lennykravitz2004 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 ESPN issued a press release on Wednesday entitled: “Ron Jaworski signs five-year extension for new, expanded multiplatform analyst role.” They buried the lede. Jaworski’s expanded role won’t include the job he’s most famous for: Monday Night Football. ESPN is moving to a two-man booth in 2012: Jon Gruden and Mike Tirico. (As Jaws might say: “S—”) Jaworski will be in the studio for ESPN’s many offerings, including Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday Night Countdown. “I thank Ron for the great contributions he has made to Monday Night Football,” said ESPN President John Skipper. “With two strong analysts in Ron and Jon, these moves will better utilize their strengths and benefit our entire NFL presentation.” It’s an interesting decision considering that Gruden could seemingly leave ESPN any year and Jaworski will continue to have a big role in the company. Perhaps the network has a replacement in mind (Trent Dilfer?) if Gruden leaves. We’re headed for an inferior product. I enjoy Gruden in the booth a lot more than Florio, but it was still very valuable to have Jaworski’s X’s and O’s approach there to question Gruden. ESPN says this is not a demotion for Jaworski, but that’s a hard sell. It’s ESPN’s most valuable property and Jaws would surely have loved to remain a part of it. They are choosing to take him off. This will mark the fourth booth lineup in seven seasons since ESPN took over Monday Night Football. One thing we like about ESPN’s release: NFL Matchup will be back next year. That’s a relief. Jaworski is one of the best analysts around, so perhaps he’ll raise the level of discourse on the other pregame shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrab Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Wow, that is a little surprising. I like it for MNF as it will reduce the silly banter in the booth with Jaws and Gruden picking on each other. I still don't get this bit about "Gruden could leave ESPN at any time" presumably to return to coaching. We keep hearing that year after year about him and Cowher and every year they stay in their current job. You'd think that the longer they keep passing up coaching chances the more likely they don't ever return. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Thank god...I love Jaws, I really do, but the way he ends his delivery is nauseating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Thank god...I love Jaws, I really do, but the way he ends his delivery is nauseating. Just don't swallow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 3 people is too much yapping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chavez Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I still don't get this bit about "Gruden could leave ESPN at any time" presumably to return to coaching. We keep hearing that year after year about him and Cowher and every year they stay in their current job. You'd think that the longer they keep passing up coaching chances the more likely they don't ever return. Hey now, NFL owners love their mediocre coaches. Look at all the rope Herm Edwards got! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Hey now, NFL owners love their mediocre coaches. Look at all the rope Herm Edwards got! I wonder if this news is causing him to curse right now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiskey Pimp Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 3 people is too much yapping. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt770 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Good move. Nice enough guy but annoying in the booth IMO. More Gruden is a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiefjay Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I hate Gruden, Jaws was ok. Tirico is the man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chargerz Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 3 people is too much yapping. I agree. Two commentators is plenty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiskey Pimp Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I hate Gruden, Jaws was ok. Tirico is the man. My preference would have been Tirico and Jaws and ditch Gruden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 My preference would have been Tirico and Jaws and ditch Gruden. +1. I liked the three of them together but Gruden's nutsack swinging on pretty much every player every week was getting hard to bear. Toward the end of the year, I thought he started to become a bit of a self-parody. He was demonstrably wrong on calls quite a bit too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 I liked the three of them together but Gruden's nutsack swinging on pretty much every player every week was getting hard to bear. Toward the end of the year, I thought he started to become a bit of a self-parody. He was demonstrably wrong on calls quite a bit too. and I agree. (smarmy grin) Here's a guy that's leading the league in grit. Guy comes from a small school to the big stage of blah, blah, blah. I know Gruden can suck at times but the overall product can only be better without Jaws and Gruden trying to cram so much BS to the small time in between plays. I'll take more silence over either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I think one of the most overrated things in sports is the effect the guys in the booth have on the watchability of MNF. It keeps coming up and I have no idea why. It would take Joan Rivers calling the thing to drive me away from a game that I felt was good enough to watch and I can't imagine any crew that could keep me watching if the game sucks and I have nothing on the line, fantasy wise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuke'em ttg Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I think one of the most overrated things in sports is the effect the guys in the booth have on the watchability of MNF. It keeps coming up and I have no idea why. It would take Joan Rivers calling the thing to drive me away from a game that I felt was good enough to watch and I can't imagine any crew that could keep me watching if the game sucks and I have nothing on the line, fantasy wise. i had ta mute the Kornholer era Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorttynaz Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 So we're no longer going to hear the NFL referred to as the National Football League 14 times during MNF. Thank you, Jebus! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 So we're no longer going to hear the NFL referred to as the National Football League 14 times during MNF. Thank you, Jebus! Most announcers say NFL in full. God knows why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorttynaz Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Most announcers say NFL in full. God knows why. I guess I only noticed when Jaws says it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris N Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 espn should hire aikman away from fox and pair him with tirico. that would be the best commentator pair possible. but for the sake of this argument....gruden>jaws>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>collingsworth what did collingsworth have to do at/to/with nbc to land that spot?? al michaels is a legend and i know he has to think about jumping out of the booth every sunday night cuz he has to listen to collingsworth embarrass himself the whole time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swashbucklers Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I thought that Tirico and Gruden did a great job calling the college bowl games. Maybe they used that as evidence that they didn't need Jaws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrab Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I think one of the most overrated things in sports is the effect the guys in the booth have on the watchability of MNF. It keeps coming up and I have no idea why. It would take Joan Rivers calling the thing to drive me away from a game that I felt was good enough to watch and I can't imagine any crew that could keep me watching if the game sucks and I have nothing on the line, fantasy wise. I don't watch games for the announcers, I watch for the football. If the annnouncers are annoying I may turn the volume down or just try to tune them out. Kornhole was one of the worst in my opinion, and even he didn't stop me from watching games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris N Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I don't watch games for the announcers, I watch for the football. If the annnouncers are annoying I may turn the volume down or just try to tune them out. Kornhole was one of the worst in my opinion, and even he didn't stop me from watching games. i dont think anyone watches football for the announcers. but a bad one (collingsworth, phil simms, dennis miller, gary and verne in college) can be so horrible that it detracts from the game and becomes a huge distraction. and a good one (aikman, tirico, moose, herby musburger and gus johnson in college) can add so much to the game and provide further information & entertainment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegrab Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 i dont think anyone watches football for the announcers. but a bad one (collingsworth, phil simms, dennis miller, gary and verne in college) can be so horrible that it detracts from the game and becomes a huge distraction. and a good one (aikman, tirico, moose, herby musburger and gus johnson in college) can add so much to the game and provide further information & entertainment. I suppose for some people that is true. But I also find that the opinions on who is terrible and who is not vary quite a bit, even between Jaws and Gruden. Some think Jaws is/was bad some think he's great, same goes for Gruden. It just seems like arguing about what color the uniforms are, what the score bug or other on screen graphics are like, etc. To me those all matter very little compared to the quality of the game itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 i dont think anyone watches football for the announcers. but a bad one (collingsworth, phil simms, dennis miller, gary and verne in college) can be so horrible that it detracts from the game and becomes a huge distraction. and a good one (aikman, tirico, moose, herby musburger and gus johnson in college) can add so much to the game and provide further information & entertainment. Simple questions: Have you ever switched away from a good game because you hated the guys calling it? Have you ever stuck with a game that sucked and you had no juice in (fantasy or gambling) simply because the announcers were so great? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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