Sometimes I think Rick Reilly is too easy of a target for the blogosphere.  Reilly epitomizes much of what is unappealing with the old school media to much of the new school crowd.  He collects a huge paycheck and puts out intermittent columns of irrelevance, living on the reputation he built at Sports Illustrated.  The guy has been mailing it in for quite some time now.  In one of those columns, Reilly wrote these words about Peyton Manning on August 30th in some sort of all-encompassing NFL and college football preview...

"If you think he's going to miss a start because of a neck problem, you've been chugging paint thinner. This guy hasn't missed a start since 1994 at Tennessee. Do you know how long ago it was when Manning didn't start for the Colts? Google was two days old. Kim Kardashian was 17. Russell Crowe was skinny! If Manning doesn't start Game 1, I will come to your house and eat things that are stuck in your carpet."

Rick should have thrown in that he was last relevant in 1994 (rimshot), but that would be beside the point.  Of course, any keen observer knew Manning's streak was in huge jeopardy, so it came as a bit of an odd prediction.  (And yes, I don't know why he has to throw Russell Crowe under the bus either.)  Well, when Manning didn't start in Week 1, Reilly manned up on his proclamation.  Somewhat.  He ate popcorn off the carpet in Sun Life Stadium.  I'm a little disappointed though, couldn't he have gone to a floor featured on Hoarders instead of a pristine stadium carpet?  Watch this video, but don't feel too bad for Reilly - each kernel of popcorn earned him $75,000.



[ESPN] 

[follow]

This week, former ESPN blowhard Jay Mariotti pleaded no contest to stalking and assault charges due to the latest domestic violence episode with his ex-girlfriend in Los Angeles.  This is now Mariotti's second no contest plea in about a year relating to domestic violence charges.  Details from the Los Angeles Times...

Former ESPN sports personality Jay Mariotti pleaded no contest Tuesday to stalking and assault-related charges in exchange for community service and probation, authorities said Tuesday.

Mariotti, who faced up to five years in state prison if he had gone to trial and been convicted on all counts, will not spend any time behind bars. Under the plea before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Dabney, all five counts -- including three felonies -- faced by Mariotti will be reduced to misdemeanors, officials said.

Mariotti entered the no contest plea and will now avoid jail time, being put on probation, and having to do counseling and community service.  With his life defined by words like stalking, assault, and domestic violence... one would think that Jay Mariotti would want to fade away from the spotlight and get his life together.  After all, he's alleged to have three instances of domestic violence in just over a year and pleaded no contest to charges in two of those episodes.  But, stepping away wouldn't really be like the Jay Mariotti we've all come to know and be horrified with.  No, Mariotti's going to write a book about his "ordeal."

"Although Mr. Mariotti would have liked to have told his side of the story at trial, the fact that he is an accomplished writer provided him another avenue, in this case a book, to tell his side in an unconventional but progressive manner."

And that's not all, Mariotti joined Twitter (he has a whopping 190 followers at the time of writing this) and is promoting said book, which will be for the Kindle.  If you were expecting some sort of mea culpa, you are sadly mistaken...

So, to promote his book, Mariotti is accusing his ex-girlfriend, the one who was found with cuts and bruises after an alleged altercation with Mariotti, the one who allegedly had her hair extensions pulled out at a restaraunt, of "stalking" and being "enabled" by the LA legal system.  I'll let you draw your own conclusions on whether or not Jay Mariotti's quest for vindication is worthwhile.  The fact that Mariotti's Twitter profile pic is self-taken like he's in junior high and he's wearing sunglasses indoors immediately causes me to immediately question his credibility.  

[Los Angeles Times] 

 

Can Pam Ward make it three weeks in a row? She's calling the Virginia/UNC game at 3:30 PM on ESPNU, if you'd like to pick on her. Surely, though, we're missing out on some gold mines in the lesser games (I might focus my efforts on some real terrible games for some real terrible announcing). Either way, leave what you hear in the comments here or to #PWAA on Twitter until the open thread is posted on Saturday morning.

