2010 NFL Predictions: Power Ranking the Worst NFL TV Announcers
The NFL is all about presentation. The studio crews make or break pregame coverage and the right play-by-play guy can make a good game a great one.
However, if you get a bad one, it could be a long three hours as you suffer through their awful work. With the first Sunday of NFL action around the corner, it's only a matter of time before you're either very happy or very disgusted with who's covering your game.
Here are the 20 worst broadcasters in an NFL booth.
No. 20: Matt Millen
1 of 20
Before he was the GM of the Detroit Lions, Matt Millen was one of the best analysts in football.
However, after that awful stint as GM, I just can't take anything he says as credible analysis and that's a shame. He's talented at the job but he just lost any wiggle room. He's a walking joke and there's a reason he isn't featured prominently and is on the NFL Network's periodic broadcasts.
It's going to be bad with him and Theismann in the booth.
No. 19: Bob Papa
2 of 20
Trying to make the transition from radio to TV isn't easy, but Papa is trying to make it work. However, he's part of the NFL Network's broadcast team and I'm just not a fan.
I think Papa's style is still a little too wordy and that's because he's used to having to describe the action for the listener and he's forgetting that we can see what's going on in front of us. He's got a lot of potential but he's rough around the edges.
Hey, at least he's not Tom Hammond or Bryant Gumbel. Gross.
No. 18: Ron Pitts
3 of 20
Ron, you were so good as an analyst. It was your niche, you were good at it. Now you're a play-by-play man and it just doesn't have the same magic.
I know you're trying to figure it out still, but it just isn't going well. Pitts gets confused easily and gets facts wrong and it just comes off as sloppy and it's sad because he was so good as an analyst. I hope that Fox gets it together, realizes he's better in that role and puts him there.
If you see Ron Pitts covering your game, it could get ugly.
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No. 17: Cris Collinsworth
4 of 20
Collinsworth is one of the more hated broadcasters in all of football but I don't think he's that bad. He's pretty knowledgeable about the game and his insights are pretty good.
He made points last night about the battles in the trenches last night and I found myself watching them at times after he mentioned it on air. That's something that you want from your color man and Collinsworth delivers it.
However, he just rubs me the wrong way. He goes from knowledgeable to know-it-all rather quickly and you don't want to feel like you're being talked down to.
No: 16: Dick Stockton
5 of 20
There's not really much I can say about Dick Stockton. He's not awful but he's not great either.
His voice is perfect for the game (he's also good at basketball coverage as well). He's just not the most astute observer of the game. You could do much worse than Stockton, but there are plenty of better play-by-play commentators out there.
He's not helped much by Brian Baldinger either. Poor guy.
No. 15: Dan Dierdorf
6 of 20
Dierdorf does a great job of recognizing great and poor offensive line play. I wouldn't expect any less from a former lineman but sometimes it's just too much.
There's a difference between recognizing lineman for their work, and then over-hyping it and not letting it go. Sometimes he'll praise guys that don't really deserve it or just keep doing it play after play and it gets obnoxious.
It's almost like he's going out of his way to make sure they get shine. Commendable but annoying.
No. 14: Greg Gumbel
7 of 20
Greg Gumbel has a great voice, but he has no grasp of the game. He doesn't notice things on the field, matchups or anything else.
I know there is color guys for a reason but I'm hoping that my commentator can point some things out for me on the fly. Gumbel has a great voice but I almost enjoyed him in the studio before James Brown knocked him back to the booth.
There are far worst than Gumbel though.
No. 13: Phil Simms
8 of 20
The problem with Phil Simms is that he takes overly complex situations and gives them almost no analysis whatsover.
Instead of explaining what is going wrong on an offense and what a defense is doing to cause issues, it's usually just brushed off as a missed protection assignment. Viewers need more and should expect more from a Super Bowl-winning quarterback than to get barely any insight at all.
Color commentators are there to give me information I don't even know. Simms tells me what I can already see.
No. 12: Ron Jaworski
9 of 20
Jaws would be higher on this list, but I just love his NFL Matchup performances too much. Let's be honest, when he's breaking down X's and O's, there's probably nobody better in football.
Jaworski has a great grasp of breaking down film and catching tendencies and spotting the breakdowns in plays. It's a great talent and it's one of the best things about ESPN's NFL coverage.
However, that's when Jaws has time to prepare, when it's showtime, Jaws just freezes up and misses noticeable breakdowns and that's just unfortunate. I still like Jaws though.
No. 11: Jim Nantz
10 of 20
Jim Nantz treats every game like it's the Planet Earth documentary series. Nantz digs real deep for storylines to try and manufacture drama for the broadcast.
It's football man! It's two teams pummeling each other for 60 minutes. That's compelling enough. Unless this is Favre coming back to Green Bay, then you really don't need to try and draw me in. The NFL sells itself but Nantz has taken it upon himself to be the league's pitchman.
Nantz always seemed a little pompous to me too which was always an annoying thing to feel during a game.
