Pat McAfee destroys NFL commentators, but there was one problem
1. One of the big reasons Pat McAfee has made a successful transition from player to media star is that he doesn't have much of a filter and usually lets it all fly.
He showed some of that Monday when he sounded off for seven minutes about the NFL commentators he listened to throughout the day on Sunday.
A sampling of McAfee's quotes:
"There are some commentators that f------ suck out there, that should not be allowed to be covering the NFL."
"You listen to some of these f------ idiots talk, and you just get dumber while listening to the game, and it makes no sense to me how they have jobs."
"It seems like there is a suckfest happening in commentating right now in the NFL that needs to stop."
While those are powerful quotes, McAfee's rant ended up as a disappointment for one simple reason: He didn't name names, which was surprising because McAfee is usually fearless. If you're going to destroy the state of NFL commentating, you need to name the culprits, because there are plenty of good ones out there, too.
McAfee, however, wanted to put the blame on the executives at CBS and Fox.
"I don't want us to put out names because it's a hard job. So some of these people are just getting dropped into a job that is very difficult and maybe they weren't cut out for. This is almost more of a shot at the executives hiring these people. Like, 'Yo, y'all suck at what you do. Figure it out.'"
Fair point, but 99 percent of McAfee's diatribe was about the broadcasters. Without naming the commentators and giving examples of why he feels those specific people have no business being behind the microphone, McAfee's argument was not nearly as strong as it could've been.
If McAfee is bashing "NFL commentators" without naming names, he's lumping in excellent analysts like Tony Romo, Troy Aikman and Charles Davis with the cookie-cutter types who take the game way too seriously and give us three straight hours of football speak, such as Mark Schlereth and Chris Spielman. That hurts his overall point.
If you watch or listen to the clip, it's easy to see that McAfee clearly had specific analysts he was talking about.
He should've named them.
2. The Masters, like just about every other sporting event in 2020, suffered a massive ratings decrease.
3. Nick Swisher was happier to get on this year's Hall of Fame ballot than most people are who get in the Hall of Fame.
4. This week's edition of "Bad Beats" features the NFL, MACation and some surreal beats.
5. The latest SI Media Podcast features an interview with Jim Nantz. The veteran CBS broadcaster talks about covering the Masters for the 33rd straight year, what it's been like to call NFL games with no fans in the stands, whether the NFL should pull the plug on having the Lions play on Thanksgiving, Alex Trebek, election coverage and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher and Google Play.
6. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 78th birthday to Martin Scorsese. Casting his mother as Tommy's mother in Goodfellas was perfection.
7. SPORTS VIDEO OF THE DAY: Some of you may have seen a quote last week from Rob Gronkowski in which he compared his chemistry with Tom Brady to maple syrup and butter. Well, that line came from Jimmy Fallon, who got a few NFL players to slip in bizarre and random phrases into their press conferences last week.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Stitcher. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.