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20 Feb 2007
2006 Football Outsiders Awards Part II
comments by Aaron Schatz
Once again, I would like to thank everyone who voted on the awards this season. The second half of this year's Football Outsiders awards are found below. Click here to read the first half of the awards, with the best and worst players, coaches, and executives of 2006.
We always had a random personnel question in the awards. This year we had a random personnel question and a random nickname question.
What is the best nickname for LaDainian Tomlinson?
| 41.8% LdT 31.8% LT 16.7% LT2 9.8% Reverend Shaw Moore |
The Football Outsiders readers have spoken: He's LdT. Good luck to me when it comes to actually remembering to call him that. Reverend Shaw Moore was the character in Footloose who felt that dancing was evil.
Who should be the number one pick in the 2007 draft?
| 37.1% JaMarcus Russell 24.2% Joe Thomas 17.9% Calvin Johnson 13.5% Brady Quinn 7.3% Adrian Peterson |
The Raiders need everything.
Who is the best national football columnist, not counting Football Outsiders writers on FOXSports.com? (two votes per ballot) (Last year's winner: Dr. Z)
| 28.6% Paul Zimmerman (Dr. Z), SI.com 14.7% Len Pasquarelli, ESPN.com 11.1% John Clayton, ESPN.com 9.5% Gregg Easterbook (TMQ), ESPN.com 7.9% Peter King, SI.com 6.1% Chris Mortensen, ESPN.com |
3.7% Jay Glazer, FOXSports.com 3.6% K.C. Joyner, ESPN.com (subscription) 3.6% Scouts Inc., ESPN.com (subscription) 2.4% Michael "not David" Smith, ESPN.com 2.3% Vic Carucci, NFL.com 6.7% (seven other candidates) |
Apparently, this was the year of the Z. Last year, three different writers got at least 15 percent of the vote: Zimmerman, Pasquarelli, and Easterbrook. This year, Dr. Z ended up way ahead of everyone else. Gregg Easterbrook falls into fourth place. ESPN really dominates the voting with three of the top four and seven of the top ten, but at a certain point, aren't some of these guys just getting lost on their NFL page? If we were still writing for ESPN, it might take you a half hour just to find our material.
Which is the best announcing team in the NFL? (top eight listed) (Last year's winner: Buck/Aikman)
| 23.5% John Madden and Al Michaels, NBC 13.7% Dick Stockton and Daryl Johnson, FOX 12.1% Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, FOX 11.9% Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth, NFL Network 6.3% Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker, CBS 6.3% Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon, CBS 6.0% Ron Pitts and Jesse Palmer, FOX 5.8% Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, CBS |
We deliberately did not allow people to vote for the one-time ESPN "B" team of Nessler, Jaworski and Vermeil, because we all know they were the best team this year by leaps and bounds. What's the point of having them win with 99% of the vote, especially when ESPN only used them once?
Among the regular broadcast teams, John Madden and Al Michaels return to the top as they move to NBC. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, our top team last year, took a significant tumble, losing almost half their votes compared to 2005. In the past, I always referred to Dick Stockton and Daryl Johnson as the "most inoffensive announcing team," since each year they are the only team with more than 10% of the vote for "best announcing team" but barely any votes for for "worst announcing team." This year, FO readers feel they aren't just inoffensive -- they're the best team on Sunday afternoons, on either network.
Do you think CBS needs to re-think their announcing teams? No CBS team finishes higher than fifth. The network's top announcers are eighth. The third team, Dick Enberg and Randy Cross, got 2.1% of the vote. (Enberg really needs to retire -- listening to him mispronounce and screw up names every five minutes is agonizing.) The second team, Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf, got 1.4% of the vote. How bad is that? The ESPN Monday Night Football team got 1.6% of the vote! Gumbel and Dierdorf finished behind the New Three Stooges!
This year we added a space for readers to tell us what they like best about these teams. Here's a sampling of comments.
John Madden and Al Michaels
- Michaels seems to know more about clock management and rules than many head coaches. When focused, Madden can still tell me several things I didn't obviously see.
- Nobody is better than Madden at pointing out details like blocking schemes and disguised coverages.
- When they get a good game, they have the gravitas and knowledge to both make the game seem like an event and illuminate what's going on.
- As long as the game is close, they do a great job at following the game. If it turns into a blowout though, hit the mute button.
- Al Michaels is simply the best. Al Michaels and Gilbert Gottfried would be better than anyone else.
Dick Stockton and Daryl Johnson
- Stockton actually describes what's going on, rather than dicking around trying to be funny, plus his voice says "NFL" to me more than anyone this side of Summerall.
- Stockton does play-by-play well and isn't too shrill about it. Moose does the little things like point out good blocking schemes and when the defense makes adjustments that work.
- Stockton and Johnston rarely take the moral condemnation tack that makes Buck nauseating and mars Collinsworth's otherwise great game coverage.