No. 10: Randy Cross
11 of 20
Oh Randy. You try too hard. You really do. It's almost sad.
He breaks things down to base terms and then uses a lot of purple prose to talk about things. Just tell me how the play broke down. I don't need these grandiose terms. It's football, not poetry.
It's almost like he can't cut it and he knows it so he just thinks if he throws enough words at the action, it'll keep him around. Sorry Randy, won't happen.
No. 9: Ian Eagle
12 of 20
Ian Eagle has a lot of potential as a broadcaster but the fact that he ignores obvious problems during the games he covers.
Eagle breaks down things in base terms but refuses to acknowledge to why they happened. If a running back is getting demolished, it's just that the back is being shut down, not that his line is getting ripped to shreds in the trenches.
On the other hand, Eagle will sort of protect star players when they make a bad play by using phrases like "makes a man miss." Ian, you have to take people to task, no matter who they are.
No. 8: Dick Enberg
13 of 20
If you listened to Dick Enberg call a game, you'd think the man has lost his mind.
Don't get me wrong, I think Enberg has a great voice for the game but his ineptitude in terms of getting names wrong is stunning. I don't know how many times I've seen Enberg credit someone with a play when they were nowhere near the ball.
It's just a cardinal sin in broadcasting and it happens way, way too often for my liking. I'm surprised he hasn't gotten more flack for it.
No. 7: Kenny Albert
14 of 20
I didn't always think Kenny was so bad. He used to be really talented and engaging and made the experience more enjoyable for it.
But now, it seems like Kenny just gave up. Unless there was a graphic on screen, I'd never know what the down and distance is and doesn't even try and call out what the defense is trying to do. If people trying to get into football caught his games, they'd have no idea what is going on.
I hope that Kenny gets the form back that made his games enjoyable but for now, he's just a bad broadcaster.
No. 6: Daryl Johnston
15 of 20
One of the best fullbacks to ever lace them up, you think Moose would want to focus on the grinders, those lineman, those other fullbacks. You know, the guys who do all of the dirty work.
Yet, I have Daryl out here talking about coverages. I just wish one of the better tough guys ever would give some shine to the guys who never get a lot of credit in major NFL circles.
At least he's with Tony Siragusa so he doesn't look so bad out there. But it's bad.
No. 5: Troy Aikman
16 of 20
Here's the thing about Troy. If you're looking for someone to talk about reading defenses and route running, you'll find no one better.
The only problem is, he ignores the rest of the game and sticks to his wheelhouse. I want to hear about the offensive line or the running backs Troy, give me some of that. He's also too nice. He never criticizes anyone, including his inept partner Joe Buck.
Troy needs to find a tiny bit of a mean streak in the booth and stop being so nice about everything.
No. 4: Mike Tirico
17 of 20
There's Mike Tirico with Russell Crowe in the broadcast booth. There's where Tirico's biggest problem is.
When guests come into the booth, Tirico strokes out and just completely ignores the game. If I wanted to watch someone interview a celebrity, I'd turn on Entertainment Tonight. You're here to call the came, tell me what's going on during the game.
Some of that has to do with the morons at ESPN thinking we care what these people think but Tirico needs to do a better job of taking control of the action in the booth.
No. 3: Tony Siragusa
18 of 20
While he's not in the booth, he's always talking from the sidelines like he is and that's why he's on this list.
Siragusa just spits out cliche after cliche when he talks about having spoken to coaches at halftime and other than that, he's just like that annoying friend who just says stupid things just to say them and have his voice heard.
While there are plenty of good sideline reporters out there, Siragusa has turned into some mutant of a sideline reporter that needs to be stopped. He has never contributed anything to a broadcast and he never will.
Get him off the air. Now.
No. 2: Joe Theismann
19 of 20
He's back and he's going to be worse than ever. Recently Theismann was hired to work as part of the NFL Network's broadcasting crew.
When he was on ESPN he was one of the worst parts of its football coverage. The most stunning account came from Dr. Z of Sports Illustrated. In 2007 when the Cardinals were taking on the Bears, Theismann had talked to the Cardinals offensive coordinator who knew he could beat the Bears with underneath throws.
Arizona proceeded to do as much before Edgerrin James complained to then-coach Denny Green about not being able to finish out the game. James comes into the game and Theismann never speaks a word of this to the audience. He instead gets into some back and forth with Tony Kornheiser.
That's what you want from your color guy.
No. 1: Joe Buck
20 of 20
Joe Buck is the absolute worst. I can say that with absolute certainty.
The day that he tells me something that I don't already know or that a fifth grader couldn't have told me, I'll be impressed. He is the epitome of speaking the obvious and it's just so frustrating.
It doesn't help that he clearly has crushes on certain teams, including one that happens to play in Dallas. He always comes off like a huge fan of the NFC East and he always seems to be put on their games.
If I never heard Joe Buck speak another word on Sundays, my football watching enjoyment would go through the roof.
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