General

Vick, Favre and Your Week Three ‘Are You Blacked Out?’ Map-a-thon

Sep 25, 2009, 2:02 PM UTC

We’ll start week three with a congratulatory pat on the back for the city of St. Louis. Sure your baseball team will be popping division-winning champagne as early as tonight, but you should raise a glass to yourselves as well, for the Rams game against the Packers this weekend is inexplicably not blacked out in your area. Well, perhaps that is actually quite explicable. Most likely, those glasses should be raised to Packers fans who will make the trip, rather than local Rams fans. Whatever it takes!â†µ

â†µLions fans are not so lucky. And think about that statement for a minute, if you're an NFL fan living in the Midwest. The Rams have been one of the sorriest franchises in all of sports over the last six years, with no winning seasons and just 27 wins to 55 losses since the start of 2004 – and Lions fans aren't that lucky. â†µ

â†µâ†µDetroit has just one winning season in the last decade, and hasn’t won 10 games since 1995. In the same six years, the Lions have a record of 21-61. In addition, Detroit has seven (!) seasons of ten or more wins in the 75 years they’ve been called the Lions. Seven seasons. The Colts have seven seasons of 10 or more wins in the last SEVEN SEASONS. How is every game in Detroit not blacked out? â†µ

â†µâ†µWe’ll start with CBS, which has made some pretty interesting broadcast decisions this week. The story of the weekend has to be the return of Michael Vick to the field, and CBS landed the NFC home game because the Eagles are facing an AFC traveling team with the Chiefs coming to town. And while the map indicates that the Kansas City at Philly game is going to the largest part of the country, CBS is sending its fourth crew to cover the game.â†µ

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â†µObviously CBS wants to focus on the Jets while they are the darlings of the AFC East, sending Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf to New York as the Jets host an 0-2 Tennessee team that really needs a win. But the network is sending the top crew of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms to Cincinnati to call the Bengals hosting the Steelers in the late game. That's the drawing power of 'the other thumb,' I suppose. Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts will get the Miami at San Diego game. Interesting that CBS is not only sending Fouts to San Diego this week – his old stomping grounds – but also sending Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon to Oakland as the Raiders take on the Broncos. There is no way Gannon will remain impartial calling a Broncos-Raiders game, will he?â†µ

â†µâ†µTo round out the CBS coverage, Bill Macatee and Steve Beuerlein get the Jacksonville at Houston ‘be thankful you aren’t blacked out’ special, while Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker get Cleveland at division-leading Baltimore. â†µ

â†µâ†µFor the second straight week, Fox is only broadcasting one game in each market, and with just two late games on the network, the slate is front-loaded with a host of early games. Looking at the schedule, you’d think that the game of the week might be San Francisco at Minnesota. Both teams are undefeated, leading their divisions, and there’s a young fella named Favre who plays for one of those squads. Not to mention the Crabtree saga is a wonderful broadcast talking point if the game does become a blowout. Oh, and the best player in the league, Adrian Peterson, will be on the field. Much like CBS is doing with the Jets, you’d think that FOX would strike while the 49ers iron is hot. But you’d think wrong, as FOX is sending their third crew to Minnesota to cover that early game, which really should be a late start time. Seriously, that game is getting no respect.â†µ

â†µâ†µFOX is sending Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to New England to capitalize on the popularity of the Patriots they typically surrender to CBS each weekend. Undefeated Atlanta at the Pats is a very good game, and is worthy of the top Fox crew, but the most confounding decision is why the second FOX crew of Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa is calling the Giants at Tampa instead of two first-place teams in Minnesota. â†µ

â†µâ†µThom Brennaman and Brian Billick will call the Washington-Detroit game that only people in and around the Beltway will see, while Chris Myers and Trent Green get Green Bay at St. Louis in yet another quarterback ‘going home again’ to call a game.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe two late games for FOX are Chicago at Seattle with Dick Stockton and Charles Davis and New Orleans at Buffalo with Ron Pitts and John Lynch. Interesting that FOX switched their coverage of some games late in the week, including in the Philadelphia market where the networks switched from Saints at Bills to Bears at Seahawks. I’m sure Eagles fans would be more interested in watching a Saints team that thumped them last week beat up on any team that employs Terrell Owens. â†µ

â†µâ†µIndianapolis at Arizona is the Sunday Night game with Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, while the Monday Night crew of Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden get Carolina at Dallas. Are you ready for some ... more images of Jerry Jones’ new stadium? â†µ

â†µâ†µAnd, per Chris Littmann, a new feature: your obligatory map video of the week:â†µ

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