CBS’s Jim Nantz opened coverage of the Green Bay-Denver game with a question for the Broncos: “How will the team hang in there with the world champions?”
Perhaps Nantz had a premonition about the game’s outcome. The Broncos certainly didn’t hang in there.
So, why were Nantz and Phil Simms, CBS’s No. 1 team, in Green Bay?
Logic might dictate that the Patriots- Raiders clash in Oakland, competing on the late network schedule, would be a logical choice because it was more of a marquee attraction.
CBS’s logic about being in Green Bay was based on the fact that the Packers- Broncos clash gave the network an opportunity to cover the champions, who play most of their NFL schedule on Fox.
And then, of course, there was an unspoken reason: the Tim Tebow debate, which has grown nationally during the last few weeks.
Early on, Nantz and Simms wisely ignored the controversy even after Tebow was in for one play with 10:36 left in the first quarter — a running play that had little success.
The quarterback story, obviously, was the magnificent performance of Aaron Rodgers.
Tebow commentary didn’t emerge until after Kyle Orton threw his second costly interception that ended a potential Broncos drive.
Without naming Tebow, Nantz asked his partner, “Will that fan base be fired up in Denver?” Simms’ subtle replay: “Oh, yeah.”
Simms’ fourth-quarter analysis of Orton’s play: “Solid … OK …. not great.”
Simms also noted that Orton’s interceptions were often the result of holding the ball too long.
Simms said that today’s NFL “has definitely” become a passing league and that Tebow evidently hasn’t mastered that part of the game.
As Green Bay continued its offensive surge, CBS showed a Denver billboard urging coach John Fox to play Tebow.
Simms added, “Sooner or later, the Broncos will have to make a decision about Tebow.”
Earlier on CBS’s “NFL Today,” former Steelers coach Bill Cowher jumped into the Tebow controversy, noting that if the Broncos lost at Green Bay and also were beaten at home against San Diego next Sunday, that could produce a time for a possible quarterback change since the team has its bye week Oct. 16.
“Denver needs to see what Tebow has to offer,” Cowher said.
So, what will be the major talk on TV and radio today? Orton’s performance … Tebow’s lack of playing time … or the fact Rodgers simply destroyed the Broncos’ defense?
Broncos’ ratings game.
It will be interesting to see how Broncos TV nation reacts to Sunday’s game.
Local audience ratings on the first two CBS-produced Sunday games, aired on KCNC-4, were lower than the initial comparative contests broadcast last season.
On Sept. 12, 2010, the Broncos, for an 11 a.m. game at Jacksonville, had a 59 audience share, and the 2:15 p.m. Sept. 26 contest in Denver against the Colts recorded a 61 percent share of the audience. Denver lost both games.
The Broncos’ winning home opener this season against the Bengals on Sept. 18 (2:15 p.m. start) registered a 56 share, and the early game on Sept 25 against the Titans in Nashville showed a 52 share.
Family first.
Ernie Johnson, TBS’s lead baseball announcer, is missing from the network’s playoff coverage because his 23-year-old son, Michael, is in intensive care while being treated for muscular dystrophy.
This marks the second time the Emmy-winning broadcaster missed national broadcast time because of a health-related issue. In 2006, Johnson left the booth while being treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
He has been replaced on the network’s No. 1 team by Brian Anderson, voice of the Milwaukee Brewers, who is working with analysts Ron Darling and John Smoltz on the Yankees-Detroit series.
Local name.
Veteran sportscaster Les Shapiro is headlining a 10 p.m. Sunday half-hour sports show on Fox-31, working with former NFL players Chad Brown and Reuben Droughns.
Quotable.
“Don’t be surprised if the fans aren’t there when you get back. You better be careful, because there are other things people can do with their income.” — TV analyst Jeff Van Gundy, talking about the potential effects of a long NBA lockout.
Longtime Denver journalist Dusty Saunders writes about sports media each Monday in The Denver Post. Reach him at tvtime@comcast.net.
What a way to end a regular season
Were you emotionally involved in Wednesday night’s late-evening baseball triple play on ESPN and ESPN2?
The two outlets provided storybook-ending coverage of the Phillies-Braves, Rays-Yankees and Orioles-Red Sox games, which capped off the major-league regular season in dramatic fashion.
Talk about the agony of defeat. Did you watch as cameras roamed the Red Sox’s and Braves’ dugouts after the games?
