ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown, through all of its many incarnations, remains one of the most formidable NFL pregame shows on television. With glitz, glamour, information, and just plain fun, Monday Night Countdown is surely a touchdown and two-point conversion for NFL football fans.
I caught the program this past Monday as a prelude to the Buccaneers at Texans game.
The show opened with a voiceover from host Scott Van Pelt while video showed various superstars from each team entering the stadium. This was a doubleheader Monday Night Football evening. Van Pelt also promoted the second game, which would feature the Chargers at the Raiders.
Following the voiceover open, the familiar Monday Night Football music signaled the start of another Monday night feast of football.
You know what I’m talking about … “da-da da-da!”
Emanating from New York City, Monday Night Countdown featured Van Pelt joined by ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter and commentators Ryan Clark, Jason Kelce, and Marcus Spears. I like this quintet a lot.
Depth Of Information & Analysis
Van Pelt is the ultimate host and broadcasting veteran. Schefter is number one in terms of NFL scoops. Clark, Kelce, and Spears bring different attitudes and styles to their commentary. Clark is direct, brave, and makes points that everyone listening and watching needs to hear, like them or not. Spears has become one of the top four or five former players turned broadcasters. He brings that player’s perspective, that emotion, that grit, that veteran-of-the-trenches attitude to any television appearance. Similarly, Kelce has brought all of the bravado, personality, and outrageousness that he displayed as a player to the studio.
Discussion began with the turf toe injury suffered by Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Schefter had reported earlier that Burrow would need surgery and miss three months of the season.
The panel cut to press conference sound from Bengals head coach Zac Taylor talking about the injury. More injury talk centered around Jets quarterback Justin Fields and Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels. In talking about the QB injuries, Kelce reminisced about his 2017 season in Philadelphia. When starting quarterback and then-MVP candidate Carson Wentz went down with an injury.
Of course, Nick Foles took the reins and led the Eagles to a Super Bowl championship that season.
While the participants bantered about Jake Browning taking over for Burrow, lower-third graphics showed that Cincinnati’s next four games are tough. At Minnesota, at Denver, home against Detroit, and home against Green Bay.
After the first break, the panel rolled through their main storylines for the Buccaneers at Texans game. I really like this segment because it brings the conversation back to the game at hand. Too many of the weeknight pregame shows focus on outside NFL news as opposed to the game they are actually previewing. This was old-school education on that night’s lesson: Bucs vs. Texans.
As conversation moved to the 0-2 Kansas City Chiefs. An informative graphic showed that this is the first time KC QB Patrick Mahomes has ever lost three straight games. Last year’s Super Bowl plus the two games from this year. It also revealed that this is the Chiefs’ first 0-2 start since 2014, their last season without a playoff berth, and that KC is 0-2 in one-score games this season.
They had won 17 straight such games, including playoffs.
Clark focused on the fact that the Chiefs are without their top wide receiver, Rashee Rice. He was suspended six games of the season for violating the NFL’s conduct policy. Clark’s main questions were: How do the Chiefs get to Game 7 when Rice returns and can they remain in contention until that time? It was a really good point.
Different Perspectives
As discussion turned to the Eagles, Spears, Kelce, and Clark had a really nice exchange analyzing the infamous Philadelphia “tush push” play. Later in the show, Van Pelt talked about the longtime rivalry between Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh and Raiders HC Pete Carroll. Van Pelt called it a trilogy. Given the fact that the two competed at the collegiate level — Carroll at USC and Harbaugh coaching Stanford — then previously in the NFL with Harbaugh’s Niners and Carroll’s Seahawks, and now as AFC West rivals this season.
Nobody brings a story into perspective better than SVP.
Kelce then took center stage, literally, with his Center of Attention stand-up segment alongside Spears and Clark. The trio analyzed the Chargers’ offensive schemes as part of prep for the late game. Panelist takeaways from the Week 2 schedule included mentions of Jonathan Taylor, the Green Bay Packers’ terrific start, the new kickoff rules, the powerful legs of today’s field goal kickers, and the aforementioned tush push.
Later, Monday Night Football color analyst Troy Aikman joined Monday Night Countdown live from Houston. Aikman’s appearance only added to the superstar power of the program. It’s not breaking new ground to say that the keys to any great sports television program are its personalities.
This is not a knock on the gifted Monday Night Countdown production team. Television is a collaborative effort, and if not for the folks behind the scenes, we would be staring at nothing. Still, with Aikman, Van Pelt, Kelce, Clark, Schefter, Spears, and reporters Lisa Salters and Lindsey Thiry, this edition of Monday Night Countdown was a powerhouse program.
Engaging Interviews
The show took place on September 15. The 74th birthday of Carroll, making him the oldest head coach in NFL history. This graphic and fact led into a Thiry interview with Carroll.
Carroll and Thiry were equally engaging during the interview. Thiry is a rising star for sure, with her bright demeanor and always solid preparation as both a reporter and an interviewer. I am looking forward to watching her growing repertoire of work over the course of this season. Thiry covered all the bases in the interview, creating a nice break from the studio chit-chat.
Later in the show, the panel presented their nominees for the “I’m Him” or Himmy Awards given to players with outstanding performances for the week. Kelce went with Giants WR Malik Nabers, who had a monster game against Dallas. Clark went with Dallas kicker Brandon Aubrey, who was 4-4 on field goals, including a 64-yarder to win the game. Spears went with Lions QB Jared Goff, who was 23–28 for 334 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions vs. Chicago. Van Pelt went with Fred Warner, the fine linebacker for the 49ers, who had 11 tackles, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in a win versus the Saints.
One of the real highlights of this edition of Monday Night Countdown was a tremendous story filed by Michelle Beisner-Buck on a youth football and mentoring league started years ago by rapper Snoop Dogg. Among those players who played in the league was Jaylin Smith, who currently plays for the Texans.
It was truly a well-crafted, well-written, and well-presented feature story by Beisner-Buck. Who is churning out Emmy-worthy television early this season.
This edition of Monday Night Countdown offered viewers an all-encompassing look at one of the best pregame shows on television. If you want personality, rough-and-tumble football talk, well-conceived segments, and top-of-the-line analysis, ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown is appointment viewing for sure.
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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.
