On Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 5:36 PM, Brian Henke <[email protected]> wrote:
(SNIP)  Last week, 64 percent correctly picked the Steelres to beat the
> Denver Broncos. Every state but Colorado and Wyoming went for the
> Steelers. Maybe the fans should make the game picks instead of Berman
> et al.

I don't know that predictive accuracy is really the right measure for
these kinds of shows. But since it gives me a chance to rave again
about Tony Dungy, I will point out one more example of why NBC's
Football Night in America is so good.

Last night's game was a dream match up for NBC anyway, but they set it
up well with Coach Dungy and former Patriot player Rodney Harrison.
They did not yell and scream mindlessly at each other, neither did
they hem and haw and spew cliches. Dungy explained why he (naturally)
thought Manning was better, Harrison why he thought Brady was better
(not as good a passer, but better in the last minute of a big game).
Dungy did not back down, but in a clear, strong by reasonable tone
disputed Harrison. My favorite was when Harrison said that Brady did
not have all pro receivers for much of his career, and if he had had
Manning's all pros then Brady would have put up similar numbers. Dungy
shot back immediately that maybe the reason the Indy receivers were
all pro was because they had Manning as their QB. Dan Patrick asks the
exit question of Dungy: "Who is better". Dungy for the first time
waffles a little, saying how much he respects Brady and how good he
is. Patric very smoothly says "I'm going to ask the question again -
is there anything that Brady does better than Manning?" Dungy says
"not that I know of". It was really a good segment.

All of that worked well as a prelude to the game - where Manning's
ability to bring his team down the field for a comeback win in the
last 2 minutes became the central issue in one of the most
controversial big game coaching decisions in the history of the NFL.
After the game Al or Chris said something like "I can't wait to hear
what Dungy has to say about this" - and it was exactly what I was
thinking too. When they went to the studio, Dungy looks straight into
the camera and says without blinking "You have to punt the ball in
that situation". Harrison, remarkably, bravely, says the same thing.
That was just really really interesting, and not spoiled by the usual
histrionics or cliche fest we often get from former players or
coaches.

NBC also gets really good pictures and sounds during the game (maybe
better than usual last night because of the dome?). At a time when NBC
is sucking it in so many areas, it is nice to be able to give them
props for doing something right.

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