- Tony Siragusa is the only sideline reporter that actually adds something to the broadcast besides those ridiculously uninformative halftime coach interviews. I think I can figure out myself that the team that turned the ball over six times wants to avoid turnovers in the second half.
I should point out that we got a lot of positive comments about Siragusa, and a lot of negative comments. Everyone seems to either love him or hate him.
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman
- Troy Aikman's mostly intelligent football analysis and Joe Buck's condescending tone. Without Troy I wouldn't learn some things about the game that only former players know. Without Joe I wouldn't learn what a horrible society we live in and how I'm part of the problem with America's youth.
- Joe Buck is nothing special, but Aikman is the most intelligent analyst working today. He seems to understand, and be willing to talk about, the factors that go into playing the game at a far-deeper-than-usual-cliche level, and will often pick up on little technical details about things like blocking schemes and pass routes that most analysts miss. And this is coming from someone who hates the Cowboys. He's just that good.
- When you pair the best play-by-play man in the business with the best color analyst since Madden, you can't help but be the best.
Although one voter called Buck "the best sports play-by-play announcer in the world," almost half the comments on this team said something along the lines of "I put up with Buck because Aikman is great."
Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth
- While Gumbel is not much more than average, Collinsworth misses nothing and his insight is always relevant.
- Collinsworth is so good, and Gumbel so very bad. A perfect storm of entertainment!
- Bryant Gumbel might not have a good voice and might get some small details wrong, but he is good at bringing out the best in others. They don't screw up the game by trying to fit it into a narrative.
- Their announcing sounds more like a conversation and less like a string of clichés.
Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker
- Gus Johnson could make the Women's NIT sound exciting.
- Johnson's enthusiasm and Tasker's knowledge and professionalism.
- Gus at least tries to bring up statistical analysis, and he also tries to avoid traditional dumb clichés. The only downside is that Tasker really doesn't do a good job analyzing special teams.
Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon
- Harlan provides excitement without overdoing it and does a good job of focusing on the field. Gannon uses his QB experience to provide some solid insight and is continuing to improve.
- Harlan is great because he informs the viewers of substitutions on both sides of the ball before nearly every snap.
- Gannon is enough of a newbie to still actually point out things on the field instead of just spewing clichés and talking about having dinner with the head coach.
Ron Pitts and Jesse Palmer
- Palmer was actually breaking down plays and making interesting observations, and stayed out of Pitts' way while the play was on.
- They did what they're supposed to do, call the play-by-play and giving accurate, useful commentary and analysis. I kept thinking to myself "damn these guys are good." I couldn't believe it was Jesse "the Bachelor" Palmer.
Jim Nantz and Phil Simms
- Jim calls an excellent game, but defers to Phil on in-game expertise. They also work well as a team, and both are funny enough without seeming to "try to hard" to be.
- They don't screw up as consistently as most teams do. Nantz has a good feel for play-by-play, and Simms occasionally will chime in with tidbits the viewer could not have learned without him mentioning it.
Who wins the Three Stooges Award for worst announcing team in the NFL? (top eight listed) (Every year's winner: Patrick/Maguire/Theismann)
| 40.2% Mike Tirico, Tony Kornheiser, and Joe Theismann, ESPN 12.3% Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, FOX 11.7% Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth, NFL Network 8.7% Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, CBS 5.1% Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf, CBS 4.0% Dick Enberg and Randy Cross, CBS 3.2% Matt Vasgersian and J.C. Pearson, FOX 2.3% Kenny Albert and Brian Baldinger, FOX |
We might as well name this award after Patrick, Maguire, and Theismann, since those guys won it for four straight years, including 72% of the vote last year. And, of course, it is won by The New Three Stooges. Or, more accurately, The New Four Stooges: Tirico, Theismann, Kornheiser, and whatever lame celebrity interview they've been saddled with that week. Once again here, we see how unpopular the CBS announcers are.
This year, with more pregame shows added to the pregame menu, we split the pregame awards into "host" and "personality." Last year, this was one award, with Tom Jackson winning for best and Michael Irvin for worst. Of course, we all know who would have won best personality if we had opened things up to the Monday pregame show on ESPN -- and this year, with the Big Man moving to Sundays, we had no choice but to let him rule the category.
Who is the best pregame personality? (top eight listed)
| 55.1% Ron Jaworski, ESPN 9.4% Cris Collinsworth, NBC 5.3% Tom Jackson, ESPN 3.9% Steve Young, ESPN |
3.3% Terry Bradshaw, FOX 3.3% Howie Long, FOX 3.1% Boomer Esiason, CBS 2.6% Deion Sanders, NFL Network |
No contest.
