Well at least that's what Peter King is trying to tell people. is reporting that newly signed ESPN analyst, Matt Millen, is the leader in the clubhouse to replace Cris Collinsworth, but the network is also considering Brian Billick, Marshall Faulk and the one and only....Joe Theismann!!!

Remember I told you a couple of weeks ago how NFL Network was furious with Jon Gruden for agreeing to a deal to do color on the Thursday night games in a two-man booth, then reneging to sign with ESPN? NFL Network wasn't exactly thrilled with the worldwide leader for ripping off Gruden. Well, ESPN and NFL Network may just have to play nice now to get another deal done -- if league TV decides to make Millen the color man to replace Gruden for its eight-game slate of late-season games.

In the wake of NFL Network losing Gruden, the channel has considered a few options of analysts to pair with Bob Papa. One is Brian Billick, the quick-on-his-feet former Ravens coach who had a successful debut on Fox last season. Another would be a three-man booth, with Papa, Marshall Faulk and Joe Theismann, who, presumably, would walk to each game if the network would give him the gig. But I hear Millen is the leader in the NFL Network clubhouse.

Bob Papa and Matt Millen would actually make a heck of a team, but to do so, Millen would have to work approximately 90 hours a week. He'd potentially be in studio for Monday Night Football, have NFL Live during the week, Thursday Night Football and finally College Football work for ESPN on the weekend. Even the most dedicated of broadcasters can't talk that much without losing their voice.

While I think Joe Theismann would be a bad choice, I almost miss him at this point. A three-man booth of Papa, Theismann and Marshall Faulk, would be dreadful....it would certainly provide tons of posts for the site. Hmmm....someone flip a coin for me.

The Matt Millen Job Fair (SI)

This here is Tony Romo, and he feels like partying to celebrate the last game at Texas Stadium before the Cowboys move into their new $1 billion monstrosity in Arlington next season. Ray Lewis and the Ravens defense would like to make that a depressing ceremony, in a game that most of us aren't actually able to watch unless we head to the sports bar.

Game: Baltimore Ravens (9-5) vs. Dallas Cowboys (9-5)
Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, TX
Start Time: 8:15 PM
Network and Announcers: NFL Network - Bob Papa, Cris Collinsworth
Favorites: Cowboys (-4)
S2N's Pick: Baltimore to win outright. This will be low-scoring, and the Ravens are engineered to pick off Romo when he makes mistakes. The Dallas D will be after Joe Flacco early and often, but they'll be running the ball a lot more to begin with.

This'll be my last post for the day, as I've got a holiday party to head to. See you all tomorrow for the full NFL Sunday.

I know a great deal of you still don't have the NFL Network, so I did you the favor of watching the Browns collapse against the Broncos last night for you. The game was rather entertaining with Brady Quinn exploiting the Broncos defense, but then again, so hasn't every other quarterback Denver has played. The point of this post however is to illustrate just how great a hire that Bob Papa is for the network.

Every early review that I've read seems to be in line with my thinking, and that's that the pairing of Papa and Cris Collinsworth could already be one of the top announcing teams in the NFL. I know that's a little bit over-the-top, and the closeness of the game obviously helped, but I honestly really enjoyed the broadcast. Moreso than I have for an NFL game in quite some time. I've always been a fan of Collinsworth, but his assignments with Bryant Gumbel just dragged him down. Papa was spot on throughout the night and when two announcers can laugh, be serious and breakdown plays, you've conquered about 99% of the announcing game. The only thing left is to get the players and the downs right (Hi Pam!).

The NFL sponsored channel isn't going anywhere, and even though they can't get a carriage deal to save their lives, so this excellent transition was a much needed one. You officially have my approval, NFL-N. Not that it matters, but you've got that going for you....which is nice.

Elsewhere....

Papa, Collinsworth Worth A Listen (Sox & Dawgs)

Well at least according to Neil Best he will be. The Newsday writer has confirmed with a few sources close to the hiring process that Papa is the choice....

I don't know when the network is announcing this, but three people familiar with the situation said Wednesday that Papa would be the choice.

Other candidates are believed to have included Spero Dedes - like Papa a Fordham alum - and Tom Hammond, who was the presumed leading contender when Bryant first departed.

Papa, the Giants' radio play-by-play man, received national attention during the team's Super Bowl XLII run. He is a veteran broadcaster who has done extensive work outside New York, but having his calls replayed over playoff highlights introduced him to a wider audience. He also calls boxing for HBO.

Not a bad choice in the least, and it's good that they finally have someone to get ready for the season (just over one month to go!). Hopefully Cris Collinsworth will accept the choice though because we know how much of a bear he can be on PBPers he doesn't get along with (see: Joe Buck).

NFL Network to hire Bob Papa for its play-by-play gig (Newsday)
So What's Going On With That Vacant PBP Spot Over At The NFL-N? (Awful Announcing)

So Al Michaels said no last month and that persumably only left one viable candidate in Tom Hammond. Well Hammond is still waiting for the call and word out of New York today is that the network is now adding NY Giants and HBO Boxing Play-By-Play man Bob Papa to the list of people they'd like to sit down with. Via Bob Raissman of the NY Daily News....

Is Bob Papa about to land a new gig?

One well-embedded NFL mole says the list of candidates to replace Bryant Gumbel as play-by-play man on the NFL Network's eight-game package has been trimmed and Papa's name is still on it.

This is not surprising. NFL Network boss Steve Bornstein has a sharp eye for talent. And Papa, the radio voice of the Giants, has impeccable play-by-play credentials. He also is no stranger to the NFL Network, having worked on its weekly NFL Europe "A" Game two years ago.

You'd have to think that if the NFL-N really wanted Hammond as the lead they would have already completed the deal by now. It's not that Bob Papa is bad (I rather enjoy him), but it's almost a slap in the face to Hammond who did an excellent job with Cris Collinsworth during the one game he called for the NFL-N last year.

I'd like to know who else is on that list and if anyone has some thoughts feel free to email me or leave them in the comments.

Come to Papa (NY Daily News)