1. “Fine. Seat me. But I’ll make it as hard as… for you to sit with me.”
That was Fox NFL analyst Greg Olsen the SI Media podcast Just over a month ago when we talked about possibly replacing Tom Brady in the booth whenever the legendary quarterback retires.
Two weeks into the NFL playoffs, Olsen is clearly going to make it difficult for Fox to bench him.
Even though we’re working with a small sample of games, Olsen has had a great postseason and has set himself up to gain more viewers thanks to Fox’s broadcast of this year’s Super Bowl.
Olsen really showed his chops in the final three minutes of the Niners’ victory over the Cowboys on Sunday. Most analysts fail late in games, because they don’t understand clock management and timeout strategy. Meanwhile, Olsen couldn’t be more of it all.
As the Cowboys hit their final run of the game, Olsen, after finishing near midfield, pointed out that even though Dallas tight end Dalton Schultz got out of bounds, the clock hadn’t stopped, because he wasn’t moving forward when he hit. margin. Olsen also called on Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy and the Dallas players to not do more before a late punt to save time on the clock. And at his finest moment, Olsen pointed out that McCarthy needed to call his timeouts before, not after the two-minute warning—a coaching technique most NFL analysts (and coaches) fault with.
Whether someone enjoys a broadcaster is completely personal. My two main criteria for anyone in the booth are (1) do not disturb me; (2) Get the strategy right. Olsen is two for two.
It’s also just super easy listening. He doesn’t go overboard, he doesn’t try to act like the crowd is stupid and he’s a footballing genius who isn’t afraid to criticize players and coaches.
If anything, I’d love to see a little more character out of Olsen. At one point in the Dallas-San Francisco match, Olsen’s partner, Kevin Burkhart, revealed that Olsen had been belting out some Rihanna songs during one of their car trips over the weekend. I was very curious to hear which Rihanna songs Olsen was jamming. I also wanted to hear Olsen drop a few bars, but I can understand why that might be too much for some viewers.
Here’s the wild thing about Olsen: He’s only been doing this for two seasons. Tony Romo was a lead analyst for six seasons. Chris Collinsworth was a lead analyst for 20 years and Troy Aikman was a lead analyst for 21 seasons. Olsen is very good already, and he’s only going to get better.
This is where Brady’s dilemma comes into play. If GOAT decides he’s done with football, he has a $375 million contract with Fox that invites him to become its senior analyst.
Will Olsen’s appearance force Fox to go with a three-person cabin? Can fox put brady in the studio and make him a part of Fox NFL Sunday?
I think at this point, Fox is going to have to have Brady on board with Burkhardt and Olsen. If Fox demotes Olsen, who has become a fan favorite, to Brady, the network will set up Brady to face major backlash.
Here’s what Olsen also had to say during that SI Media podcast appearance:
“Fox believed in me more than any other network. Some of the other networks, we kind of danced around, and there was some interest, but nobody like Fox. So I only have positives to say about my entire experience with the people at Fox. I hope to work with them over the next 20 years.” Next year. I just hope he’s with the A crew.”
It’s hard to imagine at this point, especially if he had a great Super Bowl, that Fox could pull Olsen off the A-list crew.
2. Dak Prescott was the subject of several scathing tweets Sunday after he threw two interceptions in Dallas’ loss to San Francisco including from the COWBOYS social media team!
3. I’m shocked that more wasn’t made Sunday about Robbie Gould’s save. The Niners took the lead in the fourth quarter by accidentally turning his body into Cowboys kick returner KaVontae Turpin, who was on the way for a TD. Oddly enough, this was the “treatment” that brought Turbine down.
4. You know the old adage “the bet doesn’t pay out”? Don’t tell that to this guy who turned $5 into over $72,000 this weekend by correctly predicting the first touchdown scorer in all four games.
5. Is this a way for Travis Kelsey to treat the best quarterback in the NFL?
6. Last SI Media podcast Features a conversation with former Super Bowl champion and current podcast host Chris Long.
You can listen to or download the podcast below an AppleAnd Spotify And The Google.
You can also see files SI Media podcast on YouTube.
7. Random Video of the Day: the Royal Rumble It is this Saturday and as one of WWE’s signature pay-per-views, the event has had many memorable moments over the years. Throughout the week, I’ll be showing some of those here. Today, we start with the greatest Royal Rumble in and out as ever.
Be sure to Follow up on previous versions of Traina Thoughts and check out Sports Illustrated Media Podcast Hosted by Jamie Traina on an AppleAnd Spotify or The Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Facebook TwitterAnd Instagram And Tik Tok.