Who is the worst pregame personality? (top eight listed)
| 47.8% Michael Irvin, ESPN 18.9% Shannon Sharpe, CBS 7.2% Deion Sanders, NFL Network 6.7% Terry Bradshaw, FOX |
3.5% Peter King, NBC 2.6% Mike Ditka, ESPN 2.4% Boomer Esiason, CBS 2.4% Sterling Sharpe, NBC |
That's three straight years, but you won't have Michael Irvin to kick around anymore. Next in line for derision: Shannon Sharpe. I've never heard him say anything stupid, but that might be because half the time I can't understand anything he's saying at all. It's hard to bargle nawdle zouss with all these marbles in my mouth.
Who is the best pregame host?
| 27.8% James Brown, CBS 25.4% Chris Berman, ESPN 20.5% Rich Eisen, NFL Network 19.2% Bob Costas, NBC |
4.7% Curt Menefee, FOX 1.6% Stuart Scott, ESPN 0.9% Joe Buck, FOX |
I think most everyone does a good job picking their pregame host, except FOX.
Who is the worst pregame host?
| 45.5% Joe Buck, FOX 21.9% Stuart Scott, ESPN 16.1% Chris Berman, ESPN 5.9% Curt Menefee, FOX |
5.7% Bob Costas, NBC 3.6% James Brown, CBS 1.4% Rich Eisen, NFL Network |
Holy upset! I can't believe that Joe Buck not only beat Stuart Scott, but got more than twice as many votes! Boy, did that experiment not work.
The best commercial during NFL games this year was: (Last year's winner: Burger King as NFL player)
| 21.4% NFL Network "get your story straight" 18.9% Coors Light news conferences 13.8% Burger King sacks Matt Hasselbeck 13.1% MasterCard Peyton Manning "support your team" 10.6% Miller Lite Man Laws 10.4% NFL.com "Reggie Bush's fantasy draft" 8.5% Nike Briscoe High football 1.9% Combos "What your mom would feed you if your mom was a man." 1.5% Diet Pepsi sound over NFL footage |
A lot of people complained that we didn't include the Bruce Campbell Old Spice ad, but I don't think it had debuted yet when I compiled the list. We probably won't include "get your story straight" in future years, since the NFL Network runs that every year, but this year's version was especially funny. ("I'm sweatin' like a steam fittah in here.")
The most annoying commercial during NFL games this year was: (Last year's winner: Nokia "I delete him from my phone")
| 59.1% This is Our Country 9.4% The one where the guys fast forward through the game to get to the commercial for some truck, which is so annoying we can't even remember what company it is for. 5.8% Dodge Ram: Rock 'em Sock'em Robots 5.2% Diet Pepsi sound over NFL footage 4.8% ESPN Monday Night Football campaign based on the idea that nobody watches football Saturday or Sunday. 4.4% Coors Light news conferences 11.3% (five other candidates) |
In future years, this will be known as the Mellencamp Must Die Award.
The next question was "What is your favorite team-specific website or blog?" I didn't do a good job of asking this one, so the answers don't make a lot of sense. I meant to ask for independent websites and blogs, but instead, most of the votes were either for national sites, official team sites, or blogs from some of the winners of our next category. Whoops. I'll try to re-word this better next year.
Three sites that did receive a few votes that were examples of what I meant to include in this category: Blogging the 'Boys, Extreme Skins, and HeelsSoxSteelers by our very own Ryan Wilson.
Which local NFL writer do you feel deserves a more national profile?
This question never gets enough votes to give percentages, but the two writers who tied for the most votes this year were the same two writers who received most of the votes last year -- and the same two writers whose blogs received the most mentions for the previous question as well: Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe and Mike Sando of the Tacoma News-Tribune. Clearly in third behind these two was Rich Gosselin from the Dallas Morning News. Other writers who received at least three votes included:
- Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
- Jason Cole, Miami Herald
- Bob Kravitz, Indianapolis Star
- Jason LaCanfora, Washington Post
- Matt Maioco, Santa Rosa Press-Democrat
- Mark Maske, Washington Post
Also receiving a few votes, although he's not really a "local reporter" per se: Mike Carlson, who covers the NFL for NFLUK.com and Channel Five in Britain. And while this question is not supposed to refer to writers on official team websites, I should mention a number of votes for Vic Ketchman of Jaguars.com. Ketchman writes a very good mailbag column and Jaguars.com might be the most independent of the 32 team websites.
One of the writers who received votes in this category in past years actually did move up to the big time this year: Tom Curran of the Providence Journal-Bulletin, who was hired as the main NFL reporter for NBC.com.
The funniest thing to happen during the 2006 NFL season was: (Last year's winner: Clinton Portis press conferences)
| 59.5% Dennis Green's "They are who we thought they were" press conference. 20.6% Tonyhomo.com. 12.3% The Oakland Raiders "offense" 2.2% Christian Slater's absurd interview during Monday Night Football. 2.2% Random belching during NFL Network telecast 3.0% (three things that were not as funny as these other things) |
The speech so memorable that AOL's NFL Fanhouse called their picks of the best and worst of 2006 the "Crown Their Asses" awards.
