From the Pitt game last season...an excerpt...Dierdork should NEVER be doing Patriot games...
From there, in order to back up the rambling wreck that was Dan Dierdorf, CBS felt it was necessary to show random shots of Troy Polamalu. There were numerous shots of Polamalu on the sideline, when the Pittsburgh’s offense was on the field. Neither Dierdorf nor Gumbel said anything about him, they were just making sure the viewers were still aware Polamalu was on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
CBS then forced in a flashback to what was admittedly an unbelievable interception by Polamalu two weeks prior versus the San Diego Chargers.
Pittsburgh’s defense is the best in the NFL and Troy Polamalu is one of the best defensive backs in the game, so it is understandable that they receive a great deal of attention during the game. With that being said, there are two teams on the field and both deserve praise and criticism during the course of the game.
The bulk of the Polamalu praise came before he made his interception on a horrible Cassel pass. He had recorded only two solo tackles up until that pick, so he really wasn’t affecting the game enough to be the focal point. Lamar Woodley, Casey Hampton, and James Harrison deserved much more of the focus.
The continued bias in the booth is becoming a problem in all national sports broadcasts. I may be more sensitive when it comes to Boston teams and at times I may be oversensitive.
In baseball, basketball, and hockey the majority of the games have local broadcasts, but in the NFL that is not the case. If any fan of any team is forced into watching a national broadcast, then they deserve an unbiased and well-analyzed broadcast. Dierdorf has failed to do this for years and especially for the Patriots.
When you get booted out of the Monday Night Football booth for Dennis Miller, you know you may not be cut out for commentating.
It is time CBS showed Dierdorf the door and he can bring Randy Cross with him. Phil Simms should teach a course on a color commentating. Dierdorf and Cross should be forced to sit front row, right in front of Simms before they are part of any broadcast in the future.