5. Ian Eagle, Charles Davis (CBS): 3.11
Most common grade: A (43.4 percent of votes)
Percentage of A/B/C grades: 92.9 percent
Here’s our second booth with an A as the most common grade. The A percentage isn’t as high as it was for the younger Eagle and Olsen, but the elder Eagle and Davis got a higher percentage of passing grades (the highest in this poll), and only 36 Fs (the lowest of any booth). With that, we award them the title of AA Readers’ Least-Hated 2024 NFL Booth. But they did hit a significant slide from 2023, where they got a 3.30 and were the second-ranked booth (out of 17). They received 2,073 grades.
Along those lines, it’s worth looking at some of just what the few people who did give Eagle and Davis Ds or Fs had to say. That included a lot of criticism of Davis (“worst color analyst doing NFL games,” “horrible,” “seems like he doesn’t even follow what’s going on in the league,” “grating voice,” “never stops talking”). The most surprising D comment might be “Eagle is like a nice bowl of vanilla ice cream” (what of those of us who enjoy vanilla ice cream?).
But, as you’d expect from the numerical grade, the praise for this team was much more common. That ranged from “maybe the best team in the biz” to “great chemistry” to “rock-solid team” to “perfect duo,” and included lots of predictions and/or desires they take over the top CBS slot. And both Davis (“best analyst out there,” “one of the better color guys out there,” “so snarky sounding, I love it”) and Eagle (“amazing,” “elite,” “underrated, if that’s possible”) drew individual plaudits.
4. Kevin Harlan, Trent Green (CBS, one NFLN game): 3.12
Most common grade: A (49.2 percent of votes)
Percentage of A/B/C grades: 90.6 percent
In a very close race, CBS’ internal No. 3 booth beat out their No. 2 one by just 0.01 (3.118 versus 3.108). And while both were ahead of the network’s top booth of Nantz and Romo, that wasn’t by much, backing that “three A-rated crews” comment above. This was a drop for them from 2023, though, which saw them get a 3.28 and a third-place ranking (out of 17 booths). They drew the third-highest number of A grades (1,037), but their high number of Cs (338) kept them out of third place. They were given 2,108 grades.
Harlan in particular got a lot of individual praise, from “the best” to “great ad-libbing” to “the best play descriptor in the biz” to “the goat of goats. Could pair him with a roasted duck and it’d still be a good broadcast.” He also got lines like “has the ability to make a blowout entertaining,” “may be the single best play-by-play commentator on the planet,” and “a national treasure.”
However, while many cited Harlan’s energy and volume as a positive (“The excitement he brings to every broadcast is awesome”), there were a couple of comments suggesting he screams too much or “could take the volume down a half quaver.” And Green got some love of his own, including “great insight and analysis without sounding overbearing,” “very astute analysis,” and “a wonderful complement.”
One further notable element in the comments was those who discussed how this compared to Harlan’s Westwood One radio broadcasts. One respondent said “Too much radio-like play-by-play” here, while another said Harlan “shouts like a radio guy,” and a third said, “I would give Harlan an A on Westwood One, but on TV he’s just grating.” Still, the majority certainly like his TV work a lot, and this crew getting tabbed for an NFL Network game as well this year (Bengals-Broncos and its crazy overtime finish, which saw Harlan “showcase why he’s in a league of his own” as per AA’s Sam Neumann) was called a “godsend” by one respondent. For what it’s worth, Harlan took home our 2024 Awfulie award for best play-by-play announcer, but that was considering his work across sports.
3. Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth (NBC/Peacock): 3.13
Most common grade: A (46.8 percent of votes)
Percentage of A/B/C grades: 90.9 percent
The strong number of B grades the Sunday Night Football team got (737) helped elevate them over Harlan and Green for the bronze-medal position. That’s a nice jump for them from last year, where they ranked fifth of 17 teams with a 2.99. They received 2,207 grades.
In the comments, Tirico received more positive mentions than Collinsworth, such as “Mike is one of the absolute best. Cris can be hot or cold, seemingly dependent on which game he’s calling,” “Love Mike, can’t stand Cris’ voice,” “Tirico is awesome, Collinsworth is annoying,” and “A for Tirico, D for Collinsworth” (on a B grade). Many also praised Tirico’s move to head to NBC in 2016 to first work in the studio and as Al Michaels’ PXP backup and then take over from him in 2022, with lines like “NBC really had great timing in letting Michaels go,” “Tirico was the best possible option to succeed Michaels at SNF because he is just so good,” and “Tirico’s move to NBC was the best thing he’s ever done and one of the best things NBC has done in the past quarter century.”
As for Collinsworth, the reaction was more mixed. There was a lot of criticism for him overall, from “insufferable for a decade” to “the worst announcer in the league” to “just annoying.” Some of that was on his references to specific players, including “Can Cris find someone else besides Mahomes to compare the QB position to?” and “Please save us from Cris Collinsworth’s man crush on Aaron Rodgers.”
But many liked Collinsworth, including his “outstanding energy and enthusiasm.” And some praised him in this pairing in particular, from “great with Tirico” to “keeps it all together.” And while there were plenty of suggestions he should retire, there was also pushback on the expected criticism, including even references to his “Here’s a guy” lines. Those included “For all the sh*t the internet gives Cris, he’s really good. Here’s a guy who’s a great color commentator, even though he’s become somewhat of a caricature of himself” and “Cris ‘Here’s a guy’ Collinsworth is fun to listen to in a silly, ironic way.”
