Yes, there are certainly terrible individuals in the broadcasting world, and there are a few bad duos as well, but I don't think it's possible to assemble a team as bad as the one that called the Jets-Bengals game. Tom Hammond is usually pretty good, but no one could stop the trainwreck that was Joe Gibbs and Joe Theismann.

There were a ton of notable mistakes, but none more glaring than the following two. Not only could they not figure out who threw the touchdown pass to Dustin Keller (Brad Smith or Sanchez) in the second quarter, but they even praised Marvin Lewis' idiotic decision to challenge challenge an almost meaningless play, and waste his last challenge....in the first quarter. Via the NY Times....

Gibbs and Theismann offered decent but unmemorable analysis. Theismann displayed how much more accurate the erratic Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer’s passing is when he follows through; both described how the Jets were running behind their offensive line to the left, six days after succeeding against the Bengals to the right.

But they were late in recognizing the seriousness of the gamble taken by Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis in using his challenges too early — in fact, Theismann said the second challenge was a good one without saying how the decision might hurt him later.

Then, he and his old coach did not revisit the subject late in the fourth quarter when Chad Ochocinco was ruled out of bounds on an attempted touchdown pass.

Not enough video analysis was given by NBC to determine if the call was right.

Joe Gibbs southern drawl was way too slow, which then allowed Theismann to interrupt him just about every single play. Theismann even took it upon himself to do play-by-play when it wasn't warranted. Basically he couldn't shut the "F" up, which is nothing new.

I know it can be tough to throw teams together at the last minute (just ask TBS Baseball), but everyone knew this was a terrible idea from the get go. NBC probably should have just gone with its full College Football announcing team, but they tried to get cute, and it turned out terribly. That didn't seem to stop people from watching though. NBC posted the best Wild Card ratings in 10 years.

Redskins Reunion in the Booth Doesn't Quite Click (NY Times)

Good first quarter for Arizona, better 2nd for Atlanta. Rackers kicks off to Norwood, who gets out to the 27. Ryan hits Peelle at the 30.

Turner runs....and the ball's knocked out by Dockett! Rolle picks it up and runs into the end zone, TOUCHDOWN, CARDINALS! That was quick, 27 yard return. Rackers, up and good (barely), and it's 21-17, Arizona.

Let the good times Rolle! - SSR

Very punny. Norwood kneels on the kick, start at the 20. Turner had a wide open lane, but Arizona called time-out. He was gone if they hadn't, but let's guess that a TO called that early might bite them in the ass.

Turner gets brought down in the backfield again on first down. Ryan to White...but negated thanks to holding. An incomplete on a rush, and then a delay of game. Does not look good for Atlanta. Ryan throws it away on 3rd and 25, and the refs miss a hold in the end zone that would have been a safety. Breaston gets nailed on the punt before he could catch it -- 15 more yards, and Arizona will start inside the Atlanta 40.

Edge rushes for several yards in his LDT visor. Warner goes for Fitzgerald, who tries to bring it in one handed, but is a couple feet short. Warner to Fitz, it's incomplete, but man, that's a PI flag if I ever saw one. Rackers tries to kick one from 51, but it's wide left. Ken Whisenhunt ought to be fucking furious right now.

Turner gets to the 42. Roddy White brings in another catch, but for not much. 3rd down, and the O-line gets savaged. Incomplete, of course. Punt goes out of bounds at about the mid 20s. Edge gets eight on the next two carries, and Cris is agitating for Pat Tillman in the HOF. Warner to the TE, first down.

"Impressive yards after catch for James, and we did count the times he ran into his own offensive linemen." - Cris, as Warner scampers to the 46 for a first down. James gets into Atlanta territory again for another first down. Tim Hightower gets a couple on the next carry. Warner hits the TE Urban, then checks down to James for another first down at the 25 of the Falcons. Hightower grabs five more to the 20. Warner smokes one into Breaston at the five yard line.

Warner, short pass to Hightower, in the end zone. Rackers point is up and good, 28-17.

