A generally good night for Fox on Super Bowl 54
Agame analyst who’s fun and funny and dynamic certainly has appeal.
But here’s what’s most important in a Super Bowl: A game analyst who’s alert, observant and quick to spot nuances in strategy and defensive coverages. In that regard, Troy Aikman generally delivered during Fox’s broadcast of Super Bowl 54, often noticing subtleties that the average fan might not.
The two former Cowboys quarterbacks who are the lead analysts for CBS and Fox couldn’t be more different from a personality standpoint. Aikman lacks the whimsical approach and playfulness of CBS’ Tony Romo (who is being aggressively pursued by ESPN), but that’s fine. Both analysts play to their strengths, and Aikman’s biggest asset remains his ability — in concise, understandable terms — to explain strategy, player strengths and weaknesses and why plays work or don’t.
When Chiefs coach Andy Reid told Fox’s Chris Myers at halftime that downfield passes simply weren’t available to Kansas City, it was interesting that Aikman disputed that, asserting there were a bunch of plays where speedy Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill or Sammy
Watkins had single coverage on 49ers cornerbacks Emmanuel Moseley and Richard Sherman. Aikman said Kansas City (Reid and quarterback Pat Mahomes) should have tried to take advantage of that in the first three quarters, while acknowledging there were times where the 49ers’ deployment of their safeties limited the Chiefs’ vertical passing game.
The difference in Kansas City’s late rally to win the game, Aikman explained, was that the Chiefs started to attack that single coverage, especially against Sherman, combined with Mahomes’ improved accuracy in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs playing at a faster pace might have sparked them, too, though Aikman curiously didn’t mention that as a big factor. Early on, Aikman correctly noted that San Francisco would run — and do it successfully — on first down because the Chiefs were playing their safeties deep, then immediately noticed when they stopped. He told us that 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan believes Chiefs linebackers don’t run well sideline to sideline and that’s why San Francisco would try to exploit Kansas City with running plays to the edges.
We like how Aikman notes the defenders who failed in containment responsibilities on long plays, something more analysts should do more often. We would have liked Aikman to give an opinion on Shanahan’s decision to bypass calling a timeout with 1:47 left in the first half. Aikman
discussed it but didn’t say whether it was the right move.
But during that sequence, Fox did good work catching 49ers general manager John Lynch signaling for a timeout from his suite while his coach was opting against it.
As usual, Fox’s Joe Buck was on top of his game, quickly identifying down, distance and defensive players involved in a tackle or coverage and adding relevant factoids, including mentioning — before a Chiefs fourth down attempt — than Reid went for it on fourth down just 10 times this season, fewest of any coach in the league.
A few beefs:
Directors should always have the camera on the field when there’s a question about whether a team will go for it on fourth down. Fox instead focused its live shot on Reid during one of those first-half sequences, leaving viewers unclear if the Chiefs were going to go for it.
After the early Mahomes out-of-bounds fumble deep in 49ers territory, Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira should have been given a chance to explain where the ball would be marked before Fox went to commercial.
Erin Andrews should have asked Shanahan about his decision not to call a timeout during their off-camera halftime interview.
PREGAME MUSINGS
Thoughts on Fox’s fourhour pre-game show, which struck a sensible balance between football and other fare:
Best segments: 1)
There was no particularly compelling pregame feature story, but Alex Rodriguez playing catch with his boyhood idol, Dan Marino, was a highlight. A-Rod, as a junior high school student, went to the Kendall location where Marino taped his TV show and waited in the parking lot to get an autograph. Marino told him that day: “You’re a good looking kid; you’ve got a bright future.” In the pre-game piece, A-Rod told Marino he chose to wear No. 13 because Marino wore it and noted he turned down a scholarship offer to play quarterback at UM.
2) Historical pieces in which Fox used actors to tell stories about how the AFL was launched and how the Super Bowl was named.
We always appreciate segments that teach youngsters, or fringe fans, about the history of the game, particularly in the NFL’s 100th season.
Best decision: Fox choosing the right people to conduct interviews. Using two personable former tight ends (Rob Gronkowski and Tony Gonzalez) for a sit-down with the two starting tight ends — Travis Kelce and
George Kittle — produced a more lively conversation than it likely would have been otherwise. Same with
Jimmy Johnson interviewing Chiefs coach Andy Reid (there’s fondness and mutual respect there), and Kevin Burkhardt chatting up Lynch, his former Fox broadcast partner.
Most questionable decisions: 1) Fox injecting two of its analysts on other sports — David Ortiz and
Jeff Gordon —into nonsensical segments promoting future Fox broadcasts.
2) The view here is that no matter which person or political party is in office, the Super Bowl pregame interview with the president should be light, focusing on football and less serious subjects. Fox’s
Sean Hannity took the opposite approach, concentrating entirely on political issues (aside from one question about the coronavirus) in his sit-down with President Donald Trump. Hannity naturally asked about impeachment (which was necessary because of the topic’s timeliness), but these Super Bowl interviews, historically, haven’t been nearly as politically charged as this one.