Finally, for the second straight year, we asked readers about their favorite team. Unlike last year, every single team in the NFL received at least two votes. Here's a look at the top 15 teams. I've added rank in last year's balloting for the teams that were in last year's top dozen (meaning more than three percent of the vote in 2005). For the first time since Football Outsiders launched in 2003, the New England Patriots are not the most popular team among FO readers.
| Favorite Team of FO Readers, End of 2006 Season | |||||||||||||
| Rk | Team | Pct | LY | x | Rk | Team | Pct | LY | x | Rk | Team | Pct | LY |
| 1 | PHI | 9.7% | 3 | x | 6 | SEA | 4.4% | 4 | x | 11 | DEN | 3.2% | 12 |
| 2 | PIT | 8.6% | 2 | x | 7 | NYG | 4.2% | 6 | x | 12 | BUF | 3.2% | -- |
| 3 | IND | 8.2% | 8 | x | 8 | WAS | 4.2% | 7 | x | 13 | SD | 3.2% | -- |
| 4 | CHI | 8.0% | 5 | x | 9 | GB | 4.2% | 11 | x | 14 | NYJ | 3.0% | -- |
| 5 | NE | 6.5% | 1 | x | 10 | SF | 3.4% | 9 | x | 15 | CIN | 2.7% | -- |
E-A-G-L-E-S! Eagles! Football Outsiders continues to be big in Pennsylvania, possibly because DVOA loves the Eagles and Steelers. To drop from 11.4% of the readers to 6.5% of the readers seems like a huge drop, and I have a feeling we had some Patriots fans who just missed the awards, but still, it's another step in the long, hard battle to convince people that we are not a "Patriots fan site" even though the editor-in-chief is a Patriots fan. As you might expect, fans of the two Super Bowl teams were reading Football Outsiders a lot during the playoffs, when we held the balloting.
And now, for the final element of this year's awards balloting, we present, as voted by the Football Outsiders readers ...
The 2007 Class of the Fantasy Football Hall of Fame
Mike Tanier first introduced the Fantasy Football Hall of Fame in this article and it was so popular that we decided to induct five players each year. To merit induction into the Fantasy Football Hall of Fame, a player or coach must:
- Have had a five-year NFL career, and must be retired for at least one season.
- Have made a significant contribution to the game of fantasy football.
- Have no chance in this world of getting into the real Hall of Fame.
Super Bowl appearances count against potential candidates, as do other noteworthy accomplishments like an MVP award. A candidate's best seasons had to occur after the dawn of the fantasy sports era (the mid-to-late 1980s) and bonus points are awarded for non-football factors like a catchy nickname or related food product.
Here are the five inductees chosen by the Football Outsiders readers this year.
 |
RICH GANNON
Outstanding fantasy seasons from 1999-2002. Scrambling quarterback who ran for 21 career touchdowns. Five interceptions in the Super Bowl. Spent a decade on the bench behind guys like Wade Wilson and Steve Bono. Made throwing sidearm cool. |
 |
EDDIE GEORGE
Seven 1,000-yard seasons. Outstanding fantasy seasons in 1999, 2000 and 2002. Was a better fantasy player than real player for most of his career. Enormous biceps. Completely pointless final season with the Cowboys. Negatives: Was an excellent player in the 1999 postseason and scored two Super Bowl touchdowns. |
 |
GARRISON HEARST
Outstanding fantasy season in 1998, with several other good seasons. Constantly injured. Had one of the most unlikely comebacks in history after missing two seasons with a severe leg injury. Delightfully pointless end-of-career stint in Denver tricked many fantasy owners into drafting him in 2004. |
 |
JIMMY SMITH
Seven 1,000-yard seasons. Was the consummate stat compiler, with six passes for 75 yards every week for 10 years. Put up 291 yards and three touchdowns in one game in 2000, becoming the worst start/bench decision in fantasy football history because so many people sat him against the Ravens. Negatives: He had some great postseason games. |
 |
WESLEY WALLS
Outstanding fantasy seasons in 1996 and 1999. Several other good seasons. Just five playoff appearances in 14 seasons. Hung around three years too long because of his "leadership," making him a sucker's choice for fantasy football owners everywhere from 2001 to 2003. |
One of these days, we're going to finally get around to putting together a whole FFHOF page with all of Jason's cartoon busts of the players, including the original inductees. Eventually.
Here's a look back at the three previous FO awards results:
- Part I of the 2005 Football Outsiders Awards
- Part II of the 2005 Football Outsiders Awards
- 2004 Football Outsiders Awards
- 2003 Football Outsiders Awards
87 comments, Last at 04 Mar 2007, 2:19am by Great Scott!
Comments
First!
Al Michaels and Gilbert Godfried would be an awesome announcer pairing. Can they get Rhonda Shear to be the sideline reporter?