As a gentle reminder, please be sure to use the technology 2011 provides us and rewind any awful calls and make sure your ears heard it right. An implicit honor code applies and we don't want to libel anyone, no matter how many tostitos it might be for. Good talk, see ya out there.

Thursday September 15

3 LSU @ 25 Mississippi State (8PM ESPN) Rece Davis, Craig James, Jesse Palmer, Jenn Brown

Friday September 16

Bryant University at Sacred (7PM Heart MSG/Cox Sports) Paul Dottino, Steve Levy
4 Boise State @ Toledo (8PM ESPN) Joe Tessitore, Rodney Gilmore, Jeannie Edwards
Iowa State @ Connecticut (8PM ESPN2) Mike Gleason, John Congemi

Saturday September 17

#21 Auburn @ Clemson (Noon ABC) Dave Pasch, Urban Meyer, Chris Spielman, Quint Kessenich
Penn State @ Temple (Noon ESPN) Ray Benlty, David Lamont
Wyoming at Bowling Green (Noon BCSN/ESPN3)    Greg Franke, Tom Cole
Central Michigan at Western Michigan (Noon MAC Network/MASN/GamePlan/ESPN3) Michael Reghi, Doug Garber
Pittsburgh @ Iowa (Noon ESPN2) Beth Mowins, Mike Bellotti
#18 West Virginia @ Maryland (Noon ESPNU) Rob Stone, Danny Kanell
Eastern Michigan @ Michigan (noon BTN) Tom Hart, Derek Rackley, Lisa Byington
Southern Missouri State @ Purdue (noon BTN) Wayne Larrivee, Joe Tiller, Jon Jansen
Mississippi @ Vanderbilt (noon SEC Net/ESPN3) Dave Neal, Andre Ware, Cara Capuano
Duke at Boston College (12:30 PM ACC Network (National)/GamePlan/ESPN3) Steve Martin, Dave Archer
Kansas @ Georgia Tech (12:30 ACC Net) Rich Waltz, Keith Jones, Jenn Hildreth 
Coastal Carolina at Georgia (1 PM CSS-PPV/GamePlan/ESPN3)  Bob Neal, Buck Belue
Harvard at Holy Cross (1 PM Charter TV3 (MA)) Kevin Shea, Andy Lacombe, Dave Bolduc
Colorado State @ Colorado (1:30 FSN) Craig Bolerjack, Joel Klatt, Petros Papadakis
Louisiana-Monroe at #23 TCU (2 PM The Mtn.)  Todd Harris, Todd Christensen, Amanda Mazey
#10 Eastern Washington at #12 Montana (3:05PM SWM/KPAX (MT)) Dennis Patchin, John Edwards, Derek Buerkle
#7 Wisconsin vs. Northern Illinois @Chicago, IL (3PM ESPN3)  Jim Barbar, Christian Fauria
Texas Tech @ New Mexico (3:30 VS) Paul Burmeister, Shaun King, Anthony Herron
15 Michigan State @ Notre Dame (3:30 NBC) Tom Hammond, Mike Mayock, Alex Flanagan
Tennessee @ #16 Florida (3:30 CBS) Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson, Tracy Wolfson
Northwestern @ Army (3:30 CBSSN) Gary Thorne, Randy Cross 
Virginia @ North Carolina (3:30 ESPNU) Pam Ward, Dan Hawkins
#24 Texas @ UCLA (3:30 ABC/ESPN) Bob Wischusen, Bob Davie, Samantha Steele
Missouri State at #12 Oregon (3:30PM CSN-Northwest/GamePlan) Joe Giansante, Anthony Newman, Jill Savage
Washington @ #10 Nebraska (3:30 ABC/ESPN) Sean McDonough, Matt Millen, Heather Cox
Akron at Cincinnati (3:30 PM ESPN3)  Dave Weekley, John Gregory
Georgia State at #17 Jacksonville State (3:30PM CSS) Ryan Brown, Ray Hammett
Miami-OH @ Minnesota (3:30 BTN) Matt Devlin, Glenn Mason, Rebecca Haarlow
