, you missed a really enjoyable and educational game broadcast.