You forgot the other reason Rich Gannon is cool: he graduated from the University of Delaware. As an Eagles fan, I also am pleased to learn we are taking the place over!
He doesn't fit into any category, but recognition is due again for Chris Landry's work on FOX sports radio. He knows the game and personnel, is not reluctant to be frankly critical, and does not see his role as being akin to a carnival barker's.
Re: 2
Clearly the choice for sideline reparter would be Fran Drescher.
TJ Whosyourmama, anyone? That was my favorite NFL ad in a good year for ADs and it didn't get a mention. Aiyeeee!
I am shocked that the "Support Your Team" commercial lost.
I'm glad that the terrible "fast forward the game" commercial finished second, it was just terrible. The guys sounded like they were watching a porn flick, it was just wrong.
Is there any way we can see the voting results for the FFHoF? I was hoping to find out who just missed the cut.
Awesome. I've had each of the 5 FFHOF inductees on a team of mine at least once.
Any chance of disclosing what the total number of votes were? I'm trying to figure out whether I'm surprised that the Seahawks are the 6th most popular team here, and were 4th last year.
I'm also wondering whether that's due to a residual carryover from last year, in the way that PIT/PHI's popularity was attributed to their fine DVOA numbers, or if it's just the pull that Doug has on the innernets.
Criterion for the FFHOF
"Have no chance in this world of getting into the real Hall of Fame."
Jimmy Smith has a chance at Canton. Not a huge one to be sure, but he does have a chance. Is he eligible for the FFHOF?
Weird Al rules. I never pictured Sharpe as the new Cobain, but I think it fits. I know both of them are equally likely to get me to hit mute or change the channel.
The Football Outsiders readers have spoken: He’s LdT.
NOOOOO!!!!! My pet peeve is now Football Outsiders convention. Well, he'll always be "LT" to me.
Chris Landry is excellent.
one voter called Buck "the best sports play-by-play announcer in the world"
Did Joe's wife vote in the poll?
Enberg really needs to retire — listening to him mispronounce and screw up names every five minutes is agonizing
Imagine listening to him do a radio game then: I listened to the T-giving KC-DEN game on the radio. Not only was he getting names wrong and teams mixed up, but he almost never mentioned the yardage gained or down and distance.
Best announcing team: Marv and Boomer on Westwood One they are so far above any of the TV announcers that it's not even funny
Seeing a Weird Al reference here brings a tear of joy to my eye.
And I'll agree that I have trouble understanding some of what Shannon Sharpe says. I think Sterling is pretty good, but Shannon...not so much.
I've mentioned it before, but the single best announcing gig I've seen this year was Don Criqui and Al de Rogeris calling the Jets upset of the Colts in SBIII on the NFLN.
This saddens me.
#4, 13
I agree, Chris Landry is terrific. He's about the only reason I can think of to listen to Fox Sports radio.
17: That was Curt Gowdy in Super Bowl III, not Don Criqui. And it's Al DeRogatis, not Al de Rogeris.
Landry good.
Tom Curran is the worst sportswriter I have ever read.
It is sad to think of Enberg going Curt Gowdy on us. Does anyone remember Gowdy's last couple of efforts where he couldn't remember anything.
I don't remember Buck being so bad a few years ago. What happened that caused him to get so freakin' awful?
I, well, sort of, won something. The favorite team of the FO readers are the Philadelphia Eagles!
I have only one question: how did the New Stooges only manage 40% of the vote?
re: 22
ESPN interns may have stuffed the ballot box so that the Tirico crew would not get 80% of the vote.
It seems most of the Eagles fans here hate the Philly sports media, especially WIP and the knuckle-dragging troglodyte that is Angelo Cataldi, and I wonder if that's what drives us to this site. I know I come here seeking an antidote to the mindless gibbering that passes for sports commentary in this town.
I'm about to enter law school and consider myself a reader, but i do not get TMQ. snotty, hyperliterate football writing is awful. i know this site is for more intelligent fans (which is why i like it), but that dude is completely unengaging and uninteresting. he's my vote for least favorite columnist.
I think a prerequisite for being a philadelphia sports journalist is hating philadephia teams. Especially if the team is succesful, you have to reserve extra hate for the players/coaches that bring said success to the town. By the way, Mike Quick is hilariously bad. If anyone has listened to radio broadcasts in the philly area, you've probably heard him say something really dumb. My favorite is when he refers to the great player that demarco wares is.
by the way...does anybody else remember tony siragusa's prophetic claim in the saints-eagles playoff match that "someone will win, and someone will loose?"
Honestly he should have gotten more votes just for that.
Why do the stooges still have jobs?
don't know, don't know, don't know, don't know.
As I noted in my ballot, my pick for most annoying commercial wasn't even nominated: The Toyota commercial where the guy on the assembly line smiles at the camera and says: "Pride! It's all about pride."
Who talks like that? I suspect the truth is closer to "Union benefits! It's all about union benefits."