South Carolina State @ Indiana (3:30 BTN) Tom Werme, Gerry Dinardo, Stacy Patez
Nevada @ San Jose State (4PM WAC Net) Barry Tompkins Joe Glenn
Arkansas State at #13 Virginia Tech (4PM ACC Network (Regional)/GamePlan/ESPN3)  Mike Hogewood, John Bunting, Sammy Linebaugh
South Alabama at North Carolina State (6PM ESPN3) Ryan Rose, Rob Harley, Angela Mallen
#16 Lehigh at Princeton (6PM WFMZ (PA)/FCS-Atlantic) Mike Zambelli, Mike Yadush, Al DiCarlo
Bucknell at Cornell (6PM TWC-Central NY) Steve Flamisch, Dale Drypolcher, Danny Liedka
Lafayette at Pennsylvania (6PM LSN) Gary Laubach, Mike Joseph, John Leone
Central Florida at Florida International (6PM ESPN3)   Doug Bell, Rene Ingoglia
Navy @ #11 South Carolina (6PM ESPN2) Mike Patrick, Craig James, Jeanie Edwards
Louisville @ Kentucky (6PM ESPNU) Clay Matvick, Brian Griese, Allison Williams
Washington State at San Diego State (6:30PM The Mtn.)  Ari Wolfe, Blaine Fowler, Jenny Cavnar
Gardner-Webb at Wake Forest (6:30 PM ESPN3)  Joe Davis, Warrick Dunn
Idaho at #9 Texas A&M (7PM FSN-PPV)  Joel Meyers, Dave Lapham, Jim Knox
Stephen F. Austin at #19 Baylor TBD
Florida A&M at #20 South Florida (7PM BH-Tampa/SNY/GamePlan/ESPN3) J.B. Long, Ryan Nece, Justin Pawlowski
Indiana State at Western Kentucky (7PM ESPN3) Shawn Kenney, Drew Henson
Western Illinois at Missouri (7PM FSN-PPV Dan McLaughlin, D'Marco Farr, Todd Donoho
Marshall at Ohio (7PM ESPN3)  Dan Gutowsky, Je'Rod Cherry
Nicholls State at Louisiana-Lafayette (7PM Cox 4 (LA))  Jimmy Fredrick, Scott Brazda, Blair Abene
#22 Arizona State @ Illinois (7PM BTN) Eric Collins, Chris Martin, Dionne Miller
Kent State at Kansas State (7PM FCS-Central) Steve Physioc, Yogi Roth, Desmond Purnell
#13 James Madison at #22 Liberty (7PM GamePlan/ESPN3) Mike Tilley, Ray Jones
Houston at Louisiana Tech (7PM ESPN3) John Sadak, Rene Nadeau
North Texas at #2 Alabama (7:30PM FSN-Regional/GamePlan/ESPN3) Bob Rathbun, Tim Couch, Kristina Akra
Tennessee Tech at Eastern Illinois (7:30 PM WEIU (IL)) Mike Bradd, Jack Ashmore
Troy at #14 Arkansas (7:30PM BH-Orlando/CST/GamePlan/ESPN3) Matt Stewart, Chris Doering, Maria Taylor
#17 Ohio State @ Miami-FL (7:30 ESPN) Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge, Heather Cox
Syracuse @ USC (8PM FX) Gus Johnson, Charles Davis, Tim Brewster
UTEP at New Mexico State (8PM Altitude/GamePlan/ESPN3) Glen Cerny, Danny Knee
#1 Oklahoma @ #5 Florida State (8PM ABC) Brent Musburger, Kirk Herbstreit, Erin Andrews & Tom Rinaldi
Northern Arizona at Portland State (8:05PM CSN-Northwest) Bob Akamian, Rashad Floyd
Utah @ BYU (9PM ESPN2) Mark Jones, Ed Cunningham, Jessica Mendoza
North Dakota at Fresno State (10 PM ESPN3) Trey Bender, Jay Taylor
Hawai'i at UNLV (10PM The Mtn./CBS Sports Network) Bill Doleman, Jay Leeuwenburg, Molly Sullivan
#8 Oklahoma State @ Tulsa (10PM FSN) Ron Thulin, JC Pearson, Jeremy Bloom
#6 Stanford @ Arizona (10:45 ESPN) Carter Blackburn, Brock Huard, Shelley Smithk

