Was Drew Brees that bad at NBC?
doubledragon
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Drew Brees is out at NBC, apparently Brees wanted to call games in the booth, but Cris Collinsworth is negotiating a contract extension that will keep him in the booth, and Brees doesn't want to just settle for pregame and halftime appearances. I've heard a lot of knocks about Drew Brees in the booth, that he's no Tony Romo.
Drew Brees Out at NBC After Only One Season
Drew Brees' rookie season with NBC as an NFL analyst will be his only one. Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported on Sunday afternoon that Brees was out at NBC. Per the Post:
Legendary NFL quarterback Drew Brees will not return to NBC after just one season as a studio and game analyst, according to sources.
As Marchand notes, the separation appears to be a mutual decision based on what both parties wanted. Brees wanted to be on broadcasts and not just stuck doing pregame and halftime shows, but NBC only gets one game per week during the season and the network is currently negotiating an extension with longtime Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth. It seems the allure of calling Notre Dame games wasn't enough to keep Brees around if he wasn't going to be on the broadcast every week.
Brees wasn't awful in his first season in the booth but Tony Romo he was not. Which isn't really a mark against him. Romo is an anomaly. Brees still has a modicum of star power and flashed enough potential to think he could be a good analyst in the near future. Marchand mentions Fox as a potential new home for the former Saints QB, which would make a lot of sense. The Tom Brady news has rightfully dominated the Fox Sports discussion but they still don't officially have a new analyst to call games alongside Kevin Burkhardt in the No. 1 booth.
Brees didn't do enough to justify that kind of promotion, but Greg Olsen seems the most likely choice which means the No. 2 booth at Fox would be without an analyst. Scooping Brees after his NBC tenure didn't work out for reasons mostly unrelated to his quality of work would be a smart pivot that solves immediate problems while giving Brees the opportunity he's looking for.
Brees leaving NBC is undoubtedly disappointing for both sides but it could prove very beneficial for Brees' broadcasting dreams.
Comments
Drew Brees got mad last night when The New York Post broke the news about him leaving NBC, and Drew Brees tweeted this about it:
This has become one big, juicy, tasty story, and NFL Twitter has exploded over it, they seem to think Drew Brees could return to the NFL.
I don’t remember him being bad at all,
Something happened behind the scenes, I bet it was a political view or something that liberal NBC disagreed with
Of course, he could join the pickleball tour.
I only saw a little of him, but wasn't very impressed. Seemed a bit timid to me. I may be way off.
I know the Saints fans want to see Drew Brees make a comeback, but if he chooses to join the pickleball ball tour, the Saints fans are just going to have to "dill" with it.
I only saw him a couple times - he was not exciting but kinda boring - I could see why NBC doesn't want him back. Would be interesting to see a NFL comeback.
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
Saying he may play football again? I sort of have a feeling he is using that statement to get attention, and down the line he will joke about how he meant with his kids or in a flag football league
It was a mistake starting this thread, all I can think about is pickleball, why, how, why?
He was apparently pretty heavily criticized for his performance during a Bengals playoff game. I have no recollection of him one way or the other during the game.
I suspect he'll end up on Fox as the #2 or #3 guy. Not a bad gig by any means.
I really dont remember him calling any games, just pregame/halftime. pretty forgettable I guess.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
He did some Notre Dame games as well. I thought he was fine, nothing special.
Should announcers be like umpires / referees? The less you notice them the better?
I don't know. I really liked when Madden did games as he was pretty animated in the booth
"When they can't find anything wrong with you, they create it!"
Announcers, yes. Commentators, like Brees, no. Brees and other color commentators are there to add to the broadcast so they should definitely be noticed.