Thread: The Road to SuperBowl XLIV: The Official 2010 NFL Playoffs Thread

http://www.fangsbites.com/2010/02/cb...uper-bowl.html

For its game production, CBS kept it simple. It's the game, stupid. There were no shots of Reggie Bush's girlfriend, Kim Kardashian that Fox seemed to overdo during the NFC playoffs. There were no hackneyed shots of wives or other girlfriends on parade. Instead, CBS focused its cameras on the field. There were two notable replays that worked well. A two point conversion caught by Lance Moore that clearly showed him gaining control of the ball then breaking the plane of the goal line before it was jarred loose and called incomplete. Thanks to a reverse angle on the goal line, the call was overturned and the two points given to New Orleans.

The second replay showed a catch by Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey getting hit and his helmet getting jarred by two Colts defenders. CBS' super slo mo and tight shots were not overdone and were done right.

Jim Nantz and Phil Simms meshed well as usual. In their second Super Bowl together, both men did not overhype nor did they overanalyze. Simms allowed the game to breathe and come to him. Right before Tracy Porter's game-changing interception of Peyton Manning, Simms mentioned that the Saints were saving defensive looks in the 4th quarter in hopes of confusing the Colts quarterback. Sure enough, two plays later, Porter made Simms look like a genius with his 74 yard Pick 6 that gave New Orleans a two touchdown lead.

There were two notable glitches. When CBS tried to interchange live action and tape for the introduction of both the Saints and Colts, the audio of players failed to come through and all we at home saw were silent players with their mouths moving. Also, the audio from the field was not clear, but when Commissioner Roger Goodell made an introduction of the winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, suddenly his microphone came in loud and clear. There were portions of the game where the crowd drowned out Nantz and Simms. That went on throughout the night and never got corrected.

CBS saved shots of New Orleans and Bourbon Street until the game was officially over. I thought the network would go to them after the Porter interception, but there was no need to go that early.

For the Big Game, CBS chose to bring back sideline reporters and they utilized analysts Steve Tasker and Solomon Wilcots. Tasker was used throughout the game while Wilcots seemed to disappear after his first report before the opening kickoff.

Overall, the production led by producer Lance Barrow and director Mike Arnold was top notch. CBS has broadcast the most Super Bowls of any network and it showed on Sunday. The overall grade for Super Bowl XLIV on CBS gets an A minus. Very well done, but there were some areas that could have been done better.

For the pregame, an open that paid homage to CBS' previous 16 Super Bowl telecasts was well produced. A 15 minute interview of President Barack Obama by Katie Couric appeared out of place as Ms. Couric pressed the President on health care, the trial of an accused terrorist and other issues. Only in the last minute did Ms. Couric ask the President for his Super Bowl pick. That interview would have been more appropriate on any CBS News program, but not before the Super Bowl.

Not really a surprise since ratings records were falling throughout the playoffs:

The Super Bowl was watched by more than 106 million people, surpassing the 1983 finale of "M-A-S-H" to become the most-watched program in television history.

The Nielsen Co. estimated Monday that 106.5 million people watched the New Orleans Saints upset the Indianapolis Colts. That beats the "M-A-S-H" finale, which had 105.97 million viewers in an era when there were fewer television sets.

Compelling story lines involving the city of New Orleans and its recovery from Hurricane Katrina and the quest for a second Super Bowl ring for Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning propelled the viewership.

The game also obliterated the record viewership for a Super Bowl -- 98.7 million people in last year's game between Arizona and Pittsburgh.

Super Bowl draws biggest viewership of all-time - Super Bowl XLIV - SI.com

Originally Posted by SandraC

Shockey is a ME player who with his attitude will never win a championship.

Originally Posted by SandraC

Now he can go to the Saints and mouth off all he wants. Good luck, New Orleans.

Nice call, Sandy.

Originally Posted by SabresRule

Nice call, Sandy.

Well, perhaps one.

You have some memory!


Sandra

Originally Posted by SabresRule

Nice call, Sandy.

Lets not get into who has made bogus statements. we all have our share of these but you sir might be the john madden of bogus statements .

I thought at the time that maybe we'd see a fine come from that forearm to the face when he was on the ground after taking a decent hit earlier in the game. Thought maybe that spearing late in the game that drew one of the few penalties by New Orleans could have been retaliation.

Originally Posted by SabresRule

Nice call, Sandy.

At least Sandra responds to the digs....

Did Peyton Manning pull a "LeBron"??


Manning beats an unhappy, hasty retreat - NFL News - FOX Sports on MSN

The was represented pretty yesterday because Vilma was all over the place on defense and "big mouth" Shockey caught the winning TD.