At a time when Tom Brady is prohibited from attending production meetings, their importance cannot be overstated.
The NFL imposed restrictions on Brady’s broadcasting activities due to his intention to join the ownership group of the Las Vegas Raiders, effective immediately. These restrictions, which will be in place for the Dallas Cowboys-Cleveland Browns game in Week 1, include limitations on his access to team meetings, facilities, and personnel, as well as restrictions on public criticism of teams and referees.
So, Brady will start his broadcasting career with one hand tied behind his back.
It’s not ideal by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s the reality of the situation. Pregame production meetings are of the utmost importance, and Joe Davis spoke to that as a guest on the Awful Announcing Podcast this week.
“I think it’s very important,” Davis told host Brandon Contes, regarding the importance of those meetings to him as a play-by-play voice. “I think to get your crew kind of headed in the same direction, what you’re going to be focused on, because…these NFL teams are covered so well, that you can get that sense if you don’t hone in on certain things that you’re sitting at a messy desk when you go do a game. There’s just so much stuff.
“It proves to be, I think, a good chance for your crew all to kind of sift through and prioritize all that information and find out what’s important. Some meetings are going to be better than others. Some coaches don’t give you anything; some coaches give you too much, and you gotta figure out what you can use and what you can’t. But, yeah, they’re definitely important. Again, some weeks more important than others, but definitely an important part of the job.”
Contes asked Davis if it was the type of thing that if Davis’ partner, Greg Olsen, were to miss one of those meetings, the play-by-play voice or a producer would be tasked with catching him up to speed.
“I think you’d prefer to be in the room together,” he says. “I think that in a perfect world, Zoom never happened, and you’re still there in person. I think the more intimate it can be the better…Look, I’ve missed conference calls before, Greg’s missed conference calls before. There’s stuff that pops up occasionally where you do have to have the crew fill you in and have somebody that’s taking good notes.
“I think the important thing is, if that’s the case, then you gotta be able to kind of re-visit the meeting and sit down. Like, I talked about making sure with the meetings, getting everybody on the same page. I would think that for those guys, in any case when we’ve missed a meeting, it just takes another level of sitting down and making sure that the person that missed the meeting is filled in on everything.”
Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. For more content, subscribe to AA’s YouTube page.
