Joe Davis worked with Greg Olsen before, when Davis would fill in for Kevin Burkhardt during the NFL season.
Their dynamic is bound to change now that they’re full-time partners.
Davis was a guest on the latest episode of The Awful Announcing Podcast (out Friday) and he explained to host Brandon Contes that he’s found camaraderie with his new announcing partner through the stage of life they’re currently sharing (with young kids at home).
Davis noted that they also have similar priorities and interests.
“How does it change when we’re doing a game every week? I think it can only be for the better,” Davis told Contes. “I think even working with ‘Moose’ (Daryl Johnston) these past few years, who I adore, it got better each week — and I think that’s only natural. The only way to build that chemistry is to actually go out and do it.”
Davis said that he and Olsen had spent some time together, but there have been no formal, dry runs like Burkhardt and Tom Brady have done. For two masters of their craft, the duo will mostly just let it rip when they join each other in the booth for their Week 1 matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons.
“We haven’t done any of that,” Davis explained. “And I guess part of that is that we’ve had the real-life experience of doing a handful of games together.”
Since they’ve called a handful of games together, Davis knows what makes Olsen tick.
“I think the first thing is the energy, and it’s the same thing you get when you meet him in person,” says Davis. “He’s just got so much life to him. So, I think no matter what he says, people are going to relate with that. But then you listen to what he says, and the content is excellent. You never want to be too much into this or that. You never want to be all stories. You never want to be all stats. It’s like putting together a stew. Grab the right (amount) of each ingredient.
“He’s got that knack, where, yeah, he studies the analytics, and he can translate that stuff, but he also knows to pull it back a little bit, not turn it into math class. I think that especially for someone only doing it for a few years still, which is hard to remember because he’s so good, so fast — he’s got a great sixth sense for how to balance all those different things.”
What did Davis think of Olsen’s ability to not only replace Troy Aikman but also do so while Tom Brady waited in the wings?
“Impossible situation, right? There’s no blueprint for it,” he added. “So, the fact that he went out and performed the way he did, not a surprise knowing him. And the way that he’s handled it this past year, I think, is pretty cool, too. I know that Tom’s talked about Greg’s been a help to him. So, that tells you a lot right there that Greg’s going to go out of his way to help the guy who’s kind of coming, taking his spot. So, yeah, I’ve admired him having worked with; I admire him as a guy. And now, seeing the way he’s handled it, it’s just enhanced that.”
The Joe Davis episode of the AA podcast will be released on Friday, September 6. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. For more content, subscribe to AA’s YouTube page.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.