[follow]

The latest attempt at a drummed up controversy from the leader came today via NFL analyst and former Patriot LB Tedy Bruschi.  In the crosshairs of Bruschi's rage was current Patriots receiver Chad Ochocinco.  For some reason, Bruschi was horrified by Chad Ochocinco praising Tom Brady for his record setting Monday Night Football performance, throwing for 517 yards.  Bruschi was fired up over this innocuous tweet from Ocho...

Seriously.  I'll give you a few moments to scratch your head and see what exactly should be considered offensive or "wrong" in that Tweet.  Considering that Brady's 517 yards was the fifth highest total in any NFL game ever played, that might be cause to take a step back and marvel in his mastery of the quarterbacking position.  That might be cause to take a second to appreciate via 2.7 million of your friends.  In fact, I would call it being a good teammate.  Tedy Bruschi though, expects better.  Yahoo has the quotes from the former linebacker on WEEI Radio in Boston nauseously preaching to Ocho about the Patriot Way...

"Drop the awe factor, OK, Ocho, Chad, drop the awe factor," Bruschi said. "You're not a fan, all right? You're not someone who's on another team or watching TV. You're not an analyst. You're a part of it. They want you to be a part of it. So get with the program because obviously you're not getting it and you're tweeting because you're saying, 'It's amazing to see'? It's amazing to see because you don't understand it! You still don't understand it and it's amazing to you because you can't get it.

"Stop tweeting and get in your playbook," Bruschi added. "Wake up! If you're just waking up now - I don't know when this was, six minutes ago? - get out your bed and get to the stadium and watch some film if you still think it's amazing. If you're in it and you know what you're doing and you execute out there you don't think it's amazing. You know why? Because it's what you're supposed to do. All of a sudden it's second nature. 'I know i was supposed do that, yes I went 99 yards, I threw for 517 you know why? Because we're that good and that's what we're supposed to do and that's what I thought we were gonna do.' You are still in awe to be a member of the New England Patriots offense. Join the system, buddy. "

Huh?  What sense does this make?  Stop tweeting and get in your playbook?  How long does it take to send a tweet, 15 seconds?  Does Tedy Bruschi want all NFL players to be banned from tweeting?  How 'bout texting too while we're at it.  Better yet, let's just put cement walls and a barbed wire fence around the Patriots facility to keep this kind of rebellious behavior under control!  Let's imprison Chad Ochocinco in the basement of the Patriots' facility like he's Jean Valjean until he "gets it."  How can Tedy Bruschi surmise all of this nonsense about Ocho being a fan and not "being a part of it" or "getting with the program" from ONE TWEET PRAISING HIS QUARTERBACK!  Are you kidding me?

And of course, like the sun rising in the east, what news story do you think became the central NFL topic of conversation throughout the ESPN family of networks today?  Why it was Tedy Bruschi's "hard-hitting" analysis and his "calling out" of Chad Ochocinco!!  Hooray!  Another "story" created by ESPN for ESPN!  How convenient that once again an ESPN analyst doesn't just have to analyze the news, but gets to make the news as well!  The same sketchiness happened last month with the out-of-thin-air Merril Hoge/Tim Tebow "controversy."  Thankfully, folks are starting to take notice.  Take Paulie Pabst of The Dan Patrick Show for instance...

With everything happening in the NFL, a Chad Ochocinco Tweet is not news... no matter how hard Tedy Bruschi and ESPN will try.  As an encore, perhaps we'll have a staged debate on First Take that puts an ESPN personality at the center of the story for his huffing and puffing aimed at a certain athlete.  Oh, wait, that happened today too?  Pardon me while I volunteer myself for the reverse beartrap.  