26: I think a prerequisite for being a Philadelphia sports fan is a masochistic interest in sports. Journalists are too wimpy to endure that, so they have to hate the teams instead.
27: Yes, I did see that. But he did assemble a line-play demonstration on the sideline out of random camera and security guys.
As the IRC folks can attest to, if Our Country did not win I would have torn a swath of murder and mayhem through the midwest.
FO, in its good taste in bad commercials, saved (mid)western civilization.
Fnor,
I can assure you that if Our Country had not won, I would have been right alongside you.
there should've been a space for what everyone hates about the New Three Stooges. :D
I believe the Powers-That-Be that hire announcers over at ESPN should be forced to watch the "This is Our Country" commercial with the volume pushed to 11 until they realize that Joe Theismann IS NOT and WILL NEVER BE anywhere close to a good broadcast team member. Seriously, I sit there game after game AFTER GAME and wonder why he is still employed. Thank God for the guy that invented the "mute" button!
26: I think a prerequisite for being a Philadelphia sports fan is a masochistic interest in sports. Journalists are too wimpy to endure that, so they have to hate the teams instead.
Can you blame us? Would you take a job that meant guaranteed disappointment, pain and eventually all-consuming despair? All that's fine as a hobby, but making it your life's work, for eight hours a day every day of the year? What would you escape into?
*Disclaimer: I'm a journalist and a Philadelphia sports fan, but not a sports journalist. I wouldn't be able to stand it.
Although TV companies are not known for their integrity or adherance to the truth, they are known for trying to maximise profit.That prompts me to ask why they continue to employ announcers and analysts who are clearly incompetant at best and toxic to revenue at worst. They must do market research of some kind.
Is FO unrepresentative of American NFL fans or would the contempt for ESPN's Number One team be repeated in a nationwide poll? In the UK, Sky consistently manage to use some of the worst announcers known to man so it's by no means an American phenomenon.
Perhaps the choice of announcer is predicated on the idea that sports fans will watch even if the commentators are mind-numbingly awful....in which case, nepotism and patronage can be indulged with no effect on the audience.
I'm just having a bad day.
2 things:
1)I saw Rock em Sock em Robots even more times than I saw This Is Our Country. I hate that ad. It got to the point where I had to shut off the TV every time I heard clanging noises.
2)I went with James Brown as worst pregame personality. He adds nothing. Have you seen his "keys to victory" crap or whatever they call it? They're like "Tiki Barber will have to rush for a lot of yards for the Giants to win. Jeff Garcia will have to move the ball for the Eagles to win. Those are your keys to victory."
RE: 10
Exactly. That's why I didn't vote for him.
Paul, #36
I totally agree with you about Sky's commentary teams.
I need only two words, BOB WOOLMER.
The man could bore through solid rock.
#36 Should be incompetent....and yes, I'm aware of the irony.
#38 James, do you mean Bob Willis? I'd add Ian Botham to the list of bad commentators, all his observations are either stolen from Nasser Hussein (the good ones) or so obvious as to bear comparison with the examples cited by Sid for James Brown.
On a positive note, I thought Deion Sanders was surprisingly good when he stood in for a hoarse Dick Vermeil.
anyone have a link to the christian slater interview?
I'm glad to see that the monday nightmare broadcast team made it as the worse one.
Cannot understand how Kornheiser a man who has admitted on PTI that he never stays up late to watch MNF prior to getting the gig could be on MNF. Time to Dennis Miller him and good riddance.
#25
The thing about TMQ is that he used to be a blast to read. He did a great job of mixing humor, analysis, and random off-topic anecdotes into a cohesive column. It was my favorite read of the week a few years ago.
He had a good niche in the world of sports writing; no one did what he did. At some point, he lost it. I started skimming more and more, and then he really lost a notch in my eyes after the whole "Bill Parcells is a failed human being" thing.
He's a talented writer, but he needs to stop preaching, and start being funny again.
To the person asking about Joe Buck, his crowning achievement came a few years back when Randy Moss scored a TD at Lambeau and pretended to moon the fans. I would say Buck's reaction was as if we had just witnessed Janet Jackson II, but even that doesn't do it proper justice.
Since then, he seems to have taken a permanent seat on the moral high horse.
#42 Agreed. I used to look forward to Easterbrook every week. Now it's like Deborah Gibson in Playboy. I mean, yeah, she's nude, but who gives a sh!t?
I think somewhere early last season, TMQ went from "Here's an entertaining look at the week's action from a off-center viewpoint" to "Here's a look at a little bit of the week's action from the viewpoint of somebody a lot smarter than you, your family, NFL coaches, and mainstream media"
#19, thanks for the correction. I had it correct on the other thread, I promise. Point still stands.
And what could be better than a moralist working for FOX? Nothing like feigned outrage over a fake mooning before you promo wifeswap.