Has anyone noticed how odd it is to have Clint Eastwood hunting down Asian gang members. It's like Dirty Harry: The Retirement Years. Looks good though. Atlanta will start at the 20 after a touchback.

Ryan aims downfield for Roddy White....and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie makes an acrobatic interception to pick it off! He got UP THERE. Three and out, though. Punt downed inside the 15. Turner continues to get nothing from Berry and the D-line, Norwood doesn't get much more as the 3rd quarter ends.

Ryan overthrows Jenkins on first down, and he's unraveling. Punt again. Stop hitting yourself, Falcons! 15-yard face mask on the end of an Edge run gets inside Falcons territory. Dumb, dumb screen pass on first down to Arrignton, loses tons of yards. 3rdr and 11. Warner gets harried by the blitz and it's incomplete. Falcons get called for a hold on the punt, giving Arizona ten more yards.

THEY BROKE OUT THE VANILLA ICE FOR MATT RYAN. Good lord.

And they get Matt Ryan in the grasp....and IT'S A SAFETY!!! 30-17. Looks debatable, he held on to the ball too long and they called it as if he was in the grasp and about to go down, and the ref was grabbing Ryan's crotch.

Cris: "He gave him a couple of bucking bronco rides, but the third and fourth was too much." (via Mal)

James burrows for more yards and another first down. Warner out to the TE, about the 22. James gets stopped up in the backfield, there's a flag, and they're battling out of bounds. Holding on Arizona. Warner hits Fitzgerald, but he's short of the first. Douglas takes the punt return out to the 41.

Ryan to Norwood for some serious yardage after the catch, going way deep into Cards' territory. Ryan then goes to Peelle at the 20 -- next pass to Jenkins, short of the first down. QB sneak for the first down. Offsides on the Cards. Toss to White for another first down, and it's first and goal.

Ryan to White -- in the flat, just walks into the end zone, kick is good. 30-24, Cards.

Lost transmission thanks to incompetence at the local station. And now they're not broadcasting in HD. Warner aims for Breaston, who makes the catch and gets into Falcon territory at the 40. Hightower to the 43, and an ATL timeout. An end around to Breaston is broken up big time. And Warner just iced this game with a throw to Spach over the middle and to the 20.

Now they're eating clock, and this game is over with another first down. Your final score will be 30-24, and I totally blew it on this call -- where was this Arizona team all season? See you in a bit for the Colts and Chargers.

Michael Turner, who garnered 4 MVP votes this year, is ready to run all over the place today.

That DP-Matt Millen interview had to be one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever seen on sports television. It's remarkable that Millen admitted to sucking in so many words. Anyway....

Matt Millen just picked the Falcons, so I'm confident the Cards will win this. - Bazooka Jones

That did make me a bit less comfortable with my Falcons pick, but the NFC West is so atrocious.

I cannot be the only one who thinks it's incredibly lame that Arizona somehow thinks it's clever to put "RED ZONE" in humongous lettering over the end zones, as if Cardinals fans are so bad with football that they need it explained where the red zones are. (Of course, this is football in Arizona; that is entirely possible. Is there an actual Arizona Cardinals fan among us here? We would love to hear from you.)

Collinsworth: "Boldin is one of the toughest players in all of football".
Hammond: "You know he's a wide receiver, don't you?" (via Mal)

Thank you Tiki and NBC, for teaching me something I didn't know: they roll the grass at the stadium outside to grow and water it, then roll it back in. That's pretty damn cool.

J.J. Arrington picks up the kickoff and is knocked out at the 12 yard line. The KW-1300 Cybernetic Quarterback throws the first pass of the game high for Larry Fitzgerald. This QB model hides his mechanical enhancements under the gloves. KW-1300 gets whacked as he lets it go on 2nd down, and it's obviously short, as Keith Brooking tried to maul him. 3rd down pass underneath to Ben Patrick, three yards short for a 3 and out.

Edge picked up that blitz like a man ready to leave town. - Mal

Harry Douglas gets the punt at the 30 and returns it 21 yards past midfield for some fine field position to start. Matt Ryan rolls out for three yards and slides after his options are well covered to start. Turner the Burner starts with only a couple yards rushing. Matty Ice fires....and gets picked right away by Ralph Brown. Cards will start at about their own 36.

