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1. “Fine. Bank me. But I’m going to make it damn hard for you to bench me.”
That was Fox NFL analyst Greg Olsen SI Media Podcast just over a month ago while discussing the prospect of Tom Brady replacing him in the dressing room when the legendary quarterback retires.
After two weeks of the NFL playoffs, Olsen will clearly make it “hard as s—” for Fox to bench him.
Although we’re working with a small selection of games, Olsen has had a terrific postseason and is poised to attract even more viewers thanks to Fox’s coverage of this year’s Super Bowl.
Olsen really showed his skills in the final three minutes of the Niners’ win over the Cowboys on Sunday. Most analysts flop late in games because they don’t understand clock management and timeout strategy. Olsen, on the other hand, couldn’t have been better.
As the Cowboys made their final drive of the game, following a close near midfield, Olsen pointed out that the clock didn’t stop even though Dallas tight end Dalton Schultz went out for not moving forward when he scored the sideline. Olsen also took Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy and the Dallas players to task for stopping rushing before a late punt to save time on the clock. And in his finest moment, Olsen pointed out that McCarthy had to take his timeout before, rather than after, the two-minute warning — a coaching tactic most NFL analysts (and coaches) get wrong.
Whether someone enjoys a station is entirely subjective. My two main criteria for everyone in the dressing room are (1) Don’t tease me; (2) Get strategy right. Olsen is two for two.
It’s also just a very simple listen. He doesn’t talk too much, he doesn’t try to pretend the crowd is stupid and he’s a football genius and he’s not afraid to criticize players and coaches.
If anything, I’d like to see a little more personality from Olsen. At one point in the Dallas-San Francisco game, Olsen’s partner Kevin Burkhardt revealed that Olsen belted out some Rihanna songs during one of their weekend car rides. I was very curious to hear which Rihanna songs Olsen was whining about. I would have liked to have heard Olsen drop a few bars too, but I can understand why that might have been a little too much for some viewers.
Here’s the wild thing about Olsen: He’s only been doing this for two seasons. Tony Romo has been a senior analyst for six seasons. Cris Collinsworth has been a Lead Analyst for 20 years and Troy Aikman has been a Lead Analyst for 21 seasons. Olsen is already very, very good and will only get better.
This is where the Brady conundrum comes into play. When the GOAT decides he’s done with football, he’s on a $375 million deal with Fox, which has him keen to become his #1 analyst.
Will Olsen’s emergence force Fox to go with a three-person cabin? Could Fox put Brady in the studio and make him a part of it? Fox NFL Sunday?
I think at this point Fox would have to get Brady to join Burkhardt and Olsen. If Fox demoted Olsen, who is becoming a fan favorite, for Brady, the network would face a major backlash for Brady.
Here’s what else Olsen was saying meanwhile SI Media Podcast the appearance:
“Fox believed in me more than any other network. On some other stations we kind of danced and there was some interest, but nobody likes Fox. So I have nothing but positive things to say about my overall experience with the people at Fox. I hope to work with them for the next 20 years. I just hope it’s with the A crew.”
It’s hard to imagine at this point that Fox could pull Olsen out of A-Crew, especially if he has a great Super Bowl.
2. Dak Prescott was the subject of many harsh tweets on Sunday after throwing two interceptions in Dallas’ loss to San Francisco, including THE COWBOYS’ OWN SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM!
3. I was stunned Sunday that more was not made about the fact that Niners kicker Robbie Gould salvaged his team’s lead in the fourth quarter by simply casually morphing his body into Cowboys kick returner KaVontae Turpin, who was along the way became a game-changing TD. It’s wild that this was the “tackle” that brought down Turpin.
4. You know the old saying “betting doesn’t pay”? Don’t tell that to this guy who turned $5 into more than $72,000 this weekend by correctly predicting the first touchdown scorer in all four playoff games.
5. Is this a way for Travis Kelce to treat the NFL’s best quarterback?
6. The newest SI Media Podcast features a conversation with former Super Bowl champion and current podcast host Chris Long.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.
You can also look at those SI Media Podcast on Youtube.
7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: the royal rumble takes place this Saturday and as one of WWE’s signature pay-per-views, the event has seen numerous memorable moments over the years. Throughout the week I’ll be featuring some of them here. Today we start with the biggest royal rumble ever get in and out.
be sure to Check out previous issues of Traina Thoughts and look at them Sports Illustrated Media Podcast moderated by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy Twitter, Instagram and tick tock.
