The NFL Today on CBS was pro football’s first ever live pregame show, and from 1975-1993, it featured a bevy of talent including the now legendary cast of Brent Musburger, Phyllis George, Irv Cross, and Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder. That quartet made The NFL Today the gold standard of NFL pregame programming.
Today’s incarnation of The NFL Today is not the groundbreaking show that Musburger and company took to new heights. Still, the revamped current cast of James Brown, Bill Cowher, Nate Burleson, J.J. Watt, and Matt Ryan are truly reviving the broadcast.
The program does a really nice job of adding in video b-roll, graphics, locker room looks, interviews, and game highlights, but the strength of The NFL Today is its panelists. Brown is one of sports television’s all-time best maestros showing off his Harvard education with perfect diction and a vocabulary that would rival any Scripps National Spelling Bee or Jeopardy champion. He opened the show by describing Ryan as “perspicacious.”
The always affable Brown seems to be thoroughly entertained by his current cohorts, but I would definitely like to see more from Cowher. He does provide some on point coach speak in dissecting plays and players, but I want him to go deeper. As head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1992-2006, Cowher was one of the most emotional and animated sideline presences of all time. I want to see more of this on The NFL Today.
Burleson has been compared to ex-Giant superstar Michael Strahan for his meteoric rise in television. Not only does he man the anchor desk on The NFL Today, he also is a co-host on the CBS Mornings daily news show. Strahan has similarly spread his television wings as a host of ABC’s Good Morning America, as well as several game shows. But let me make this clear, Nate Burleson is no Michael Strahan. He’s better.
Burleson has a way with words, always offers a clever turn of phrase, and combines ex-wide receiver savvy with tasty morsels of commentary in an almost poetic style. I’ve also been very impressed with the early returns on Matt Ryan in his broadcast career. The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback has transitioned seamlessly to TV. Perhaps only Tony Romo and Jason McCourty have made that tough transition more smoothly.
What really stands out about Ryan is his ability to put that quarterback intellect into words. He lets you know what the most important position on the field is thinking from play to play. He’s also developed a great affinity for narrating game highlights during The NFL Today halftime show. Honestly, it’s as if he is a seasoned sports anchor the way he calls the plays with rhythm and cadence. The producers of The NFL Today have done a great job in schooling all of the ex-NFL personalities in doing highlights – a skill that is harder than it looks.
The December 8 edition of The NFL Today was missing Watt, who has also taken to television quite quickly. The well-spoken, trustworthy, and enthusiastic Brown set the scene for the show as the NFL heads into the homestretch of games. Ryan cut through all the bluster over Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell’s multiple fourth down conversion calls in last week’s game vs. Green Bay.
Ryan said that it was the right strategy for that particular game because the Lions had to be aggressive. Burleson added a nice point that that Campbell is sending a message of confidence to his team that is “bigger than analytics.”
I like the way that each of the panelists plays off each other’s points creating a comfortable and conversational atmosphere. These days, it seems that every NFL pregame show has its own insider reporter. On The NFL Today, it’s Jonathan Jones with his Eye on the NFL segment. Jones provided an interesting morsel saying that, according to a source, ex-Titans head coach Mike Vrabel will definitely get an NFL or college head coaching job in 2025.
In this episode, Burleson left the anchor desk to do an interview with Romo live from Pittsburgh where Romo was calling the Browns-Steelers game. Burleson has become a skilled interviewer asking pertinent and concise questions.
Brown, Cowher, Burleson, and Ryan did a nice stand up analysis of the Seattle Seahawks’ defense focusing on Leonard Williams. Cowher lead the charge on this one tapping into his keen knowledge of NFL defensive schemes and letting that gruff personality flourish. Similarly, the normally charming and erudite Burleson has no trouble getting back into his NFL wide receiver personae delving deep into the X’s and O’s of the game.
The production values on The NFL Today are quite good. I’m talking about the look and feel of the broadcast. There is a relaxed calmness to the show. I really like the segment when the four panelists are seated on leather chairs away from the anchor desk just talking ball. Whether it is Burleson, Cowher, and Brown in fine suits or Ryan in a sport coat and buttoned up golf shirt, these guys look and sound great.
Later in the program, Ryan had a nice interview with Bucs’ QB Baker Mayfield live from Tampa. It was really good quarterback to quarterback repartée. Also in an interview feature, Cowher returned to his old stomping grounds in Pittsburgh for a sit down with Steelers’ quarterback Russell Wilson. The Q and A was interspersed with sound up video of Wilson in action. Following the interview, Burleson made the astute point that Wilson’s success this year and what he does moving forward in Pittsburgh will affect his legacy and perhaps even his Hall of Fame status.
The NFL Today crew was just as on the ball in the postgame, rifling through highlights and commentary of the early games this past Sunday. They adopted a totally different pace and tone from the pregame. The rapid fire back-and-forth points were fun to watch.
While Brown and Cowher bring a lot to the show, it is the combination of Burleson and Ryan that stands out prominently. These guys are really good. Ryan has a bright future in broadcasting with presence and analysis at a truly high level for a relative newcomer.
Brown, Cowher, Burleson, and Ryan do not have the longevity of FOX NFL Sunday’s Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, and Jimmy Johnson. They don’t have the large-scale production of ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown, nor do they have the Hollywood hijinks of NFL Network’s GameDay Morning show. What they do have is a collection of football savants who focus more on content than comedy, more on savvy than self-promotion, and more on the games than goofing around – a solid strategy in carrying on a lofty legacy.
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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.