Edgerrin James picks up about four or five yards on his first carry of the series. He gets a first down by heading past midfield. Another Edge run for 6. One more handoff to Edge -- ooh, we got ourselves a flea flicker -- KW-1300 aims, fires, and Larry Fitzgerald back flips into the end zone with the catch! TOUCHDOWN, CARDINALS. Kick is up and good by Rackers, 7-0, Arizona.

Seriously, double coverage, leaping, back flip, that's major highlight material.

You know how you can sense a disaster approaching. That mall cop movie just pinged every sensor I've got.

"He's like Spider-Man." - Collinsworth on Fitzgerald.

Falcons will start at the 20 thanks to a touchback. Nothing for Turner on first down. False start, then Turner gets about four of those back. Ryan hits Roddy White at the 30 for a first down, and I love Cris breaking down the plays super quick on replays like that. Next throw on first down goes out of bounds. Turner loses a bunch on 2nd down, because Arizona, for some reason, is pegging on the run hard. The Cards have the Falcons on the run right now, and they call time out.

Yep, that was a blown offsides...but it doesn't matter, as Ryan's sacked on 3rd and long. Michael Koenen will come on to punt. Cardinals start at the 24. More Edge, out to the 29.

"Are you sure the Falcons and Cardinals didn't switch uniforms?" - Collinsworth.

KW-1300 then hits Fitzgerald again, who gets out to the mid-40s with some yards after the catch. James inside the 35 of the Falcons. Arrington gets stuffed on his first carry on 2nd and 3. KW-1300 throws it through Anquan Boldin's hands, and this will be a punt, apparently...and it's downed at the Atlanta 5....well, 7 yard line.

Turner gets three on the first carry. Ryan drops back, aims deep for Michael Jenkins, and Rod Hood knocks it away. Bertram Berry takes Ryan down for the second sack of the day, and Koenen will be punting out of his end zone. Left tackle Sam Baker got completely burned. Steve Breaston backs off on the ball, picks it up, and is taken down in good field position.

Fitty gets tied up with the Atlanta defender on first down, ball falls incomplete. KW-1300 gets nailed by Lawyer Milloy as he lets the ball go. 3rd and 10. Warner throws through the hands of Keith Brooking, who should have come up with that.

"Even the defensive players with the bad hands ought to catch that." - Collinsworth

Douglas gets nailed inside the 10 for no return on the punt. Tuner gets two yards, up to the 10. Ryan to White at the 20 for a first down; White is quickly developing into a good wideout. Turner gets leg-tackled by Hood when it looked like he was about to break for 5-10 yards. Norwood gets very close to a first down, busting through for 8...and he's got it to end the first quarter.

I guess Ryan will be added to the QB slurping tree or a replacement for Favre, Brady, Peyton - JG

That ain't new, man. That's been going on all damn year. Turner gets his first good run of the day, 13 yards and another first down. Another first down pass out to Michael Jenkins, who gets 13 more and into Arizona territory. Check down pass to Turner for 7, as Ryan has to bring everyone in around him to get the play call out. It's rather Peyton-esque. Turner hits another first down on the rush. Ball at the AZ 32. Swing pass to Douglas -- and Rod Hood just decked him.

Harry Douglas, you just got KNOCKED THE FUCK OUT.

2nd and 11 on the swing to White, gets a first down near the 24. Ryan to the TE Pollard, completes, and it comes lose, but the Falcons keep the ball.

"One of the things they told Gerald Hayes, I don't want to say this; it sounds bad, but it was: 'Don't think. Just go get the guy!'" - Collinsworth, after Hayes takes Turner down in the backfield. Hood falls down on 3rd and long, and Jenkins winds up being a yard shy on the first because he didn't realize Hood had fallen. 4th down, and a tough call coming.

Kicker and noted author Jason Elam tries a 30-yarder, and it's good. 7-3, Cardinals.

