mykidsdad Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 Why are the tv announcers, especially the color commentators, so bad? Most of the radio guys aren't half as bad. What is the problem? And who would be your best and worst? I like Collinsworth, but Ronde Barber makes me cringe, I feel embarrassed for him. Gruden has his moments, but is normally pedestrian. I wish we could get better for MNF.
MichFan Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 I had to put up with the Jets radio crew on XM yesterday. Their lead guy was THE WORST I have ever suffered through. Guy should have gotten the Geno treatment and been benched by halftime.
RJ (not THAT RJ) Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 The biggest problem on TV is that no national announcing crew, no matter how hard they try, is going to know as much about the Bills as most posters on this board. They come in with a few scripted talking points, and then hammer away at them. They also tend to be front-runners, praising the team in the lead, until the producers tell them to back off so as to keep the audience watching. Serious fans notice this and it drives them crazy. I'm sure that hard-core fans of every team feel the same way. It can be a bit better if the same crew calls a team's games a few times (like back when Marv Alpert or Don Criqui seemed to get the Bills weekly), but it is a weakness. The national games on Sunday and Monday and Thursday are even worse, of course, because not only do the crews only know the big national stories, but the whole broadcast is aimed at maintaining the interest of the casual fan. Local radio teams are entertaining, but are usually homers of one kind or another. Some are better than others. Murph and Kelso are middle of the pack compared to the homerrific stylings of the Washington or Pitts or NY teams.
machine gun kelly Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 RJ, right on the money which is why I like listening to NFL radio play by play as you get Murph and Kelso even living in Tampa. My problem there is there is a five minute delay so your watching at a sports bar the game, and you hear the plays five minutes later. I don't mind some of the TV announcers like Phil Simms, Joe Buck, or Rich Gannon. They don't know everything about the team, but enough to make it interesting. That is why I don't like the local radio here, but prefer the NFL radio commentators. They are more well informed than the people on NFL network, or ESPN. Those guys drive you crazy as they know so little about the Bills.
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 Why are the tv announcers, especially the color commentators, so bad? Most of the radio guys aren't half as bad. What is the problem? And who would be your best and worst? I like Collinsworth, but Ronde Barber makes me cringe, I feel embarrassed for him. Gruden has his moments, but is normally pedestrian. I wish we could get better for MNF. tv announcers have little to do with the team week to week, radio people have the home town connection oh and the radio people can be bad when the team is bad.
Johnny Hammersticks Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 Collinsworth is definitely amongst the best, IMO. I feel like he calls it like it is, and you don't get too much "fluff" from him. Definitely knows the game inside and out.
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 Collinsworth is definitely amongst the best, IMO. I feel like he calls it like it is, and you don't get too much "fluff" from him. Definitely knows the game inside and out. IIRC Colinsworth was very anti Bills, but he's improving
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 @RJ: agree with your take. One proposal I would suggest is for the home team to add a local radio/news guy to the national booth for every game. Then you at least have some knowledgeable person assisting the national guys.
hondo in seattle Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 Maybe my expectation are low because the announcers don't typically bother me. I know they're not going to know as much about the Bills as we do. I just hope the play-by-play guy calls the action somewhat fluently and the color guy provides me a bit of new information about the other team.
RJ (not THAT RJ) Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 @RJ: agree with your take. One proposal I would suggest is for the home team to add a local radio/news guy to the national booth for every game. Then you at least have some knowledgeable person assisting the national guys. That's not a bad idea. I wonder why they don't rely on more local knowledge, but I suppose it becomes an issue of balance (not to mention of who pays whom for what), so the networks stick with the idea that a broadly but thinly informed crew that works together regularly no matter the location is the best of all possible alternatives for them.
ProcessAccepted Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 For what they are paid some of these guys could be a little better prepared. Having a local guy in the booth could lead to commentary that's just too biased. For me the crew that was on for the Vikings game was horrible. Pro Vikings views was bad enough but being way late noticing fumbles and flags was really annoying.
mykidsdad Posted October 29, 2014 Author Posted October 29, 2014 (edited) I understand what you're saying, and I agree to point,but if someones full time job is to cover one game a week, he should do better than what we hear week after week. How often do the commentators call some important player by the wrong name because he was reading the number-name chart from the other team. Even if they have other work to do, doing one game is like their main job, so the announcers should do more homework and just work on their basic abilities to speak. It can be so bad. It is painful. The biggest problem on TV is that no national announcing crew, no matter how hard they try, is going to know as much about the Bills as most posters on this board. They come in with a few scripted talking points, and then hammer away at them. They also tend to be front-runners, praising the team in the lead, until the producers tell them to back off so as to keep the audience watching. Serious fans notice this and it drives them crazy. I'm sure that hard-core fans of every team feel the same way. It can be a bit better if the same crew calls a team's games a few times (like back when Marv Alpert or Don Criqui seemed to get the Bills weekly), but it is a weakness. The national games on Sunday and Monday and Thursday are even worse, of course, because not only do the crews only know the big national stories, but the whole broadcast is aimed at maintaining the interest of the casual fan. Local radio teams are entertaining, but are usually homers of one kind or another. Some are better than others. Murph and Kelso are middle of the pack compared to the homerrific stylings of the Washington or Pitts or NY teams. Edited October 29, 2014 by mykidsdad
Boatdrinks Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 Collinsworth is definitely amongst the best, IMO. I feel like he calls it like it is, and you don't get too much "fluff" from him. Definitely knows the game inside and out. Agreed , Collinsworth is elite as color analysts go. He knows the ins and outs of the game and can point out subtle things, unlike say Phil Simms who never has a strong opinion and is just master of the obvious when trying to point anything out. Al Michaels is top shelf as a play by play guy. There are good crews out there , but the Bills rarely get them. Maybe that will change if they continue to win. Ian Eagle is a pretty strong play by play guy as well. Don't believe he's done a Bills game this year though.
jr1 Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 Streetball announcer Duke Tango should announce all games
NextYearGuys Posted October 29, 2014 Posted October 29, 2014 I find it embarrassing when they don't even know the players' names. They either mispronounce it, say the wrong first name, or call them someone else entirely. You'd think as professional commentators, they'd know more about who the players are...
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