[H/T Yahoo Sports]

Wednesday September 14

Cleveland Indians @ Texas Rangers (ESPN 7PM) Sean McDonough, Aaron Boone, Rick Sutcliffe
New York Yankees @ Seattle Mariners (ESPN 10PM) Dave O'Brien, Nomar Garciaparra

Thursday September 15

  Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox (MLBN 7PM) Local Broadcast [Alt:Cleveland @ Texas - 8PM]

Friday September 16

Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox (MLBN 7PM) Local Broadcast [Alt:NY Yankees @ Toronto]

Saturday September 17

Houston Astros @ Chicago Cubs (WGNA 1PM) Len Kasper, Bob Brenley
Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox (FOX 4PM) TBA
New York Mets @ Atlanta Braves (FOX 4PM) TBA
Oakland A's @ Detroit Tigers (FOX 4PM) Mario Impemba, Rod Allen - If Necessary
St. Louis Cardinals @ Philadelphia Phillies (MLBN 7PM) Local Broadcast [Alt:Texas @ Seattle]

Sunday September 18

Kansas City Royals @ Chicago White Sox (WGNA 2PM) Ken Harrelson, Steve Stone
Tampa Bay Rays @ Boston Red Sox (TBS 1:30) Ernie Johnson, John Smoltz
St. Louis Cardinals @ Philadelphia Phillies (ESPN 8PM) Dan Shulman, Orel Hershiser, Bobby Valentine

H/T Sammy! 

Here are the winners below and the updated standings for the Pammies after Week 2.  Before we reveal the winners, we had to go under the hood and review Brent Musburger's "Michigan wins it" quote with over a minute and two lead changes left in Saturday night's epic.  After receiving a comment and an e-mail tip, we went back and reviewed the tape.  Brent did indeed say "Michigan leads it" (even though there was a submission and numerous tweets suggesting the "wins" version).  So, after further review, we removed that high-ranking quote from this week's quotes.  Sorry fans of wildly excitable and premature announcing declarations.  As for the Pammy winner this week, as The Who would say - meet the new boss, same as the old boss!  The envelope please...

10) "Is there any place better to play and coach than Illinois?" - Kevin Kugler (via Benjamin Bordeau)

9) "In another life, I'm coming back as UGA's mascot." - Matt Millen (via sctvman)

8) "Danny Travathan. Let's make that a synonym for a great play." - Pam Ward (via sctvman)

7) "That might be a game-saving stop." - Dan Hawkins (via sctvman) with the game 13-6 CMU with 4:15 in the second quarter.

6) "He's been so cold I think he was out getting a hot dog" - Dan Hawkins with two analogies that make no sense when put together. (via CK29)

5) "Michigan couldn't beat Notre Dame even if Lee Corso played for Notre Dame"- Lou Holtz (via The Subway Domer)

4) "Rutgers down by five, looking to get even." - Steve Martin (via minapier)

3) "He kicks left-footed, even though he throws right-footed" - Sean McDonough (via boystevie)

2) "This Triple Option offense gives you a lot of options" - Warrick Dunn (via sctvman)

1) "... is from right here in Louisville" - Pam Ward (via TheBlightning) calling the CM-UK game from Lexington.

Week 2 Standings - 1) Pam Ward 23 pts, T2) Artrell Hawkins 9 pts, Warrick Dunn 9 pts, Dan Hawkins 9 pts, T5) Craig James 8 pts, Sean McDonogh 8 pts, Matt Millen 8 pts, T9) Wendi Nix 7 pts, Steve Martin 7 pts, 11) Lou Holtz 6 pts, T12) Andre Ware 5 pts, Beth Mowins 5 pts, 14) Joe Tiller 3 pts, 15) Danny Kanell 2 pts, 16) Kevin Kugler 1 pt.

The Full Week 3 Announcing Schedule will come later today where you can find the dates and times of games and all the announcing pairings as well.  Make sure you check back every Saturday for the Pam Ward Chronicles!

[follow]

Broadcast maps via The 506 can be found here.