Arizona starts at the 27. KW-1300's pass gets tipped by an airborne D-lineman, and we get our first Leinart shot. The cyborg hits Boldin for his first catch, and he's down after a yard gain. Out to Boldin on the side, the corner misses a tackle, and Boldin is GONE. He burned Lawyer Milloy, badly. Rackers' kick is good, 14-3, Cartdinals. 71 yards all the way. Yeowch.

"I guess that would qualify as some run after the catch." - Collinsworth (via Mal). Norwood returns the kick out to the 23 yard line. 7 yards on the first pass to White, and he gets it again for a first down. Ryan goes all the way across the field for White, who manages not to bring it in. Another throw wide for Jenkins. Jenkins then brings in a pass from Ryan, who had very good protection and the receiver does a great job to come down in bounds.

Turner gets nothing in the backfield again. Arizona's stopping the run very well. Ryan to White again for a first down.

"Have any explanation for that, Cris?" - Hammond
"No, I'm not smart enough to come up with one for that!" - Collinsworth, on why Ryan is more successful throwing to his left than his right.

Ryan to White again for another 12 yards, and they're in the red zone. Ryan scrambles, gets up to the 18.

Atlanta is going all Philly on us and is going pass happy. - SSR
Mularkey's channeling his inner Andy Reid it looks like. - James Craven

Burn. Turner gets up to the 15.....and eventually Turner just walks into the end zone. Kick up and good, 14-10, Cardinals.

Warner faces a 3rd and 10 after having to throw a pass away...and 3rd down is deflected and picked by Cheivous Jackson! Turner rushes up and is just short of the first down....never mind, he got it. Offsides on AZ, first and 5, Ryan overthrows White when he didn't have to at all. 1:12 left to go int he first half.

Ryan to White again just inside the first down. 2 yard line. Ryan to Justin Peelle, easy TE pattern, TOUCHDOWN. Kick up and good, 17-14, Falcons take the lead.

Warner to Fitzgerald for a small screen pass to end the half at that score. See you in the 2nd half thread.

Obviously this is the quickest announcing schedule ever, because of there only being four games, but I thought you'd still like to see who's calling which game and where. The Wild Card Weekend features some great matchups, and will even mark the first time that the Falcons and Cardinals played on NBC since 1997.

I'm not quite sure why NBC is going with Tom Hammond for the game, but we do get a special treat. Tiki as a sideline reporter! Here's your announcing schedule for this weekend, and full Playoff schedule for the rest of the month. Start trading events with your significant others now!

Saturday, January 3rd

Atlanta Falcons at Arizona Cardinals (NBC, 4:30pm)- Tom Hammond, Cris Collinsworth, Tiki Barber
Indianapolis Colts at San Diego Chargers (NBC, 8pm)- Al Michaels, John Madden, Andrea Kremer

Sunday, January 4th

Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins (CBS, 1pm)- Jim Nantz, Phil Simms
Philadelphia Eagles at Minnesota Vikings (FOX, 4:30pm)- Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver

FULL NFL PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE

Saturday, January 10th

Baltimore, San Diego or Indianapolis at Tennessee Titans (CBS, 4:30pm)
Arizona, Atlanta or Minnesota at Carolina (FOX, 8:15pm)

Sunday, January 11th

Arizona, Atlanta or Philadelphia at New York Giants (FOX, 1pm)
Miami, San Diego or Indianapolis at Pittsburgh Steelers (CBS, 4:45pm)

Sunday, January 18th

NFC Championship Game (FOX, 3pm)
AFC Championship Game (CBS, 6:30pm)

Sunday, February 1st

Super Bowl XLIII from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida (NBC, 6pm)

Dan from On The DL sent me this clip this afternoon, and while I rarely put up old Youtube clips, I'm sure you're going to love this one. This is Tom Hammond and former Olympian Willie Smith calling a Women's 200 Meter race all the way back in 1990. Enjoy!

I love the arm that Hammond puts around him in the beginning, but the best part is that they almost immediately brought in Dwight Stone after Willie completely botched that first segment. You never see clips like this anymore. Hope you had a good laugh and if anyone knows where Willie is let me know.

