MEDIA
SCOPE - WEEK 9
by David Hershorin
Friday
October 25, 2002
Hawaii vs. Fresno State - ESPN at 9:00pm
Steve Levy, Rod Gilmore, Heather Cox
There
was no where to go. Only one game was on, and
even though it was a good one, reasons abounded
for changing the channel, or in this case turning
down the sound. Hawaii-Fresno State proved a challenge
to ESPN's announcing crew. They produced just
as many boners as they did sharp insights. Their
potential is far from realized as ample shortcomings
prove how far this talk-team has to go.
Replays
should be like hindsight, a 20/20 perspective
of ambiguous events needing further inspection
to gain clarity. These guys (and gal) seemed to
be one step behind the replays produced, just
catching up with things finally when seen again,
never ahead of this curve (I may be able to call
a better game from my couch in New Orleans). Many
subtle facets were glossed over or totally missed.
Obvious 2-deep coverages were labeled man-to-man.
A Fresno State punt with about ten minutes left
in the fourth was downed and spotted on the 1
yd line after replays showed the player downing
the ball had gone into the endzone without reestablishing
himself inbounds. This no-no eluded officials
but should have been easily caught with replay.
The booth did hit the mark many times, too, but
never thoroughly or for any extended period. The
announcers knew about the card Fresno State coach
Pat Hill had with each referees name on it, so
he could call them out at will. Hill even pointed
out penalties, often before they were replayed.
Coupled with interchangeable play-by-play and
color commentary, these guys showed their chops,
somewhat. Yet deficiencies stood out often. The
Bulldogs rotated six defensive backs at CB, a
good observation at face value when playing a
team that passes like Hawaii. But the announcers
then showed their worth by asking, when Hawaii
had only 16 points early in the fourth, if this
CB scheme was working. Well, I should think so,
as did every other armchair coach like me who
can decipher this simple situation. So went the
viewing experience of anyone attracted to this
prime-time match-up.
The
drop off of quality from ESPN's top crews to their
B and C teams is significant enough to warrant
closer quality inspection. Just because FSS's
B and C crews still come up short in comparison
doesn't preclude ESPN's problematic nature in
this area. The quality of the production truck(s)
doesn't displace this either. Something has to
give if ESPN wants to stay atop the quality (as
well as the quantity - ABC is under their umbrella)
game of producing college football. So give the
booth a C for a balance of extremely good and
bad moments. The replays and angles were better,
with ample graphics abounding, timed well, too.
Only a B for production as the booth's miscues
limits an otherwise strong broadcast.
Saturday October 26,
2002
Notre Dame vs. Florida State - ABC at Noon
Bob Griese, Brad Nessler, Lynn Swann
A
good game decided by enthusiastic kids playing
better than their counterparts? Nope
The
referees stole this one. Griese nailed it early
as officiating faux pas piled up. The Big 10 zebra
crew missed an early FSU fumble, followed then
by a marginal unsportmanlike conduct penalty,
causing Griese to express "I think these
officials are a little jumpy." So went the
viewing experience this game delivered.
It
just seemed like quality announcing never overcame
this choppy flow the refs established. Griese
and Swanny both uncharacteristically missed a
second quarter goal line call when replays confirmed
a facemask penalty on the Irish never came to
light as Greg Jones helmet actually came off when
the Irish defender wouldn't let go. But
oops.
The booth also came up short when they failed
to question the Noles choice of only going for
a one-point PAT instead of two late in the fourth
when behind by 24 (three TDs along with three
two-point conversions means OT). They got two
out of three, yet trailed by 10 instead of 8,
therefore deflating an otherwise motivated Nole
comeback. These guys have set the bar high for
themselves, covering games more than adequately
until now. The announcers seemed to parallel FSU's
plight, never hitting their potential, falling
short of expectations. But the booth's flow was
also reflected in the refs' inconsistent calls.
Too many bad calls distracted the talking enough
to disrupt any continuity established by these
observant minds. More than adequate replays and
graphics did come early and often, making for
some consistency as we watched. Let's hope this
isn't a trend with which ABC is happy. Odds are
good that next week's effort will show this game
was an isolated incident for these guys. Motivation
should come with an unusual B- for the talk-team.
The usual A for ABC's best production crew should
also spur the other half back to their usual selves.
It was too bad these guys hit their season low
at such a huge game. Even more criminal was the
official's performance, needing much more attention
than any tweak these commentators do.
