As we enter the final week of the NFL season, injury reports, playoff positioning, and do or die matchups are the order of the day. Fantasy football leagues are entering championship weekend and football bettors are trying to make good on last week’s losses. This is Week 18 when things get serious and information is at a premium. Enter The Insiders on NFL Network.
Hosted by Tom Pelissero, the program is an informative mix of solid reporting, stats, analysis, and opinion. It is one of the few football shows on television that does not feature ex-players or coaches, just reporters providing unbiased perspectives.
Regulars joining Pelissero are Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo, and Judy Battista – a powerful lineup of story breakers. Each of these personalities come from the gritty world of print media.
Pelissero and Garafolo covered the NFL for USA Today with the latter also working for the Star Ledger in New Jersey. Rapoport is a Boston Herald alumnus, and Battista worked for nearly 15 years at the New York Times, also writing for Newsday and The Miami Herald.
The proverbial ink on their hands still shows on television. On the January 3 episode of The Insiders, Pelissero opened the show with a look at AFC South playoff clinching scenarios and a clear explanation of the different matchups and contingencies.
Rapoport reported that Jaguars’ head coach Doug Pederson told reporters that quarterback Trevor Lawrence was dealing with a shoulder sprain and would be a limited participant in practice. As Rapoport spoke, viewers saw b-roll of Jaguars’ trainers examining Lawrence’s shoulder during a game.
While ESPN’s Adam Schefter remains the King of Scoops, Rapoport is second in line to the throne. His face is in his smartphone more than a Gen Z’er at dinner with the family.
The strength of The Insiders is that they are not merely news breakers. They are also adept at commentary and opinion. Garafolo noted the longtime rivalry between the Jaguars and Titans saying that Titans’ head coach Mike Vrabel would like nothing better than to knock Jacksonville out of the playoffs.
This quartet was all over the NFL injury scene, a huge and impactful storyline this season. Battista updated the injury report on Jags’ wide receiver Christian Kirk and noted how his absence has negatively affected the team’s offense. Rapoport reported that Colts’ center Ryan Kelly and guard Quenton Nelson did not practice on Tuesday, and that RB Zack Moss was a limited participant.
Heading into Week 18, perhaps the most interesting and terrifying story is that of the Buffalo Bills. With a win at Miami, the Bills can win the AFC East and get the 2-seed. With a loss, they could be out of the playoffs completely with jobs and legacies in question.
On The Insiders, much of the Buffalo conversation centered on wide receiver Stefon Diggs’ low production over the last few weeks after a great start. Once again, the program focused on facts more than frivolity.
Garafolo provided some telling statistics on Diggs and highlighted a level of hypocrisy and indecision with the Buffalo coaching staff. Garafolo revealed that head coach Sean McDermott and interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady said that they purposely diversified the Bills’ game plan with more running and less passing, ergo less Diggs. More recently, both coaches told reporters that they need Diggs more involved, especially in the red zone.
Battista joined the conversation revealing that in the last six contests, Diggs has averaged less than 30 yards receiving per game. This is the guts of the program – news, analysis, backup facts, and intelligent conversation.
As this episode of The Insiders moved on, Pelissero had the breaking news that running back Dalvin Cook and the Jets have mutually agreed to part ways, allowing Cook to perhaps sign with a playoff team.
The erstwhile strait-laced Pelissero has really come out of his shell this past year, breaking out of the shirt and tie persona and displaying more personality and flash in a casual format. As the moderator on The Insiders, he moves the conversation from one reporter to the next with great composure.
One solid exchange featured Garafolo and Battista talking about the Baltimore Ravens, who have already wrapped up the 1-seed and a playoff bye, essentially making this weekend’s game vs. Pittsburgh meaningless. Garafolo discussed the dilemma of sitting starters for two weeks while maintaining continuity.
Battista astutely brought up 2019, the last time Baltimore had the number one seed. That year, the team lost in the first round of the playoffs to Tennessee leaving head coach John Harbaugh wary of a long layoff.
One of the strengths of The Insiders is the rotating roster of guest reporters. Ace reporter Jane Slater joined the program on this day to talk about Dallas’s Week 18 game at Washington.
Slater has done an outstanding job for many years covering the Cowboys and other stories for NFL Network. She has deep roots in the Metroplex area as a Dallas TV and radio veteran, and her appearances on The Insiders are always a plus for the broadcast.
Slater talked about the injury to Cowboys’ guard Tyler Smith and how the Cowboys are now looking to get some help along the offensive line. Slater can exchange her reporter chops for opinion in a heartbeat. She stated that even though they are playing the 4-12 Commanders, it is important for Dallas to register a road win before the playoffs, given their woes away from home this season.
Reporter Bridget Condon also joined the show for a discussion on coaches’ preparations for the Houston/Indianapolis game Saturday night. Condon’s work has been on the upswing in various assignments and roles at NFL Network.
She has tremendous on-air presence and is building a powerful voice at the network. Condon made the point that Texans’ quarterback CJ Stroud is unaffected by the pressure of playing in prime time thanks to his big game experience at Ohio State.
NFL.com senior writer Jeffri Chadiha was next to join the fray talking to Pelissero about the Miami Dolphins. Again mixing analysis with stats, he told viewers that Miami is giving up 35 points per game when they play against winning teams. Further discussion on the show centered on the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers’ playoff possibilities.
The Insiders sets itself apart from other programs outside of and on NFL Network thanks to its thick content and outstanding cast. Players and coaches have their place in media bringing first-hand knowledge and experience from the locker room and field. Similarly, shows like NFL Network’s GameDay Morning bombard viewers with jokes, parodies, and goofy hats – sometimes really funny, sometimes really not.
The Insiders does more with less. It is pure football with a diverse cast and fast-paced feel – a well-rounded, all-encompassing program presenting juicy NFL news through the eyes and ears of proven reporters.
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.