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)

SS Reporters found video of Madden 2009 with the announcers thrown in and the 20th edition of the Football game will feature Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth on the call. Here's the vid....

The replays look pretty intense, and the analysis Collinsworth is giving during them is top notch, but Tom Hammond sound like he's bored out of his mind. Hopefully it was this clip but he sounds like a robot. I'm not sure if this is telling to who the NFL Network is going to go with next season, but it's probably a good indicator.

Madden 09 Has Some Issues (Like Making Tom Hammond a Robot) (SS Reporters)

So late last week rumors surfaced that the NFL Network was looking to fill their vacant play-by-play job with NBC's Al Michaels. The plan was to keep him on Sunday nights and just add a Thursday game to his schedule. Doesn't seem like that bad of an idea, and Neil Best has the details of said rumor....

Well...I am told by a reliable spy that one name on the wish list for the job is as big a name as it gets in play-by-play: Al Michaels, who would have to add the Thursday night games to his existing NBC slate.

That would be interesting. It also would be a little depressing for Hammond, who had hoped to get the Sunday night job on NBC before Michaels defected from ESPN/ABC.

Michaels would be fine. So would Hammond.

I too have heard that the NFL Network has been looking at Al Michaels, but there's really no substantial evidence to back the report up (just an employee or two). The only problem I have with the whole thing is that Al Michaels wouldn't be a good fit. Sure there are worse people that could be selected, but Al seems like he doesn't want to call games these days. I remember multiple times last year him having "get off my lawn" moments, most notably anytime there were fireworks set off inside an arena.

I just don't see Al and someone sarcastic like Cris Collinsworth getting along. Tom Hammond has already proved he can trade punches with Collinsworth and still call a good game, so he's the candidate I'm endorsing in this search. "Big Splashes" rarely work these days, and for once I'd love for a network to make the smart decision.

Again, not the worst choice, but definitely not the best.

Is Al Michaels a candidate for the NFL Network job? (Watchdog)

I was really banking on the MNF crew being the team to drive me crazy in the game but apparently it will be the NFL-Network team of Tom Hammond and Cris Collinsworth. It's an odd choice but here are the details....

Madden NFL 09 will also feature a network-inspired broadcast presentation. Players will benefit from the authentic football knowledge of an in-booth play-by-play and color commentary team featuring Cris Collinsworth and Tom Hammond. In addition, numerous graphical enhancements have been made, including realistic weather and grass, sleeker player models and exterior stadium views.

Well I guess that confirms who the new team for NFL-N announcing team is then doesn't it? It would be pretty awkward if they went a different direction. The game looks to have a bunch of new features, but it's just odd to me that the 20th edition of the game won't even have Madden as an announcer. Seems like a bad decision but we'll see.

Favre chosen for Madden 09 cover (ESPN Video Games)

Everyone is calling for the NFL Network to make a huge splash. Whether it's a smart choice like hiring Marv Albert, or an idiotic one like hiring Pam Ward, the choices are out there. I'm not even going to touch the Pam Ward thing again, but Marv Albert is an interesting choice. There's just one small problem, when the NFL Network gets their schedule underway in Week 10.....Albert is calling Thursday Night NBA games for TNT. Sure Albert does the Monday Night Football game on radio and he would be great, but there's no way TNT is sharing him on Thursdays.

So who does that leave? Well how about the guy that filled in for Gumbel during the Week 14 matchup between the Broncos and Texans?

Tom Hammond worked that game with Cris Collinsworth and I was shocked at how well they did as a team. They poked fun at each other at times and had fun with a game that had the Texans blowing away the Broncos in the 2nd Half. Most would have found a 31-13 game boring, but Hammond kept me watching somehow. He was so good that night that I wrote this following the live-blog....

As far as the booth goes. I don't know what to say. Tom Hammond is everything that Gumbel isn't. He was clear and concise, spoke with conviction, and didn't make mistakes (or cough up phlegm in the booth). Did someone say Wally Pipp? I hope the NFL Network is reading.

I hope they're reading again as I'm begging them to hire Tom Hammond to work with Collinsworth. Marv Albert would be great, but Hammond would be better.