Tag: Brian Griese

ESPN sticking with Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick for MNF booth

Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick will be back in the “Monday Night Football” booth, per a report

The first year was deemed a success so why mess with it? That would be the direction ESPN has chosen for its “Monday Night Football” booth.

Richard Deitsch of The Athletic with a Friday news drop of sorts saying Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick will return for a second season.

The trio was immensely better than the previous two seasons, which saw a disastrous rookie debut for Jason Witten, who return to the NFL after a major flop.

He had been teamed with Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland. That duo got a second season and was just as bad.

That led to the change bringing in Levy, Griese, and Riddick. That trio may not be mentioned aside of Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford, and Don Meredith in the long run but they were a vast improvement from the previous voices.

What could be interesting in the future will be Levy’s direction. He is a big-time hockey guy and ESPN is back in the NHL business starting with the 2021-22 sason.

And, there is always the possibility Riddick will get a front-office job. He had numerous GM interviews this offseason.

What everyone is getting wrong about Nick Foles’ comments about his coach Matt Nagy

It sure sounded like Nick Foles was criticizing Matt Nagy’s play-calling, but was he really?

Near the end of whatever we’re calling the display of offensive football the Bears produced Monday night in a 24-10 loss to the Rams, ESPN commentator Brian Griese attempted to pull back the curtain a bit on Chicago’s offensive struggles in the passing game, causing a bit of a stir on NFL Twitter.

Griese says Foles told the Monday Night Football crew that there are times when Bears coach Matt Nagy calls a play that he knows is doomed to fail before the huddle even breaks, which sounds like a major indictment of the third-year coach. At least that’s how it was interpreted. Here are Griese’s full comments…

“We were talking to Nick Foles yesterday and he said ‘Sometimes play calls come I know I don’t have time to execute that play call. And I’m the one out here getting hit. Sometimes the guy calling the plays, Matt Nagy, doesn’t know how much time there is back here.’ So that’s something they have to work on.”

I’m just going to assume Foles didn’t expect that to make the air, but I don’t know if it’s as big of an indictment on Nagy as it sounds. To me, it sounds like more of an indictment of the offensive line. As Griese later explained to Scott Van Pelt, he was mostly talking about plays that require Foles to hold the ball a bit longer so receivers can get open downfield.

“It’s really disheartening as a quarterback when a play call comes in — maybe it’s a five- or seven-step drop — and you know that once you get back to your fifth step or seventh step, you don’t even have time to take a hitch to get rid of the football … in Nick Foles’ mind, he gets back to his fifth step and he takes the checkdown right away because he knows they don’t have the protection up front. Now, part of it is scheme but a big part of it is personnel.”

So this sounds more like criticism of the Bears’ pass protection than Nagy’s play-calling. If Foles is throwing anyone under the bus, it’s not Nagy; it’s his offensive line, which has been injured and ineffective.

The numbers back this up. Per Sports Info Solutions, Foles had been pressured on 9-of-14 dropbacks of five-to-seven steps. It’s hard to play quarterback under those conditions. But Nagy seems to realize this and has dialed down his usage of those plays. Chicago quarterbacks have used those deeper drops on only 14.2% of their dropbacks (36 out of 254), the fifth-lowest usage rate in the NFL (the Saints use five-step drops on over 50 percent of plays; the league average is around 23 percent.)

So Nagy only seems to be using those deeper drops when he has to. And to his credit, Foles is doing a good job of avoiding sacks on those snaps. Going into the Rams game, he had yet to take a sack on one of those plays, and, overall, the Bears ranked ninth in Success Rate on them. In other words, Nagy is doing a good job of avoiding those calls and making things work when his hand is forced by the situation.

Chicago’s offense is a mess and there’s plenty about it to criticize, but this particular criticism of Nagy doesn’t seem to be warranted.

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NFL reveals Week 4 announcer schedules

What announce teams got the best assignments for Week 4?

The end of the first quarter is upon us. Announce teams have settled in after not having preseason work, either. Who will be on the call for what games you will watch this weekend (and Monday)?