This is in no way to support Joe Buck but I've always assumed that he thought Randy Moss was miming having a crap in the Packer's end zone. That was my initial impression....but then I'm English and everybody knows we're obsessed with the lavatory.
I find it pretty interesting that Buck/Aikman and Gumbel/Collinsworth were voted the be two of the top 4 best announcing crews and two of the 3 worst announcing crews. And by almost the exact same percentages in each case.
Re: 42/44
I think you both summed up TMQ very well. His writing drips with condescension for everyone who isn't him or his son.
It's one thing to get that kind of attitude from a Zimmerman or former NFL coach who knows what he's talking about. It's quite another to get it from a guy who really has little knowledge of the game.
I've always hated Troy Aikman as an announcer, but this season it grew to a new level. He has technical knowledge of the game, but his opinions about players are often silly and can change drastically from week to week.
His performance during the Eagles-Cowboys game was an absolute embarrassment to his craft. His hatred for T.O. caused him to blame literally everything that went wrong on the field on T.O. This included some of the most GOD awful Drew Bledsoe throws of the past decade. It was silly, petty, and quite ridiculous. I don't even like T.O., but that was over the top.
"Is FO unrepresentative of American NFL fans?"
YES. Isn't that obvious? If it wasn't there'd be no reason for it to exist.
Moss' pantomimed mooning was followed by a pantomimed wiping of his ass on the Packer logo. That's what Buck was reacting to.
If you were thought Buck's reaction was excessively preachy, let me know when I can come by your house and pantomime wiping my ass on your family photos. Good times for all!
After, reading over the praise of Madden and Michaels, I think I've finally figured out why I can't stand Madden. It's not because he doesn't point out interesting things, but because he frames every detail he describes as an absolute rule. "You HAVE to do X," "when you're in zone coverage you ALWAYS Y," and so on. I like seeing the technical details of the game, but when every single one gets turned into The Most Important Part Of The Game, it grates.
I don’t even like T.O., but that was over the top.
Kinda off topic, but since we're talking somewhat about NFL coverage, there should have been a question about "player/storyline you never want to hear another word about." For me, that's TO. Freakin' ESPN ought to be renamed the All-TO network.
Meanwhile, the league is chock full of great human beings and terrific storylines, most of which go uncovered, so that we can hear more TO related nonsense. I don't watch much of the pregame stuff in between Sundays, but I did catch a story (on HBO?) about Joseph Addai and his best friend from his HS days who was paralyzed during a HS game. Really great story. Too bad we don't get more of that.
ca
My pet peeve is people calling LaDainian Tomlinson "Lawrence Taylor". Also people calling Peyton Manning the greatest player of all-time.
also shannon sharpe is a horse. it amazes me that they allow a horse to do pregame shows and be a sideline reporter at the pro bowl.
Re: 50
Well, if you'd been hanging around outside my office and actually mooning me every time I went home from work, I'd probably feel somewhat justified in pantomiming wiping my ass on your family photos.
If you were thought Buck’s reaction was excessively preachy, let me know when I can come by your house and pantomime wiping my ass on your family photos. Good times for all!
You're an idiot.
When Moss pantomimed wiping his ass on the goalpost what Buck called it was "a disgusting act"
Frankly, I think it WAS a disgusting act. But I guess I'm on a moral high horse too.
Look, if you hate Buck because he's smug or not as funny as he thinks he is, fine. But as for the idea that he's this condescending moral crusader I just don't see it. Can anybody think of another specific instance when Buck was on the high horse? The whole thing is a disproportionate perception fueled by lame Bill Simmons jokes.
Geez #55, I'm not sure that people who use a crude synonym for masturbation as their posting name should really be questioning other people's intelligence or taste.
Fine, I'm an idiot.
But did you or didn't you think that Randy Moss pantomiming wiping his ass on a goalpost was a disgusting act?
If you didn't, then by extension you'd have to think it would be ok if pantomiming wiping your ass became a standard TD celebration.
And if so I think the vast majority of NFL viewers would disagree.
Eagles fans love this site because it is the only place our team is discussed intelligently. True, the average FO reader is not your "run of the mill" NFL fan, but the difference is ten times bigger for Bird's fans. Pat for president.
As an Eagles fan, this is one of the few places I can go and feel good about who I cheer for - Among other things, I don't see people call me nasty names just because I'm a Philly fan (well, some still do, but they're a minority).
As for worst announcer - it's not that The Three Stooges are good, it's just that I hate Joe Buck with the white-hot intensity of a thousand burning suns. I mean, what does it say that as an Eagles fan, I hate the Buck half of that team more?
RE: 43
"That is a disgusting act by Randy Moss. And it's unfortunate that we have that on our air live. That is disgusting by Randy Moss."
Meanwhile, the league is chock full of great human beings
Next year there should be an award for Best FO Poster.
I'd vote for Pat, who should be working for the NFL. What does this guy do in real life??
