Well folks, we survived! We made it through a long, football-less summer. College football gave us everything we wanted in week 1 and now it is time to turn our attention to the NFL.
Arky, Demetri and Garrett are back again to highlight everything and everyone that is great when it comes to the coverage of America’s national obsession. So here is the full schedule for the NFL edition of Countdown to Coverage:
TUESDAY (9/6): Best Local Radio Show
WEDNESDAY (9/7): Best National Radio Show
THURSDAY (9/8): Best Pregame Show
FRIDAY (9/9): Best Insider
MONDAY (9/12): Best TV Broadcast Team
How do you even begin to pick a single best syndicated show for NFL talk when it is the lifeblood of all of them? What are you looking for? What separates any one of them from the field?
Knowledge helps. Entertainment value is pretty important. Being a nationally syndicated talk radio host is like having a stand at Reading Terminal in Philadelphia and trying to stand out for having a great deli selection. If everyone is trying to do the same, you have to really know what you are doing and who you are talking to if you want to make an impression.
Today, Garrett, Arky and Demetri look at the people that do just that. Who takes the same topics everyone else is talking about and creates truly can’t miss content?
THE DAN PATRICK SHOW by Garrett Searight
There aren’t many things The Dan Patrick Show takes seriously. The NFL is one of them. Todd Fritz, better known as Fritzy, is the best booker in the business, and shines during the NFL season. The Dan Patrick Show doesn’t shy away from having on a local beat reporter if a situation or story warrants it.
Also, Dan’s ability to get the best out of each and every guest is spotlighted from September through January. The stories, honesty, and candor he gets guests to speak with is virtually unrivaled. Their weekly guests, in the past, have been top notch as Mike Florio, Chris Simms, Ross Tucker, Albert Breer, and Carson Palmer all bring something different to each show that makes The Dan Patrick Show must-listen to radio during the NFL season.
THE RICH EISEN SHOW by Arky Shea
A lot is made about which programming accesses fun more readily. Honestly, you can’t make this list without it being some part of your lineup. They all do, it’s just your taste. However, when it comes to the seriousness and validity that a show has when it comes the big brand of football, it’s an easy choice for me. Rich Eisen is essentially the midwife of the NFL Network. I don’t really need to say much more about how important this league and sport is to him but I will send you this link of him talking about it recently. Before the mega-boom of the NFL, there was Eisen seeing the future.
I don’t know of a more thorough, thoughtful, driven program that is reminding you daily how king the league has become. Not because of grandstanding, but because he, Rich Eisen, is talking about the topics with you and not at you. He invites conversation and although he won’t get as shrill or even as boastful as some, I really appreciate that about a show. Eisen never had to do that and never will and can still capture your attention. The NFL is primary, but there isn’t a better national show that talks about the league on the dial or the stream.
THE PAT MCAFEE SHOW by Demetri Ravanos
All due respect to Garrett and Arky and DP and Rich, but I mean, come on. How is there any other choice? Pat and the boys balance access with fun. The show gives listeners both the players’ point of view on the stories we’re all talking about and pure joy for the sport the show covers best.
The Pat McAfee Show is the sound of controlled chaos. It is highly structured in terms of what they are going to talk about, but you never know where the conversation is going to go. Do I wish Pat and AJ Hawk asked better questions of their guests at times? Sure, but the interviews, like the rest of the show, sound nothing like anyone else in this format is providing, so who am I to demand they change?