Sunday

Arizona at Carolina, FOX 1 p.m. – Kevin Kugler, Chris Spielman & Laura Okmin

Indianapolis at Chicago, CBS 1 p.m. – Greg Gumbel, Rich Gannon & Amanda Balionis

Jacksonville at Cincinnati, CBS 1 p.m. – Tom McCarthy, Jay Feely

Cleveland at Dallas, FOX 1 p.m. – Kevin Burkhardt, Daryl Johnston & Pam Oliver

New Orleans at Detroit, FOX 1 p.m. – Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma & Shannon Spake

Minnesota at Houston, FOX 1 p.m. – Chris Myers, Brock Huard, Greg Jennings & Jen Hale

Seattle at Miami, FOX 1 p.m. – Dick Stockton, Brady Quinn & Sara Walsh

LA Chargers at Tampa Bay, CBS 1 p.m. – Ian Eagle, Charles Davis & Evan Washburn

Baltimore at Washington, CBS 1 p.m. – Andrew Catalon, James Lofton & AJ Ross

NY Giants at LA Rams, FOX 4:05 p.m. – Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth & Lindsay Czarniak

New England at Kansas City, CBS 4:25 p.m. – Jim Nantz, Tony Romo & Tracy Wolfson

Buffalo at Las Vegas, CBS 4:25 p.m. – Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta

Philadelphia at San Francisco, NBC 8:20 p.m. – Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth & Michelle Tafoya

Monday

Atlanta at Green Bay, ESPN 8:15 p.m. – Steve Levy, Brian Griese, Louis Riddick & Lisa Salters

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’ mom wants ESPN to stop calling him ‘Pat’

ESPN was calling Patrick Mahomes by the wrong name and his mother wasn’t having any of it.

ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” crew has unleashed the wrath of Patrick Mahomes’ mom, Randi.

She’s been watching the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens, which has been the cause of her frustration. It’s not because ESPN’s crew is talking bad about Mahomes or anything like that. They’re just not calling him by the right name and she’s not having any of it.

The new group of broadcasters for “Monday Night Football” composed of Louis Riddick, Brian Griese and Steve Levy have spent most of the evening referring to Mahomes as “Pat.” The issue — Pat Mahomes is Patrick’s father. Pat is the MLB pitcher who played for the Minnesota Twins and the New York Mets, not the quarterback for the Chiefs.

Mahomes’ mom took to Twitter to voice her frustrations.

“Guilty, guilty, guilty,” ESPN’s Louis Riddick said during the broadcast after learning of the Randi Mahomes’ tweet. “I get it, I get it.”

The next time Riddick referred to Patrick, he got it right and called Chiefs QB by the name of his birth certificate. You know what they say, “If mom isn’t happy, nobody is happy.” Good on the ESPN crew for having some fun with it and making sure they get it right moving forward.

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ESPN announces commentary crew for Broncos-Titans game

Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick will call the Broncos-Titans game in Week 1.

ESPN announced Monday that Steve Levy (play-by-play), Brian Griese (analyst) and Louis Riddick (analyst) will serve as the network’s top commentary crew for Monday Night Football this season. Lisa Salters will return as a sideline reporter and John Parry will continue serving as an officiating analyst.

Levy, Griese and Riddick will call the Denver Broncos’ season opener against the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 14 (8:10 p.m. MT). Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN’s top college football commentators, will serve as the network’s secondary crew for MNF this fall.

Fowler and Herbstreit will call the Pittsburgh Steelers-New York Giants game (5:15 p.m. MT) before the Denver-Tennessee clash in Week 1.

Levy, Griese and Riddick also covered the Broncos’ season opener last year when Denver faced the Oakland (now Las Vegas) Raiders on ESPN. The Broncos lost that contest 24-16 on the road.

Denver will be looking to start the season on a better note this year. The Broncos are considered 1.5-point betting favorites against the Titans.

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Who will call the Broncos-Titans game on ESPN in Week 1?

Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit are not expected to call the Broncos-Titans game on ESPN in Week 1.

ESPN’s Monday Night Football commentary crews apparently haven’t been set just yet.