Sunday, September 18

Kansas City Chiefs @ Detroit Lions (CBS 1PM) Don Criqui, Randy Cross
Oakland Raiders @ Buffalo Bills (CBS 1PM) Kevin Harlan, Solomon Wilcots
Baltimore Ravens @ Tennessee Titans (CBS 1PM) Bill Macatee, Steve Tasker
Jacksonville Jaguars @ New York Jets (CBS 1PM) Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf
Cleveland Browns @ Indianapolis Colts (CBS 1PM) Marv Albert, Rich Gannon
Chicago Bears @ New Orleans Saints (FOX 1PM) Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver
Seattle Seahawks @ Pittsburgh Steelers (FOX 1PM) Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Minnesota Vikings (FOX 1PM) Dick Stockton, John Lynch
Green Bay Packers @ Carolina Panthers (FOX 1PM) Ron Pitts, Jim Mora
Arizona Cardinals @ Washington Redskins (FOX 1PM) Chris Myers, Tim Ryan

Dallas Cowboys @ San Francisco 49ers (FOX 4PM) Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick, Laura Okmin
San Diego Chargers @ New England Patriots (CBS 4:15PM) Jim Nantz, Phil Simms
Houston Texans @ Miami Dolphins (CBS 4:15PM) Ian Eagle, Dan Fouts
Cincinnati Bengals @ Denver Broncos (CBS 4:15PM) Spero Dedes, Steve Beuerlein

Philadelphia Eagles @ Atlanta Falcons (NBC 8:20PM) Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya

Monday, September 19 

St. Louis Rams @ New York Giants (ESPN 8:30PM) Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Ron Jaworski, Suzy Kolber

H/T Sammy! 

no comments

ESPN2 debuted their new block of afternoon programming this week with Numbers Never Lie and Dan Le Batard Is Highly Questionable airing at 4:00 and 4:30 ET respectively.  Numbers Never Lie is basically the same stuff you see on ESPN/ESPN2 throughout the day with different window dressing.  The show is merely the same debate topics with a new set, new combination of personalities, and some interesting stats as just a sidebar.  Oh, and they get to hype TOTAL QUARTERBACK RATING.  Basically, you can now watch Michael Smith debate Matthew Berry instead of Bill Plaschke.  Yay!  Oh, and the voice that does sponsors, etc. is a British lady and Charissa Thompson hosts instead of Michelle Beadle.  I suppose that's really all that's different about the show.

But while I'm rather indifferent towards Numbers Never Lie, it's Dan Le Batard's new show that is much more... well... interesting.  Dan Le Batard Is Highly Questionable is certainly highly questionable, but I'm trying to figure out what that means.  After surveying Twitter, it's clear folks either love the show or hate the show.  There's seemingly no in-between.  I chose to jump in with show #2 so as to give DLHQ a chance to get the first show kinks out.  Again, what I saw took largely the same topics and format to shows like PTI.  A first segment that talks about the lead stories of the day, an interview segment, secondary stories, and then some fluff to end.  Except, on DLHQ, it's completely different than anything else on the "family of networks"... which may be a good thing... or a bad thing...

The news of ESPN's mammoth new deal with the NFL to secure Monday Night Football and other program was obviously good news for the WorldWide Leader.  As Matt pointed out, the amount of money ESPN will pay over the next 10 years is astronomical, in the neighborhood of $14 Billion.  And while it's nice to think about the consequences of ESPN's saturating their NFL coverage even more, or how many more times Jaws will casually curse on the air, there is one person that hasn't been considered much in the wake of ESPN's deal with the NFL... and that would be you, the consumer.

It's been speculated by many that ESPN will force cable companies to raise their prices to help pay for a small chunk of that $14 Billion.  Of course, as ESPN has grown throughout the years, they've been able to demand more and more money from cable companies, which in turn, has caused cable companies to raise their prices on consumers.  Now, by no means am I an expert on the economics of cable and satellite providers, but a rights contract this massive does give cause for pause.  Heck, ESPN president George Bodenheimer basically admitted the network would ask for more money from cable/satellite providers in the wake of the new NFL deal.  

