Dan Orlovsky quickly rose from the odd college football broadcast at ESPN to the No. 2 NFL booth. But even he needed some help incorporating analytics into the mix while on air.
Tuesday on NFL Live, the show played back a quick point from Orlovsky late in the Dolphins-Titans game he broadcast in which Orlovsky rifled through the decision tree for a late two-point conversion. Orlovsky explained that down eight, going for two gives teams the best chance to win over just the extra point.
Apparently, he and NFL Live costar Mina Kimes have debated this before, and Kimes won.
“I am not the person who knows that,” Orlovsky admitted. “I only knew to say that because of Mina.”
Dan Orlovsky brought a tear to Mina Kimes' eye talking analytics on Monday Night Football pic.twitter.com/lxEAI0bF7L
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 12, 2023
Then Orlovsky also acknowledged their previous disagreement and his epiphany.
“I used to fight her on it, like, ‘it’s not the right thing to do,'” Orlovsky said. “Then she’d be like, ‘no.'”
Orlovsky openly campaigned for a top NFL broadcast job recently, so it’s no surprise he would absorb any bit of technical improvement he can. Still, many retired NFL quarterbacks would be far too proud to take feedback or perspective from a woman who never played the game like Kimes.
This moment demonstrates the NFL Live crew’s genuine chemistry and how well-respected Kimes is at ESPN.
Kimes herself tried out to be the cohost of the ManningCast and has called Los Angeles Rams preseason games. So, while she may just be slipping info to her friend for now, it may not be long before Kimes pops up on a game broadcast for the worldwide leader.
[NFL Live]
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.