This pairing overall also drew a lot of praise. That included “Best NFL booth,” “Second-best team behind Buck/Aikman,” and “gold standard.” One particularly notable comment there was on their role calling the SNF game: “Storytelling is their forte, perfect for Sunday night.”
2. Joe Buck, Troy Aikman (ESPN/ABC): 3.32
Most common grade: A (59.9 percent of votes)
Percentage of A/B/C grades: 91.9 percent
The Monday Night Football “A” team received even a slightly better numerical grade than last year’s 3.31 but lost the top spot thanks to the creation of a new pairing our readers loved even more. It’s interesting how consistently they’ve been rated at ESPN, also drawing a 3.32 in 2022 (a significant boost from their 2.87, 2.91, and 3.04 grades at Fox in our 2018-20 rankings). Their 1,336 A grades were the second-highest in this poll, behind only the top team, but that did leave them with 92 fewer As than that team. They received 2,232 grades.
Our respondents who left comments differentiating between the two often put Aikman ahead of Buck, with lines like “Buck is a F, Aikman is a B” and “Joe Buck is always in the way with his stupid sense of humor, not allowing Aikman to inform the audience,” and “Joe Buck’s commentary couldn’t make an alien invasion interesting.” (We’re really hoping this leads to Buck making a social media video of him calling an alien invasion.) However, there were contrasting opinions such as “Buck saves this from being an “F.” Aikman is terrible. He does a good job of saying “good job” a lot.”
The majority of the comments on this duo were positive, as you’d expect for the No. 2 team here, but maybe slightly less than you’d predict given the numerical grade. There were a lot of high grades without explanations. But of those who did comment, there was significant individual praise for both, including that Buck is “one of the best at letting the moment develop” (he recently discussed his approach to this) and “Aikman doesn’t pull punches.”
A prominent theme in the responses was liking this team more on ESPN. Some of the rationales there included perceived extra energy for them and how “not being the face of an entire network’s sports operation has loosened these guys up.” But maybe even a more interesting argument was moving them away from Fox’s repeated broadcasts of the Dallas Cowboys, with that being Aikman’s former team. Many cited that, from “Having these guys call fewer Dallas Cowboys’ games has helped them tremendously” to “Now that Troy isn’t chained to Cowboys’ games, his insight has become much better.”
Overall, many people are still loving this ESPN top booth. They saw a lot of lines like “Simply the best” and “the gold standard of booths,” plus “No crew is in control more. An amazingly steady broadcast.” And while they have their critics, their continual high grades here and repeated returns near the top of this poll help illustrate the benefits of ESPN investing in bringing them in, with the tenure of the comments on them dramatically different than that for the previous ESPN MNF booths that were usually near the bottom of these polls.
1. Joe Davis, Greg Olsen (Fox): 3.40
Most common grade: A (63.9 percent of votes)
Percentage of A/B/C grades: 93.0 percent
The good news for Fox is that, for the first time in the six times we’ve done these rankings, they have a team at the top. The bad news for them is that it’s not their “A” team, or the team that will be calling Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans in just over a month. Instead, it’s the analyst in Olsen they demoted to make way for Tom Brady on that “A” team (which finished 14th of 25 teams here) in his new partnership on the No. 2 team with Davis.
Olsen was on the fourth-ranked of 17 teams last year with Kevin Burkhardt, receiving a 3.26, while Davis was seventh with Daryl Johnston, receiving a 2.74. So this partnership has seen notable rises for both. And they received more than triple the A votes (1428) as Bs (472, their second-most-common grade) and only 52 Fs.
In the comments, many people noted their opposition to Fox’s decision to bump down Olsen to bring in Brady. Some of those responses included “Greg deserves to be the top guy,” “The difference in quality between Olsen and Brady is stark,” “Greg Olsen never should have been demoted,” and “The true A-Team on Fox.”
There was also a lot of praise for Olsen beyond that, including “Olsen is the best color guy out there today,” “I’ve learned more about football from Greg Olsen in the last two years than ever before,” and “hands down best announcer across all.” And some liked Olsen much more than Davis, including “Davis is a drag on Olsen” and “Olsen A, Davis F” (on a C grade), with Davis also taking hits like “THE WORST play-by-play guy since Brent Musburger.” But Olsen also drew a few critical comments, including “overrated,” “grating,” and “overly biased on most games,” while Davis got some individual praise such as “absolute peak” and “Davis is the Vin Scully of football games.” (The legendary Scully did have quite a notable football broadcasting career himself, but the point’s taken; beyond his Dodgers’ work, Davis’ style on both baseball and football definitely bears some resemblance to Scully’s.)
The comments here were highly positive overall, as you’d expect for the top booth in these rankings. Here are some of those:
- “The best duo hands down.”
- “Amazing combo.”
- “The best overall booth there is.”
- “Best crew as far as giving pure, honest analysis behind every play.”
- “This team is the best at calling the actual game! They don’t get sidetracked with outside subjects like almost all the others.”
- “Best pair on sports TV.”
Congratulations to Davis, Olsen, and Fox on the No. 1 ranking in this season’s poll. And thank you to everyone who voted and commented!