I know this might be difficult since you're currently reading a sports blog, but imagine yourself a television viewer who NEVER watches ESPN.  Is it fair that the increasing demand of sports fans could potentially raise your monthly cable bill?  Apparently something called the American Cable Association does care, and they're prepared to raise some hell.  Matt Polka, president of the ACA was quoted in Politico... (linking Politico on a sports blog, who knew?)

“There’s no doubt that sports programming is very popular. But people should be able to choose whether or not they want to pay for it on a monthly basis... Non-sports fans are subsidizing the cost for sports fans,” said Polka, who represents 1,000 small cable companies. If these costs keep going up, lawmakers and policymakers are going to get involved … and ESPN isn’t going to like it."

Polka goes on to suggest that all cable/satellite customers already pay around $5 per month for ESPN and ESPN2, which could rise to help the WWL pay for the new NFL contract.  Due to the rising price, Polka and the ACA want to pressure cable providers (with the help of Congress and the FCC if necessary) to place ESPN on a premium "sports tier" instead of part of a basic cable package...

ESPN's Monday Night Football Doubleheader to finish Week 1 of the NFL season is always an interesting point of discussion because of who ESPN chooses to be their "second" MNF announcing team.  For whatever reason, that second team falls under intense scrutiny - perhaps it's because the second half of the MNF doubleheader will be the only NFL game they call all season long.  Perhaps it's also because we were fed Mike & Mike as an NFL broadcast team on multiple occasions and deserve better.  And even with a record setting night all over MNF (Brady's 500+ yards, a 99 yard TD, 63 yard FG, and an all-time great instance of casual swearing), that second announce team was all the rage on Twitter.  

More specifically, Trent Dilfer fell under the spotlight with his first swing as an NFL game analyst, trending throughout the evening.  Brad Nessler is a pro and can do the job, but what about Dilfer?  Dilfer has been consistently moving up the food chain of NFL analysts at ESPN and was given Broncos/Raiders as another chance to shine.  Is he fit to be a primetime analyst... or should he continue to backslap Colin Cowherd while only acting like the smartest guy in the room?  The Twitterverse was mixed, with most arguing for the latter.  As always, these are Real Tweets from Real People...

nickMAMBA I thought Trent Dilfer was actually good in the booth tonight. He knows what he's talking about and he's smooth. I'd like to see him again..
DouglasWilder Good game, awful broadcast, TrentDilfer is da absolute worst! 
JasonMarlo Trent Dilfer sticks up for bad quarterbacks like he has some personal experience with the subject.
DanHellie digging trent dilfer doing color. very solid
ourhonordefend Brad Nessler should call more #MNF games. Trent Dilfer? Not so much.
SC_DougFarrar Trent Dilfer "has been part of some good defenses". Fourth-string safety?
biird Trent Dilfer talking. @awfulannouncing
androog Trent Dilfer is even worse on TV than he was on the field @awfulannouncing
brianedouglas I thought Trent Dilfer did a really nice job in the MNF booth last night. He offered some good insights into the game.

dtybur Was it just me, or was Trent Dilfer beyond annoying tonight? He never stopped talking and over analyzed everything!
JtheBruce Trent Dilfer knows what really happened in Roswell, New Mexico #dilferknowseverything
MarkSchwab Trent Dilfer was really good in the booth on MNF. If ya missed it, ya missed a good one. He could do that every week.
MerltheAlien The only thing I could tell myself that entire game listening to Trent Dilfer was, at least it's not Joe Buck.
zachattack1942 I hope Trent Dilfer never does commentary again. My God that was terrible. And the yelling. Why did he have to yell???
bc_chamberlain Trent Dilfer was the worst color commentator in the history of MNF
Gkelly20 I personally think Trent Dilfer is a great analyst don't understand all the hate on here
Pacman_904 I really cant stand Trent Dilfer
SteezieMcGeezie Trent Dilfer talks way too much. #mnf
TheINC_ Trent Dilfer is answering questions that nobody is asking.

What say you?  Are you a Dilfermaniac or do you want him to just go away so you don't have to be subject to him talking and yelling so much?