I watched Monday Night Football as the Redskins hosted the Bears. I re-watched the first half to go more in depth on the broadcast and how the broadcasters handled things. National broadcasts are tough, but I thought things went pretty well overall.
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I was watching the game in a local bar and the sound/telecast didn’t come on until just around kickoff. The open to the broadcast wasn’t filled with a lot of information or detail on the game, and since I was getting the call right up against game-time there really wasn’t anything to provide me with some “pregame” or other info. Now I realize ESPN does 15 hours of pregame, but some viewers only tune in for the game and they get shafted.
Early in the game with the Bears on offense, the focus of the crew was spot on. Focused on the Bears offense or lack thereof. Booger McFarland talked about the struggles of Mitch Trubisky repeating the Trevon Williams quote from the Packers about making Trubisky beat teams by taking away the other weapons. I think in the Bears first drive they missed an obvious player being used on offense, that was Cordarrelle Patterson. Why are the Bears using him so much early? Does that take pressure off of the QB? McFarland brought up a terrific point referencing a conversation he had with the Bears QB, about his love of throwing out of the pocket and scrambling. McFarland said “when I asked him that question, his eyes lit up”…that’s good stuff.
On the Redskins first drive, Joe Tessitore referred to the Case Keenum quote about playing on borrowed time, then paying it off with the mention of the rookie Dwayne Haskins Jr. Then it plays out with the QB firing a pick six to Clinton Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Tessitore comes up big with the fact that the DB spent some time last year with the Redskins and how Eddie Jackson the Bears DB, convinced him to sign with the Bears to relive their days in Alabama together. That’s great prep work to me, because it’s a story for sure. Great insight too, because I’m sure that many fans (including some that I watched the game with) only remember Clinton-Dix from Green Bay.
The Bears kicking situation has become much more of a talking point than maybe it needs to be at times. But the MNF crew made mention of the injury suffered by rookie place kicker Eddie Piñeiro suffered in the weight room during the week and clarified that was why the punter Patrick O’Donnell was handling the kickoff duties.
Even though it’s kind of an old story already, the way the Bears defense started the game, it was probably worth a mention of the new defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano. McFarland made a great point that the new guy typically wants to put his own stamp on things, but Pagano realized what he had and mainly wanted to regain players trust and let them play. The crew gets lucky because on the next play Khalil Mack busted through the line with a sack and a forced fumble.
McFarland pointed out that great players want to continue to be great and don’t think about what they did last season.
Odd choice to me by the production crew to again make note of the 2017 first round QB’s. Trubisky was #2 overall, Patrick Mahomes #10 and Deshaun Watson #12. I sort of get it since the Bears offense has scuffled, but Trubisky did help lead the Bears to a division title last season. Didn’t he? McFarland made a brilliant observation after the graphic, by saying “this is not all on Trubisky (this year), some of it is on Matt Nagy who admitted that they tried to do too much.” That’s a great follow up note in my opinion.
It seemed to me like the broadcast focused mainly on the Bears early on, with the struggles on offense, the great things on defense and the kicking situation. Late in the 1st quarter after a near “safety” on Trubisky, the broadcast team mentions that in a 7-0 game, the Redskins defense has done a nice job. The hardest thing to me in a national broadcast like this is to please both sides of the rooting bases. You aren’t going to make everyone happy, but in prep for a game like this, having something good, bad or indifferent to say about each club will go a long way in keeping interest. I know I was always interested as a fan to hear what the national crews felt about my team, something I always looked forward to hearing. More of this is needed so far in this game.
Along those lines Tessitore, after an Adrian Peterson run, starts to talk about “AP’s” place in the record books and how a touchdown last week put him 5th on the all-time TD list. McFarland is having a strong game, he comes out to talk about how Peterson will be running with some anger, especially after being inactive in the Redskins Week 1 loss. He’d go on to say that Peterson has “renewed energy now”. There was good production support of this conversation too, after a Peterson short gain they put up the Most Rushing TD in NFL history graphic to show Peterson is 3 away from as Tessitore put it “Peterson’s idol, Walter Payton”. Tessitore comes up large continuing that thought saying Peterson told him that getting to Payton “motivates me and would mean the world to me”, those inside stories from candid players are gold.
There was an underrated but good perspective note by Tessitore to open up the 2nd quarter, by telling the audience that at this point the Bears have as many defensive touchdowns as they do offensive. Wow.
The Redskins drive hit 3rd down in the red zone and Danny Trevathan sacked Keenum, and McFarland picked something up on the replay showing a nice fake out of an offensive lineman by the Bears linebacker and having a little laugh about it.
Some of the themes of the broadcast are redundant but covered nicely by some anecdotal material. Of Trubisky’s inaccuracy issue, Tessitore points out that the Bears QB is comfortable with who he is and understands the criticism but feels like he has the talent to make things work. Good supporting material for the discussion.
Greg Manusky’s defense has come under fire and for the fans watching in DC, it’s a lightning rod issue. Tessitore points out that many wanted the defensive coordinator fired last year, but Jay Gruden kept him on. In a 7-0 game to this point, it’s a valid discussion because it wasn’t like the Bears offense dominated to the midway point of the second quarter. Soon after the discussion though the Bears go up 14-0 putting the defense of the Redskins in the crosshairs again. Tessitore points out that NFL QBs against the Skins defense in the red zone have converted on all 10 trips.
After the Bears went up 21-0 and Case Keenum threw an interception naturally the discussion turned to Haskins and if things continued to go south would he eventually get into a game this season. Tessitore referenced a conversation with Jay Gruden saying “this is going to be a process, he’s learning how to prepare as a pro right now and that everyone in the organization thinks that right now, sitting him is the best decision.”. McFarland agreed and brought up that Haskins only played one year at Ohio State, so in other words, he has a lot to learn. I’m sure Redskins fans were throwing things at their TV’s as much as Keenum was tossing interceptions.
Nearing the two-minute warning, more gold. Pointing out that Cole Holcomb, the Skins 5th round pick in 2019 from North Carolina was in an “interesting position, playing inside linebacker tonight.” Why? He was Trubisky’s roommate in college. Love that stuff.
More good things happen on the video replay review of the Taylor Gabriel no catch in the endzone. The guys smartly defer to their in booth official, John Parry, who said he believed the call should be reversed and it was. He broke down the play, explaining that even though the ball moved a bit, that is allowable under the rule and he felt there was control and two feet down. He’s fresh off the field and was dead on with all his assessments of that particular play and sounded very comfortable delivering the information. Excellent use of the former referee and a great take by him as well.
Overall, the first half of this game seemed difficult to call. One team was dominating another and there were a ton of flags on the field. I thought McFarland was the star of the show. That’s the way a television broadcast should go, letting the analyst do what he does and inject some good points and offer a little levity. McFarland clearly did his homework and was prepared for every situation on the field. He impressed me with his knowledge of both sides of the football, not just the defense. Tessitore also did a ton of prep and it’s evident throughout the telecast. He is solid and used the information he gathered in the days leading up to the broadcast and interjected information seamlessly throughout that first half. I’d like to hear him be a little less intense. It seems to me like sometimes there isn’t a lot of emotion in his voice, it’s one way to approach things with a personality like McFarland in the booth, but I’d still like to hear more from him. Again he is solid and handling a tough job on a big stage.
Andy Masur is a columnist for BSM and works for WGN Radio as an anchor and play-by-play announcer. He also teaches broadcasting at the Illinois Media School. During his career he has called games for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. He can be found on Twitter @Andy_Masur1 or you can reach him by email at Andy@Andy-Masur.com.
