NFL Network broadcasts
 

What do you guys think of the NFL Network game broadcasts so far?

I think Gumbel is mad weak in the booth as a play by play guy, Collinsworth is ok. The exchanges between the booth and the sideline are pretty rough. Last night for example Faulk was talking over the ref announcing a penalty.

So far the NFL Network is giving a pretty weak effort if you ask me.

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Totally agree. If it weren't for Collinsworth (who I'm not crazy about) the telecast would be unwatchable. Even the camera operators have trouble with play-action passes.

Gumbel's voice is like nails on a chalkboard.

The worst has to be ESPN's Monday Night Football opening sequence. Talk about overkill -- the city streets turns into a football stadium? Pedestrians morph into football players? Huh?

Then after that, we still have to sit through the increasingly tiresome Hank Williams Jr. routine.

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I haven't paid much attention the past couple of weeks. The first week was painful though. Seemed like every other play was interrupted by a commercial

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[quote=Beemnseven;257340]Totally agree. If it weren't for Collinsworth (who I'm not crazy about) the telecast would be unwatchable. Even the camera operators have trouble with play-action passes.

Gumbel's voice is like nails on a chalkboard.

The worst has to be ESPN's Monday Night Football opening sequence. Talk about overkill -- the city streets turns into a football stadium? Pedestrians morph into football players? Huh?

Then after that, we still have to sit through the increasingly tiresome Hank Williams Jr. routine.[/quote]

Yeah hard to believe that Collinsworth is the only thing holding that booth up. Gumbel is really, really bad. Worse than I expected him to be. He's so bland.

Whatever happened to the good old days when the helmets would crash together on the MNF opening and they would play that great MNF music. The openings of these things have become such overkill it's ridiculous.

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Well the MNF opening was more a business decision than anything else. A lot of people aren't crazy about it from a creative standpoint. It's cool the first time but gets old quick. I think you'll see something different and a bit simpler next year

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I barely watched any of the game last night, mainly because of the teams involved, but it seemed like every time I switched over the the NFL Network they were running a commercial. I think over the course of about 45 total minutes with my TV on that channel I might have seen a grand total of 8 minutes of actual football.

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[QUOTE=Mattyk72;257342]Whatever happened to the good old days when the helmets would crash together on the MNF opening and they would play that great MNF music. The openings of these things have become such overkill it's ridiculous.[/QUOTE] It's like the NFL, and most pro sports, have decided to try to entertain the masses at the expense of pissing off the fans of the actual sport. I really feel like people are either going to watch it or they aren't and having Pink scream some crappy song before the game starts isn't really going to make much of a difference.
TAF, can I get a job at ESPN now?

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Very bad. They mess up on simple things like downs.

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Gumbel is awful...they could have just thrown Rich Eisnen in the booth and been fine. It's like they wanted a big name...but Gumbel is not a big name in the NFL. They would have been better off with his brother...

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i love football, but those 2 guys together are super boring. collinsworth is ok, but gumble puts me to sleep

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TAFKAS, what exactly do you do for ESPN?

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Gumbel is just not a football guy...he brings no passion to the game. He calls the game like he's doing a Today Show...I keep expecting him to throw it over for our local weather report.

Listening to him I felt like the last place he wanted to be last night was Pittsburgh...

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A little off topic here but why are the booths in most stadiums not enclosed? It seems a little ridiculous that these guys have to sit there freezing their tails off. You could see their breaths in the booth last night. I don't get it.

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[QUOTE=Beemnseven;257378]TAFKAS, what exactly do you do for ESPN?[/QUOTE]

I work on Programming Planning and Acquistions. Specifically I work on all our motorsports properties (which is cool because I get to talk to guys from Joe Gibbs Racing pretty regularly, get some inside dirt from JD, but I digress). Anyhow, I help negotiate deals with different motorsports leagues (NASCAR, NHRA, IndyCar, Champ Car, etc.) as well as other motors related programming and the planning part is basically scheduling the programs on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classc, etc; actually determining when the races/shows will air on our networks. That's tricky because I have to work with all the other sports to figure out what works best for everyone. But it's cool when it all comes together.

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[QUOTE=celts32;257379]Gumbel is just not a football guy...he brings no passion to the game. He calls the game like he's doing a Today Show...I keep expecting him to throw it over for our local weather report.

Listening to him I felt like the last place he wanted to be last night was Pittsburgh...[/QUOTE]

Hmmm...maybe they should make Willard Scott a sideline reporter

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[QUOTE=Mattyk72;257384]A little off topic here but why are the booths in most stadiums not enclosed? It seems a little ridiculous that these guys have to sit there freezing their tails off. You could see their breaths in the booth last night. I don't get it.[/QUOTE]

No idea...but I have heard some of them say they like that becasue it gives them the feel of the game. My guess would be that Bryant Gumbel is not counted among them...

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[quote=celts32;257393]No idea...but I have heard some of them say they like that becasue it gives them the feel of the game. My guess would be that Bryant Gumbel is not counted among them...[/quote]

Back in college we opened all our apartment doors and windows a few nights while watching MNF. People walking by thought we were crazy. We got the feel of the game alright.

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yeah, but all the booze kept you guys warm:)

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I cannot stand Collinsworth. He's a bad announcer, he brings nothing to the table, and if not for being for shocking and, at times, borderline racist (called Simeon Rice a "cheetah"). I really can't stand him, he's like a stupid version of Sean Salisbury.