*Added
coverage of ESPN+'s (that's ESPN Plus) BC-Pitt
OT tilt was a pleasant surprise. Maybe the big
boys at ESPN read MEDIA SCOPE last week and made
the right decision, knowing the exposure they
would get here. Yeah
Iowa State vs. Texas
- ABC at 3:30pm
Ed Cunningham, Tim Brant, Sam Ryan-Herbst
To
be honest, I have to say right off that this was
not the game I wanted to see. Out of the four
ABC was covering, I wanted to see Penn State-Ohio
State. Oh well
this game was rather exciting,
too. So in hindsight, after experiencing this
'other' quality broadcast effort instead of the
Brent Musberger-hosted Buckeye-Nittnay Lion contest,
I am happy for the watching experience I had.
The
professionalism these guys displayed showcased
insights and gutsy calls that rivaled Griese &
Co on a good day. They called players out for
penalties sooner than replays could confirm their
stabs. Cunningham identified Texas' rotating coverage
schemes that kept ISU Hiesman hopeful Seneca Wallace
from getting into any rhythm. Also astute was
the booth's uncanny knack for spotting which Longhorn's
offensive linemen were responsible for the gaping
holes often created. They spotted these beefy
brawlers and called out their names quicker than
Santa with his reindeer leaving off a rooftop.
Putting yourself in the trust of these commentators
made for an enjoyable football-watching experience.
I respectfully give Brent Musberger his props
for years of quality announcing. But make no doubt
that this crew calls a better game than Brent
& Co most any given Saturday. Why they aren't
the B team to Bob, Brad and Swanny we'll never
know. And make no mistake about the production's
ability to keep up with such savvy. Replays constantly
produced video to confirm the booth's quick observation
making. My favorite sequence was the video and
subsequent commentary when Texas QB Simms got
mad at the sideline because a play went wrong
due to poor substitution(s). Brant went on to
point out how Major Applewhite's departure has
made Simms into the vocal leader he now is. Not
every broadcast could uncover such vignettes.
With the play-by-play and color portions of the
commentary practically interchangeable, these
guys get an A for an unexpected gem. The production
was a step below, but still top-notch
A-.
Alabama vs. Tennessee
- ESPN at 7:30
Ron Franklin, Mike Gottfried, Adrian Karstan
SECOND HALF
My
journeys kept me from catching the first half
of this fabulous SEC clash. But from what I saw,
this broadcast came off as well as any this past
Saturday. The talking portion was well covered.
Ron and Mike were rather sharp, but did miss a
few. One strong point - they noticed CB seals
offensively and defensively. Experienced seniors
on both sides meant the corners could cheat as
eighth and ninth men in the box or as run-blitz
containment on the outside - a fact we understood
thanks to great observation and replay telestrations.
One big miss - when replays confirmed that 'Bama
QB Brodie Croyle was down before he pitched the
ball to RB Santonio Beard, who also was established
as "downed" (with one knee seen touching
on replay) when he got the pitch. The problematic
play wasn't caught by the refs or the announcers
(until obvious, after multiple viewpoints). Make
no mistake - these guys did a good job most of
the time. But it is hard to judge an entire broadcast
if many of the first half set-up comments aren't
heard. To hear what these guys prognosticated
before the game's conclusion would have been to
see their worth. One judgement I will make is
that Adrian needs to work on his sideline reporting.
His staggering delivery broke up any decent flow
established. Otherwise, I'm looking forward to
their next effort, production crew and all. Instinct
like these can't be taught.
Washington State vs.
Arizona - FSS at 10:00pm
Barry Tompkins, Warren Moon
SECOND
HALF
Again,
something stood in my way to make me miss the
first half, namely the Angles' World Series comeback.
Oops
but sports nonetheless, right? Whatever
the reason, this game's coverage was worthy of
only second half attention, from both an action
and a quality standpoint. The second half was
indicative of the entire flow - WSU wore down
Arizona, proving their #9 ranking correct through
superior line play on both sides. Telestration
proved these points quickly. But shortcomings
arose when penalties needed investigating. Player
miscues in college ball may not warrant individual
identification by officials, but announcers need
to point out the impact(s)/effect(s) on team results.
Individual mistakes costing the entire squad mean
too much to be ignored. These guys also whiffed
when they failed to see WSU sacks being the result
of Arizona's poor speed at QB. Most other svelte
QBs (the majority of today's crop) would have
given their teams more through scrambling. It
wasn't only WSU's superior line that turned the
tide in this close one. This announcing crew earns
mid-grade marks for a mixed bag of unpredictable
fodder. FSS seems to make these late games rather
quality broadcasts
they need better chatter
to match the quality technical ends. Give them
a few years, and look for them to possibly reach
Fox's superior NFL quality if they try hard enough
maybe.
|