Shake-Up At CBS' "The NFL Today": Marino & Sharpe Out, Tony Gonzalez In

I'm with Poin. I can't remember the last time I watched a network Sunday pregame show. Any network's.

 

Most everyone these days is scrambling to make last-minute fantasy team adjustments than watching pre-game shows.

 

old school

 

When RedZone is on, I'm there. There hasn't been a pregame show worth a damn since Brent, Irv, Phyllis, Jimmy and Jack Whitaker

Watch this for how was done in the good old days

 

It's a sad day for purple suits and ties.

 

But where's all the yucks, the huge laughter, the Hot Sports Takes?

 

I thought Ryan was still coaching. Did he get fired?

Never thought all that much of Marino or Sharpe. Boomer Esiason is usually better. These shows might be better if they got some newspaper reporters and fewer ex-jocks.

 

Good god, the Met had the worst sight lines in the history of the NFL.

 

The pre-game shows used to be interesting because they would break news and have interesting interviews. Nowadays, there is no breaking news. We get daily updates on Tony Romo's groin and Tom Brady's ribs. Next year, we'll probably get daily updates on which players are gay. So there's not much news to report unless someone pulls a muscle getting out of bed on Sunday morning.

 

For me, the pre-game show is mostly background, but I think Glazer usually does a decent job of clearing up who is going to play and who isn't... So does Schefter...

I like the Fox crew as a whole, but I don't think there is any individual among the analysts who is particularly good.

 

I think the reporters on ESPN (Schefter, Jon Clayton, Chris Mortensen, Ed Werder, Sal Palantonio, etc.) are excellent. The studio heads (Ditka, Keyshon Johnson, Cris Carter, etc.) not so much.

 

I can't stand Fox's crew. Mostly I just hate listening to Terry and Jimmy yukking it up. I like Strahan and Howie Long is OK, but they're usually drowned out by the inanity of Terry and Jimmy.

Glazer is always on point with the injury report, but he's too self-aggrandizing and grating for my tastes. I follow him on Twitter just for fantasy football purposes. Schefter is probably Glazer's equal on the injury front and he does it without promoting himself nearly as much.

I typically put the ESPN crew on for an hour or two in the morning (mostly as background noise while I play with my son) and then flip to CBS at noon.

As others have noted, Shannon brings something to the table that is often lost in his mushmouth manner of speaking. He'll get another job (hopefully he'll replace Irvin at NFL Network). Marino is as milquetoast as it comes and rarely offers any insights of value. Tony Gonzalez doesn't spark any real interest from me, but he might be good. At least he's not a clown like Terry or Jimmy.

Boomer is easily the best on the CBS crew, and probably the best jock analyst on any network. Between his morning show on WFAN in New York, his Monday Night Football gig for Westwood One and his CBS gig, he's really become a true broadcaster, not just an ex-jock.