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[QUOTE=jdlea;257471]I cannot stand Collinsworth. He's a bad announcer, he brings nothing to the table, and if not for being for shocking and, at times, borderline racist (called Simeon Rice a "cheetah"). I really can't stand him, he's like a stupid version of Sean Salisbury.[/QUOTE]


I agree completely on CC...but I guess when he is sitting next to Bryant Gumbel there are bigger fish to fry.

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[quote=dmek25;257467]yeah, but all the booze kept you guys warm:)[/quote]

No doubt!

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[quote=jdlea;257471]I cannot stand Collinsworth. He's a bad announcer, he brings nothing to the table, and if not for being for shocking and, at times, borderline racist (called Simeon Rice a "cheetah"). I really can't stand him, he's like a stupid version of Sean Salisbury.[/quote]
so you are saying Sean Salisbury is smart? that is one guy i really cant stand. couldn't make it as a player in this league, but he is an authority on every position played? he is a total horses a**, in my opinion

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You know what I hate about Salisbury? He alway seems to have this "I know it all" look on his face. He comes off a little pompous.

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[QUOTE=Mattyk72;257615]You know what I hate about Salisbury? He alway seems to have this "I know it all" look on his face. He comes off a little pompous.[/QUOTE]

Oh it's more than a little...

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CC is so much smarter than SS, how could you ever think differently???

The Comcast HD quality is dismal as well on the NFL network during games. I guess you need direct TV HD to get the good picture for those games..........what a bunch of BS. And oh yeah, the commentating is absolutely miserable. All in all, a very weak effort, but I'm sure things will improve.

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[quote=The Zimmermans;257629]CC is so much smarter than SS, how could you ever think differently???

The Comcast HD quality is dismal as well on the NFL network during games. I guess you need direct TV HD to get the good picture for those games..........what a bunch of BS. And oh yeah, the commentating is absolutely miserable. All in all, a very weak effort, but I'm sure things will improve.[/quote]

I have DirecTV and I'm not overly impressed with the HD picture either. It's a little grainy.

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Bryant Bumble is the worst there is calling a football game right now. He shows very little enthusiasm and he is just a dry personality. I sure hope they find a replacement for the next season. CC has always sucked so I knew that going in. Overall the broadcast is pretty weak.

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[QUOTE=The Zimmermans;257629]CC is so much smarter than SS, how could you ever think differently???

The Comcast HD quality is dismal as well on the NFL network during games. I guess you need direct TV HD to get the good picture for those games..........what a bunch of BS. And oh yeah, the commentating is absolutely miserable. All in all, a very weak effort, but I'm sure things will improve.[/QUOTE]

I agree but neither one are worth a damn...

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[quote=Mattyk72;257631]I have DirecTV and I'm not overly impressed with the HD picture either. It's a little grainy.[/quote]

lucky dog, I wish I had the NFL ticket, but I just moved into a new place, too much of an investment for 5 weeks of games.

I was at TomTom's in Adam's Morgan for the 2nd half of the game last night, and their magnovox screens were putting out the best picture I had ever seen. Maybe they were plasma screens? Pretty sure they were Direct TV as well.

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[QUOTE=Mattyk72;257615]You know what I hate about Salisbury? He alway seems to have this "I know it all" look on his face. He comes off a little pompous.[/QUOTE]

This is probably blasphemous for me to say here, but Salisbury's not a bad guy at all really. He's a fun dude, nice guy. Tends to put on a bit too much of a show on camera though

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[quote=TAFKAS;257640]This is probably blasphemous for me to say here, but Salisbury's not a bad guy at all really. He's a fun dude, nice guy. Tends to put on a bit too much of a show on camera though[/quote]

It wouldn't surprise me if he's actually a cool guy, but all we see at home is what he gives us on camera and most times he comes off as a jackass.

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[QUOTE=Mattyk72;257645]It wouldn't surprise me if he's actually a cool guy, but all we see at home is what he gives us on camera and most times he comes off as a jackass.[/QUOTE]

Precisely!

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[quote=Mattyk72;257645]It wouldn't surprise me if he's actually a cool guy, but all we see at home is what he gives us on camera and most times he comes off as a jackass.[/quote]
i wonder if he knows what he looks like on camera, becuse matty is right on

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Salisbury is probably fully aware that he comes off like a jackass on camera. But being agreeable and boring does not keep you on TV even if you have knowledge. That's what is wrong with sports coverage on TV now...since there is so much of it these guys need to be different to stand out from the crowd. ESPN probably likes him more since fans hate him because they know people will tune in to see what he says.

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I think that Gumbel sucks, he seems to get confused easily and is boring to listen to. They need to do something about him

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[quote=rstone1979;257671]I think that Gumbel sucks, he seems to get confused easily and is boring to listen to. They need to do something about him[/quote]
i agree but gumbel sounds like somene off the waltons, i just hate his monotone voice it drives me crazy

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I really haven't paid much attention to the NFLN's new broadcasts, i watched one game once and the commentary was so bad i just muted it and turned on some music.

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[QUOTE=Mattyk72;257631]I have DirecTV and I'm not overly impressed with the HD picture either. It's a little grainy.[/QUOTE]

I agree with that, but if you notice Fox's HD signal sucks compared to CBS'.

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The NFL network coverage reminds me of a Pre-Season game but the TV graphics are tight.

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[quote=Summo;257726]I agree with that, but if you notice Fox's HD signal sucks compared to CBS'.[/quote]

Yeah but CBS loses points with me since they don't carry all the games in HD.