The end of that should say:
"Could've fooled me."
Re 62:
Don't open that can of worms.
Which one? Best poster or what people do in real life?
I'm willing to confess what I do in real life. I'm not really an architect. I'm a porn star by the name of Buck Naked.
Mikey, I think you're forgetting just how indignant Buck was. He didn't just comment about how Moss's fake moon was disgusting. He had to go on and apologize to the views for something that disgusting even being broadcast. It was the kind of vitriol that should have been reserved for a highlight reel accidentally containing a goatse picture.
No, I don't think it was a disgusting act. On the contrary, it may have been the only time I've ever laughed at an endzone celebration. And when it came out the the Vikings' bus was routinely mooned for real, it only made it funnier.
And I'm not even going to refute your claim that a vast majority of people would find it offensive. But as far as I'm concerned, that just further validates my disdain towards the general population.
Re: 53
My pet peeve is people calling LaDainian Tomlinson “Lawrence Taylor�. Also people calling Peyton Manning the greatest player of all-time.
You better get used to the latter, because you're going to be hearing it a lot over the next few decades.
Randy Moss pretended to Moon the crowd, then pretended to wipe his ass or something. (It looked to me like he was just wiggling, but whatever.)
Joe Buck acted like Moss had actually dropped his pants and pooped right there on the field.
Another vote for Chris Landry. I want to invent a category just so he can win it. He's become my favorite football commentator, period, and that's from a guy (me) who used to shudder at the name "Landry."
I remember watching the infamous game in question. I happened to look away from the TV during Moss' celebration. I heard what Buck said and assumed that he did something really, really bad. FOX refused to show the replay, so I was under the assumption that Moss may have actually removed his pants during the game. ESPN cleared things up for me that evening. I remember being confused about what the big deal was and somewhat disappointed.
"If you were thought Buck’s reaction was excessively preachy, let me know when I can come by your house and pantomime wiping my ass on your family photos."
How does February 29th work for you? If you can't do it then, how about April 31st?
The awards for broadcast teams baffle me , since I find T.V. coverage of football so annoying I watch with the volume down most of the time . Constant play-by-play is for radio , when you can't see what's going on . I've been watching football all my life and I don't need to be told what's going on when I can see it with my own eyes . Isn't that what you do when attending a game ? When I'm watching a game in beautiful hi-def all I want to hear are the ambient sounds of the game . Why do they have to fill every second with chatter ? If they would just shut up , or make an occassional comment it would be much better .
If anyone hasn't seen the randy moss butt wipe in question, click the link on my name for a you tube shot of it. I've got to say I can't see what the big deal is.
Hey so has any other city (other than Philadelphia) staged jersey burnings after a player left the team through free agency?
Odd quirk: Even though the NFC East has three of the top eight teams in the balloting of FO readers above, the NFC East is the only thread on our new off-season discussion board that has no comments as of Thursday morning.
I'd be interested to see something like a "favorite non-local team" award, one that rules out votes for teams in places you've lived. (That'd rule out four or five teams for me...)
Why? I think it'd be interesting to know if any teams gain a disproportionalte base of, well, probably not fans, so let's say "sympathizers." I suspect a lot of that sort of support would be tied to favorite or interesting players -- like rooting for the Raiders back when I was a kid just because George Blanda was older than my dad -- though coaches or nicely run organizations might garner some support as well.
I also suspect that the Cardinals would get zero votes.
I’d vote for Pat, who should be working for the NFL. What does this guy do in real life??
Pat, I understand how frustrating it must be to be stuck in that dead-end astrophysics job, but lobbying for a League position by posting to FO under a pseudonym just isn't helping.
Re: 76
Good question, but I think you'd also have to make it non-local/non-favorite to account for all those people who inexplicably call a team they have no connection to their favorite. Hopefully that'll make into next year's awards.
Personally, the only team I root for (besides whoever is playing Dal/NY/Was) would probably be Minnesota because of Brad Childress.
Re: 78
Personally, the only team I root for (besides whoever is playing Dal/NY/Was) would probably be Minnesota because of Brad Childress.
I guess that means you'll have a new second favorite team in 2008.
Count me as one of the those who'd like to see the numbers of votes all teams got; I'm wondering if there's anyone out here other than myself, johnnyblazin and smf.
I just saw Tirico doing a NBA game (Chicago-Detroit). He was completely ignoring the game action while talking about stuff totally irrelevant to the game itself. Hmmm, where I have I seen this before?
I changed the channel and went back to watching sloppy UConn basketball.
Suggestion: ban anyone who posts "First!" absent any actual comment whatsoever.
Great job covering the '06 season, FO. May you and your constituent writers continue to flourish and prosper!
eighty third!
84th!!
pi!!
LdT is really dumb. Nobody actually calls him that to his face.
Calling Tomlinson "LT" is really dumb.
87th!
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