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FOX TV's Aikman calls a strong Broncos game
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Another Sunday, another carnival at Invesco Field at Mile High thanks to two teams that looked more like Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots than NFL squads.
An added bonus from the Denver Broncos' 34-32 knockout of the New Orleans Saints: It bought out the best in FOX's broadcast booth “A Team” of Joe Buck and ex-Cowboys QB Troy Aikman.
For once, the self-important Buck turned down his faucet of a mouth, save for one contribution of note: After Broncos WR Brandon Marshall tucked away one of many acrobatic catches, Joe sighed: “Boy, he's good.” Then, he pretty much let Aikman run the show.
The NFL Hall of Famer pointed out both teams' match-up problems. He wondered aloud about TE Tony Scheffler's absence from the Broncos' game plan. Aikman ridiculed Denver's weak pass rush; praised the squad's retooled offensive line; and went into some keen detail about QB Jay Cutler's relationships with Broncos offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates and head coach Mike Shanahan.
Just before the first half ended, the game's zany ebb and flow even prompted the usually opaque Aikman to figuratively catch his breath, mop his brow and declare: “We expected a high-scoring game, but this is really something.”
The only things he didn't mention: the Broncos' hideously orange Nike jerseys that flashed back to the Canadian Football League's psychedelic era, and Microsoft Windows' new “I'm a PC” ad.
IT'S CALLED TV, GENTLEMEN: What's with Denver's FOX-TV affiliate? It promoted its pregame Broncos show Kickoff Live featuring Broncos great Karl Mecklenburg all week. But when Kickoff Live kicked off, there was no video of the Broncos in action. Just still photos. That's right. The show's only action video came from the New Orleans Saints' camp. Somebody must've forgotten to clear the Broncos' video rights with the NFL or some such thing, leaving Fox with some such show: four talking heads, including Meck, telling us nothing we didn't already know, followed by a few commercials and a threadbare feature on Invesco Field tailgaters. Laughable...
POWERFUL: Earlier in the week, NFL sage Paul Zimmerman of Sports Illustrated ranked the Broncos the 10th most powerful team in the league. Fine. What's interesting is that Chicago – the Bears, with Kyle Orton at QB, who have lost to Tampa Bay – was No. 11. The Philadelphia Eagles -- coming off last week's turbulent loss to Dallas – was No. 3. Go figger. Perhaps the Broncos' win over New Orleans, which Zimmerman predicted, will straighten out the guru's thinking.
