FOX and CBS put out a couple of press releases this week letting us know who we will have the distinction of listening to during the 2018 NFL season.

I assume a significant number of y’all probably turn the broadcast volume down and instead listen to Merrill Reese and Mike Quick on 94 WIP, but if not, here are your crews for the coming year:

FOX:

  • Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Erin Andrews
  • Kevin Burkhardt, Charles Davis and Pam Oliver
  • Kenny Albert, Rondé Barber and various reporters
  • Thom Brennaman, Chris Spielman and Shannon Spake or Peter Schrager
  • Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston and Laura Okmin
  • Dick Stockton, Mark Schlereth and Jennifer Hale
  • Other Play-by-Play Announcers: Sam Rosen, Dan Hellie, Brian Custer and Kevin Kugler
  • Other Analysts: Cris Carter, Greg Jennings, Brady Quinn and Jeff Fisher
  • Other Reporters: Shane Bacon, Tiki Barber, Karyn Bryant, Doug Gottlieb, Sarah Kustok and Sara Walsh.

I don’t really have any issues with Buck or Aikman. Burkhardt is pretty good. Jeff Fisher can explain what it’s like to be a 7-9 team.

Dick Stockton and Mark Schlereth didn’t have a great Eagles outing last season, continually referring to Alshon Jeffery as Alshon “Jefferies” and talking about the C.S. Lewis fantasy world of Narnia during the broadcast. 

FOX also has the Thursday night games this year:

“As previously announced, Buck, Aikman, Andrews, reporter Kristina Pink and FOX NFL rules analyst Mike Pereira comprise the NFL’s Thursday Night Football presented by Bud Light broadcast team. The fivesome will call Thursday Night Football games broadcast on FOX and simulcast via NFL Network between Weeks 4-15 (excluding Thanksgiving night). The games also will be streamed on Amazon Prime and distributed in Spanish on FOX Deportes.”

It looks like the talent for “FOX NFL Sunday” is going to remain the same: Terry Bradshaw, Curt Menefee, Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson and Michael Strahan with Jay Glazer and Rob Riggle.  The 11 a.m. FOX Kickoff show will be hosted by Charissa Thompson and feature Tony Gonzalez, Michael Vick, Colin Cowturd, Dave Wannstedt, Cooper Manning, and Pete Schrager.

The Eagles have 10 games on FOX this year, playing every game from week 2 to week 7 on the network, so we’re gonna get a bunch of the crews listed above.

Here are the CBS teams:

  • Jim Nantz/Tony Romo//Tracy Wolfson
  • Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts//Evan Washburn
  • Greg Gumbel/Trent Green/Bruce Arians//Melanie Collins
  • Kevin Harlan/Rich Gannon//Steve Tasker
  • Andrew Catalon/James Lofton
  • Spero Dedes/Adam Archuleta
  • Tom McCarthy/Steve Beuerlein
  • Beth Mowins/Jay Feely

Bruce Arians, huh?

Eagle is a pro. Nantz is okay but I always get the impression that he would rather be talking about golf. I thought Romo was at least very interesting last year in the way he identified plays pre-snap.

Nantz, Romo, and Wolfson are the top group, so they call the best game of each week. The Eagles only have one game on CBS this year, which is week 16 against the Texans.

Similar to FOX, it looks like the talent for “The NFL Today” pregame show remains mostly the same:

“This season marks THE NFL TODAY’s 51st year. Host James Brown anchors the show alongside Boomer Esiason, Bill Cowher, Phil Simms and Nate Burleson from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City. Steratore serves as NFL rules analyst, and Jason La Canfora continues to serve as the ‘NFL Insider.'”

Burleson has been pretty good on GMFB.

CBS also gets the Super Bowl this year, which means all of the poor souls at Eyewitness News will be forced to come in on a Sunday night and assemble the PERFECT newscast, which won’t air until 90 minutes after the game. Les Moonves will follow the Super Bowl with some shitty new CBS drama, then your local news will begin at something like 11:45 p.m.

Here’s how the Birds’ schedule breaks down for TV purposes:

Ten games on FOX, one on CBS, one on ESPN (Monday Night Football), three prime time games on NBC, and the London game on the NFL Network.

I can’t imagine that flex scheduling affects the Eagles at all this year. That pair of marquee Sunday night matchups against Dallas and Los Angeles will undoubtedly be the most interesting games of those respective weekends, unless the Birds inexplicably bomb this year. We’re looking at Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels for those games, plus the home opener. The Monday night game will be called by ESPN’s new crew of Joe Tessitore, Jason Witten, Booger McFarland and Lisa Salters.