NFL Network’s Embarrassing Broadcast
Theismann thinking about Matt Ryan ...
I will start off by saying that I am indeed a fan of the Baltimore Ravens. No, I do not plan on complaining about the referees, our defense, or our offensive line. I am not talking about what happened in the game itself, for the most part.
There is, however, one thing that needs to be mentioned – or some of you may say “complain” about. That is the NFL Network’s team off commentators and their work on the game last night.
The trio in the booth last night were former NFL quarterback Joe Theismann, former great executive Matt Millen, and full time sportscaster Bob Papa.
Last night was an unprofessional display by all three of them, mainly Theismann and Millen.
[pullquote]“Are Matt Millen & Joe Theismannthe Stockton & Malone of Horrible Announcers? Last night was brutal!” – Bill Simmons
“BREAKING – The NFL is investigating inappropriate texts sent from commentator Joe Theismann to Falcons QB Matt Ryan. More to come.”
“If they legalized gay marriage tonight Joe Theismann would have proposed to Matt Ryan. #nfl #Matt Ryan #Ravens #Falcons #nflnetwork”
“I’m scared for Matt Ryan if Joe Theismann is really going home and watching his DVD?? He likes him a little too much”
“Joe Theismann is spending so much time on Matt Ryan‘s jock, he’s about to get pregnant. #NFL #Falcons #Ravens”
“@pastapadre yeah , it’s almost creepy how much JoeTheismann is talking about Matt Ryan.”
“@SI_PeterKing do we need to keep listening to Matt Millen andJoeTheismann‘s love affair with matt ryan?”
“Joe Theismann is going overboard with the Matt Ryan love. And I love Matt Ryan. #ifeelbetteraboutmyselfnow”[/pullquote]
Besides the fact that Theismann consistently called Ravens’ All-Pro defensive tackle Haloti Ngata by the name “Halati Ngota” and the others messed up the first names of just about every Raven not named Ray, the broadcast team could not stop being enamored with the Falcons.
After they stopped commenting on how unattractive, nonathletic, yet talented as a core the Falcons’ offensive line is, they took aim at Matt Ryan.
Joe Theismann made a comment that he was going to get a DVD of all of Matt Ryan’s throws, take it home, and watch it over and over. What ever other action is going to be involved is left up to the imagination. Joe then proceeded to talk about how “aerodynamic” the throws of Ryan were. If you were playing a drinking game with the rule “drink whenever we hear Matt Ryan’s name said by a color commentator,” you are dead. D-E-A-D.
Type the name of Joe Theismann into the Twitter search system and these are some of the things you get (to the right):
The love for Matt Ryan ran so deep in Theismann and Millen that they compared him to Tom Brady AND Peyton Manning. Brady had two Super Bowl MVP’s in his first three full NFL seasons and Manning had already lead the league in yards passing and touchdowns. Matt Ryan is struggling to get his quarterback rating into the 90′s.
I fully admit to Matt Ryan being a great quarterback in the NFL. After last night, I would even say he is better than Joe Flacco.
However, the job of the broadcast team is to remain unbiased throughout. Not only were Matt Millen and Joe Theismann making idiotic comments all night, but they just couldn’t seem to stop crushing on Matt Ryan.
I highly doubt NFL Network will do anything about the duo since they all seem to stand by their broadcasters; but for our sake, please make it stop.
10 Comments
this article was terrible.. go eagles
I can understand why a Raven fan would be griping about the commentary, but the fact is Ryan was playing lights-out and Flacco played 3 quarters of pretty lousy football. What do you expect them to do? Extoll Flacco while he's stinking up the joint?
I completely agree. This article reeks of sour grapes. While I’m certainly no fan of Theismann, you almost make him seem sympathetic in this article. Matt Ryan was playing an excellent game, and it’s the job of the colour guys to comment on it. I’m sorry Baltimore blew it, but this article is just horrendously whiny. Theismann’s analysis is painful to the ears, but not as painful as this article was to the eyes.
Did either of you even watch the game? Did you listen to the three of them?
Total disagreement here. They will praise a quarterback when he is having a good game, and that is what Matt Ryan had on Thursday night. If they were doing this towards Flacco would you write an article "complaining" about the announcers? No? Okay then.
If you weren't a Ravens' homer, you wouldn't have even considered writing this article and you wouldn't have a problem with the announcers praising a quarterback who did a fantastic job at the helm.
tim you suck
The broadcast team for NFL Network games are always awful.. Always. I have taken to lowering the volume where I can hear noise, but not understand what they're saying. Much more enjoyable that way.
Yes Tim, I did. But see, I'm not a homer blowhard like you. I don't write whiny blogs about perceived slights. Typical Ravens fan.
Totally agree with Jackson only whiny Ravens fans would complain about announcers just because they feel like they were favoring the other team. By the way the announcers have no effect on the game. If the ravens had been winning then the announcers would have praised them.
we are all now dumber for having to read this…please take this off the internet at once.