On Sunday, we brought you “What We Know About Thursday Night Football This Season.” Continuing in that vein, Awful Announcing will present a series of “What We Knows” about the upcoming season on the other NFL packages. So since we began with Thursday Night Football on CBS/NFL Network, let’s continue with the NFL on CBS on Sundays.
Without further delay, let’s go over what you will see on the NFL on CBS this season.
What’s New
Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts become the new “B” team for the NFL on CBS. They’ll be seen not only on the best 1 p.m. games, but also some late games in place of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms who will focus on Thursday Night Football this season. While Nantz and Simms will call some late Sunday afternoon games, Eagle and Fouts will do a lot of the heavy lifting on Sundays.
There’s also a new “C” team and new partners for Kevin Harlan and Spero Dedes, but more on that later.
Sideline reporters return to the NFL on CBS this season mainly on Thursday Night Football. SEC on CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson joins Jim Nantz and Phil Simms. CBS will utilize former NESN Red Sox on-field reporter Jenny Dell and Evan Washburn on selected games. Reporters from CBS local affiliates will also be employed to roam the sidelines as well.
Who’s In
There are wholesale changes for a network that normally likes to keep the status quo. First, Trent Green joins the NFL on CBS and he will be teamed with Greg Gumbel forming a new “C” tandem. Kevin Harlan gets a new partner in Rich Gannon. Andrew Catalon joins the NFL on CBS after calling Mountain West games on CBS Sports Network. He’ll work with Steve Beuerlein and Steve Tasker in a rare 3 man booth for Sunday afternoons.
Brian Anderson and Tom McCarthy will call games as needed and they’ll be joined by Adam Archuleta and Chris Simms.
Who’s Out
Dan Dierdorf left CBS for the radio booth of the Michigan football this fall. Marv Albert has stepped down from calling the NFL to totally focus on the NBA on TNT and the NCAA Tournament. Bill Macatee will no longer be calling the NFL.
For the NFL Today, CBS has dropped Dan Marino and Shannon Sharpe and replaced them with Bart Scott who was on “That Other Pregame Show” on CBS Sports Network last year and the newly retired Tony Gonzalez. James Brown, Bill Cowher and Boomer Esiason are the holdovers from previous seasons.
So Give us the Broadcast Teams!
Ok, here they are:
Jim Nantz/Phil Simms//Tracy Wolfson
Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts
Greg Gumbel/Trent Green
Kevin Harlan/Rich Gannon
Spero Dedes/Solomon Wilcots
Andrew Catalon/Steve Beuerlein/Steve Tasker
What is this is new thing I keep hearing about “Crossover Games”?
O.k., for the first time since CBS returned to the NFL in 1998, it will air actual NFC games this season. The new NFL TV contracts allow games to be flexed into the 4:25 p.m. ET window no matter the network. So if the NFL wants to move a 1 p.m. ET game from Fox to CBS and vice versa, it can do so. This can be done twice between Weeks 5 and 10, but as many times as the NFL wants in Weeks 11-17.
One of the NFC crossover games will be on Thanksgiving when CBS airs Chicago at Detroit at 12:30 in what will be an all-NFC tripleheader on Turkey Day.
Is CBS heading to London this year?
Yes, CBS has the Miami-Oakland game from Wembley Stadium in Week 4.
What’s happening in the postseason?
CBS will have one Wild Card Playoff Game, one AFC Divisional Playoff Game (losing one to NBC) and the AFC Championship on Sunday, January 18, 2015.
So there’s a quick primer on what’s happening on the NFL on CBS this season. Coming up later in the week, a look at What We Know on Sunday Night Football, Monday Night Football and the NFL on Fox.
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