Inside the NFL is now in its 47th season, but this year’s incarnation which airs on The CW, comes down to the talent and growth of its new host: Ryan Clark. This dude has staked his claim as one of the most insightful, biting, intelligent, probing, and knowledgeable NFL commentators in the business.
Clark pulls no punches and gives his opinions, but a lot of people do that. What separates Clark is the content of his commentary. He likes to throw in a unique turn of phrase, whether it’s a Bayou reference from his days at LSU, or a piercingly humorous take on a player or issue.
Clark is much more than an ex-jock turned gabber. In a relatively short amount of time, the former Pittsburgh, Washington, and New York Giant defensive back has become a premier part of several ESPN programs. He’s also lighting it up on multiple platforms. Clark is Willie Beamen in the film Any Given Sunday, a warrior football poet. Want another big screen reference? To paraphrase Eddie Murphy’s Reggie Hammond character in 48 Hours, there’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is Ryan Clark.
The latest installment of Inside the NFL gives Clark a chance to take control of a mainstream NFL television program. On the August 30 premiere episode, Clark took the wheel of the ship with first mates Bill Belichick, Chris Long, and Chad Johnson. Talk about an eclectic crew. This foursome has little in common with each other, other than the fact that Long and Johnson had brief stints with Belichick in New England.
They say opposites attract, and that is definitely the case with Inside the NFL. The premiere show featured a unique cold open with the panel talking about Ryan Clark’s jewelry. It was just off the cuff banter, but it was different, and I like that.
The quartet sat in studio around a conference table and opened with both Johnson and Long talking about their time with the Patriots and what they learned from Belichick. As they were speaking, B-roll showed Belichick in action coaching both players.
Clark has truly taken the reins of the show and has made the often-difficult transition from analyst to moderator look easy. He clearly explained to viewers how Inside the NFL was going to be different this season.
The panel discussed the Kansas City Chiefs’ chances of winning their third straight Super Bowl with Belichick stressing continuity in the coaching staff. Kudos go out to the Inside the NFL production team. Clark made mention of rookie KC wide receiver Xavier Worthy and without even an introduction to the clip, viewers got sound up video of Worthy scoring a preseason touchdown.
On Inside the NFL, It’s not the usual talking head to video repetition. You never know when video will become part of the conversation. Johnson, the erstwhile Bengals receiving legend, provided some nice commentary on how speed will propel Kansas City this year. Johnson knows the game, but I would like to see more of his emotional and personality-laced commentary, and less interjection of stats. It slows him down and lessens his impact.
When Chris Long speaks, you cannot help but think of his dad, the Hall of Fame Raider defensive end and equally great FOX broadcaster Howie Long. He sounds like his dad and has that same relaxed pacing and vocal inflection. Don’t get me wrong, Long is his own man on TV. The former Ram, Patriot, and Eagle is a two-time Super Bowl champion and a fine commentator in his own right, but that Long pedigree is wonderfully visible.
Right out of the first break, the show came back with video of the Inside the NFL pre-show meeting, then clips of several NFL teams at practice. Again, the video variety and innovative edits on the program stand out to me. The on-air team has great chemistry, but they are not afraid to challenge each other. Johnson lauded the preseason of Bears’ #1 pick Caleb Williams while Clark pinpointed the Falcons as a team that caught his eye.
Belichick countered by saying that you really can’t take anything away from preseason games because starters are not getting a lot of playing time. He backed up his point saying that Williams wasn’t even accurate during the preseason as he was 10 of 20 on pass attempts.
This show is all about diverse perspectives. Each of the four panelists bring a unique skill set and résumé to the proceedings, and that makes for fascinating exchanges. Clark has a slick way of tying up every conversation and topic in a neat bow as they move to a break or another subject.
Perhaps the most interesting segment on the premiere show featured Clark and Belichick analyzing the performance of Walter Payton in the 1975 College All-Star Game. Belichick revealed that this was the first game where he had to break down film as a young coach for the Baltimore Colts who were opening with the Bears that season.
In this now defunct game, top college players would play against the previous year’s Super Bowl champion. Can you imagine that happening today? Listening to Belichick reminisce and analyze provided a cool little nugget of NFL history, something that is lacking on most NFL programming.
The show also features the Ocho Predicto segment where Johnson, alongside Long, makes prognostications. This segment lagged and was a bit boring to be honest. Both Johnson and Long have electric personalities. The show’s producers need to tap into this more. They can really have some fun with these two if they get creative.
Clark showed his interviewing chops in a nice back and forth with Chicago RB D’Andre Swift while Belichick looked back on his former player Rodney Harrison in the Football Guy segment. In this segment, the panelists try to pitch Belichick on their picks for this week’s tough-minded Football Guy. In the end, Belichick selected Johnson’s pick of Niners’ WR Jauan Jennings.
Of course, if you have Bill Belichick on your show, you have to have a Game Plan segment where he breaks down NFL plays, but in a twist, the first part of the segment on this episode looked at how to manage the distractions of the NFL Kickoff game for the previous year’s Super Bowl champion.
Belichick’s old school surliness surfaced here as he reflected on his arguments with the Patriots’ marketing staff to eliminate the hype and get on with the game. Good stuff. Eventually, Belichick did offer a straight up breakdown of this year’s NFL Kickoff game between Kansas City and Baltimore.
I give high praise to the show’s director here for the back-and-forth cuts from Belichick to the three former players at the desk. Long, Clark, and Johnson were totally rapt in what Belichick was saying as if they were his players sitting in the locker room. They were so transfixed, I thought they were ready to don helmets and pads and hit the field.
Inside the NFL version 2024 is not perfect, but with a few tweaks, it could be something special. Pick up the tempo in spots, keep Belichick in his coaching mode, delve further into the personalities of Johnson and Long, and maintain Clark’s dynamic flow and presence, and it might just become a can’t miss show for NFL fans this season.
John Molori is a weekly columnist for Barrett Sports Media. He has previously contributed to ESPNW, Patriots Football Weekly, Golf Content Network, Methuen Life Magazine, and wrote a syndicated Media Blitz column in the New England region, which was published by numerous outlets including The Boston Metro, Providence Journal, Lowell Sun, and the Eagle-Tribune. His career also includes fourteen years in television as a News and Sports Reporter, Host, Producer working for Continental Cablevision, MediaOne, and AT&T. He can be reached on Twitter @MoloriMedia.
