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What has happened to Bryant Gumbel?

P

purpledevil

Guest
I watched the Bengals/Ravens game last night on NFL network. Boy, talk about a mess in the booth! Chris Collingsworth sounds pretty good, insightful, light, good color commentary. Then Bryant Gumbel's play by play begins....I swear to God, he said "Turnover on downs" when in actuality it was 3rd down going into 4th down at least the 4 times that I counted. (Gotta love the DVR) Then in a 1st and 10 for Cincy, he said "1st and 20", another was 3rd and 5, and Bryant chimes in with "A punting situation".

Was the NFL Network messing with him on purpose, delivering the wrong info to him, because of his comments several weeks past, or what? I don't remember Gumbel being anything less than top notch in his previous stints calling NFL games.
 
purpledevil said:
Was the NFL Network messing with him on purpose, delivering the wrong info to him, because of his comments several weeks past, or what? I don't remember Gumbel being anything less than top notch in his previous stints calling NFL games.
Click to expand...

It sounds like he doesn't even want to be there, except for the big paycheck he's getting. If the NFL honchos have more than 2 brain cells to rub together, they won't bring him back next year. Even tired old Pat Summerall would be an improvement.
 
Would you want to leave a job at CBS for one at a cable net such as NFL Network? That's like being "promoted" from teacher in Metropolis to superintendendent in Smallville
 
Bryant Gumbel is the pits (not the Ron Pitts) when it comes to play by play. He's got the same affliction James Brown, Jim Nantz, and Greg Gumbel all have. I call it studio-itis. They all excel best when they're in a scripted studio environment, but feel that they want to be the one to make the big call rather than dissect it afterwards. JB was lucky and skillful enough to go from doing par at best play by play at CBS to excelling at hosting "the one and only FOX NFL Sunday", and most recently, CBS' NFL Today.

Nantz and Greg Gumbel are the A and B announcers for the NFL on CBS merely because they were previously studio hosts of the show. Neither impresses me. Nantz is too dull, and G. Gumbel has yet to go through puberty as noted when he shows any emotion.

Insert Bryant Gumbel into the fray. B. Gumbel on many occasions in the first two games misread the score, was off by as many as 4-5 yards in spotting where the football was, misidentifying players, and he kept referring to the near sidelines as "this side". He brings a nice vocabulary to the booth and sets up for Cris Collinsworth alright, but on play by play skills alone, he's bad. Like Ray Bentley doing play by play bad. You can make the argument that Bryant hasn't done play by play in a quarter century, but a professional is a professional. Bryant's a pro, so I'm not cutting him slack. Go back to Real Sports, Bryant. And as he would say: "Let's move on."
 
Go back to the studio, Bryant! You belong to "The Today Show"! What NFL needs for its games on NFL-TV is his brother, Greg. Or better yet get a couple of old-timers-Like Pat Summerall or Dick N. Berg. Besides I don't get NFL-TV, I might as well go down to the nearest sports bar to watch it. or better yet, I believe their coverage really do SUCK, on top of that, they're showing teams that are NOT going anywhere this season (Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, et al). NFL-TV is a total BUST!
 
A bust? Really, now. The NFL now has its very own network..Who would have thought when FOX started they would even telecast ANY pro sports, much less dive in and drive rights fees through the roof?

Give it time. Eventually TW/BrightHouse, etc will come on board...and by the time you and I are in a home, the league will have almost total say over its broadcast schedule, whether it is over the air or on its own network....

Bryant Gumbel will eventually wear out his welcome here, as he has everywhere else, but HBO.
 
Enberg and Wyche did a good job. I don't have digital cable at the moment, but even after I have it again in a few weeks, I plan to skip the NFL Network telecasts, and listen to announcers who know what they're talking about!

As for Gumbel's 'punting situations' on 3rd down: Perhaps he missed his true calling...the CFL? 'Bryant....good luck to you!'
 
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