Because of the uncertainty surrounding college football, Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit — ESPN’s top NCAA duo — could be on the call for several NFL games this fall, especially if games are played on Saturdays.

Fowler and Herbstreit were originally expected to call the Broncos-Titans game in Week 1 but they are now expected to call the first MNF game between the Giants and Steelers, according to the New York Post‘s Andrew Marchand.

That would leave Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick to call the Denver-Tennessee game, ESPN’s second game in a Week 1 doubleheader. Levy and Griese have called Broncos games before — Riddick has mostly served as a studio analyst for ESPN but does have experience commentating on college games.

Griese was selected by the Broncos in the third round of the 1998 NFL draft out of Michigan. He spent five seasons in Denver and earned a Pro Bowl nod after totaling 2,688 passing yards and 19 touchdowns against four interceptions in 2000. Griese has been with ESPN since 2009.

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Report: ESPN won’t audible to Chris Fowler-Kirk Herbstreit for MNF

Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler won’t be resting on Saturdays if ESPN can land possible NFL games.

The pieces are moving everywhere. On the field, off the field. College football, pro football. Sports is in a chaotic state due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is no different with TV networks and broadcast teams. What will they do if the NFL shifts games from Sundays to playing some on Saturdays, too?

Well, according to one report, ESPN would stick with its still-to-be-announced “Monday Night Football” team of Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick, and keep its options open about having its premier college team if Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit available for the possibility of Saturday broadcasts.

With the potential of Saturday NFL games in the event of college football being totally canceled, ESPN’s current plan is to stick with its newly created, but yet to be announced “Monday Night Football” team of Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick, The Post has learned.

That doesn’t mean that its No. 1 college football broadcast team of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit won’t do multiple NFL games.

If this were to happen, then ESPN/ABC would try to land Saturday games. Fowler and Herbstreit would be in line to call those telecasts.

The duo is already expected to be on the Giants-Steelers “Monday Night” opener on Sept. 14. Levy, Riddick and Griese will handle the second game of that night’s doubleheader between the Titans and Broncos.

 

ESPN sets ‘Monday Night Football’ crew for Broncos’ season opener

ESPN has set two commentary crews for ‘Monday Night Football’ this season.

ESPN will have a new commentary trio for Monday Night Football this fall.

The Disney-owned network will have Steve Levy serve as a play-by-play announcer with former NFL players Louis Riddick and Brian Griese providing color commentary, according to USA TODAY’s Chris Bumbaca.

Levy has been with ESPN for 27 years. Riddick has been with the network since 2013 and Griese has been with ESPN since 2009.

Griese was selected by the Broncos in the third round of the 1998 NFL draft out of Michigan. He spent five seasons in Denver and earned a Pro Bowl nod after totaling 2,688 passing yards and 19 touchdowns against four interceptions in 2000.

Levy, Riddick and Griese will serve as ESPN’s top commentary crew so they won’t call the Broncos’ season opener against the Titans in Week 1. Denver will be playing the second game in a double-header and the showdown against Tennessee will have a separate broadcast crew.

Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit, who call the top college football games for ESPN, will serve as the secondary MNF crew this season. Fowler and Herbstreit will call the Broncos-Titans game at 8:10 p.m. MT on Sept. 14.

Before Denver’s season opener, the Steelers-Giants clash will air at 5:15 p.m. MT on ESPN. Levy, Riddick and Griese will call the first game.

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ESPN zeroing in on Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick as MNF booth

Steve Levy, Louis Riddick, and Brian Griese are on their way to becoming Monday Night Football announcers for ESPN.

A little Monday Night Football news on Friday. There are reports ESPN is close to announcing its new announcers.

And as is the case when one breaks a story others are quick to confirm the news:

Andrew Marchand of the New York Post added: Now, ESPN is closing in on its new MNF team and it will feature Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick, sources told The Post.

The news comes after two years of a debacle with Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland. Of course, Year 1 also featured Jason Witten, now a Raiders tight end.

Levy is a strong choice. He does solid work and doesn’t trying and make himself the story as was the problem with Tessitore. He has worked with Griese. Riddick has been impressive in his role as an NFL analyst with the network