Finally! A MNF crew that works! The 3-man booth is usually not a good idea, but now that Jon Gruden (aka Chucky) has joined Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski, MNF might have it's best season yet. Tony Kornheiser left the MNF booth after 2008 (apparently because of his fear of flying), Kornheiser was okay ... his weekly fantasy football drop was tremendously annoying because you just knew the producers had him say it just to appeal to the fantasy football viewers. No more! Gruden steps in.
Follow up:
I have watched 2 MNF preseason games so far and Gruden has been awesome! The guy is a natural. He gets along perfectly with Tirico and Jaws ... it's almost like they have been doing this for years already. Gruden's coaching mind is very evident so far, while breaking down some plays he does say some over-the-head football jargon that average joe is not gonna understand, but I like it. To me, the best analysts are the ones you actually learn facets of the game from. Jaws and Gruden already have a flawless chemistry, these two offensive-minded film room rats just eat up the play-by-play analysis. I can see these guys hangin out at the hotel bar mid-week drawing plays up on the bar napkins.
Late in the 3rd quarter of the Panthers @ Giants game, Jon & Ron debated whether the wildcat scheme will be a huge development in the NFL for 2009. Chucky gave a wildcat demo to show how teams are gonna utilize this new fad and he was enthralled with the potential ... Jaws was not as impressed, merely stating that the wildcat was just a temporary fling for a handful of coaches. The friendly debate between the offensive geeks was good stuff. And I very much look forward to MNF in 2009 with Chucky and Jaws, even the bad games could be fun. But, I highly doubt Gruden will stay in the booth for long, he's way to competitive to not scratch that coaching itch again.
Watch out Troy Aikman, Gruden just might knock you off your perch as #1 game day analyst!
Here now, the 2009 MNF Schedule:
Date Time (ET) Teams
Sept. 14 7 p.m. Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots
10:15 p.m. San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders
Sept. 21 8:30 p.m. Indianapolis Colts at Miami Dolphins
Sept. 28 8:30 p.m. Carolina Panthers at Dallas Cowboys
Oct. 5 8:30 p.m. Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
Oct. 12 8:30 p.m. New York Jets at Miami Dolphins
Oct. 19 8:30 p.m. Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers
Oct. 26 8:30 p.m. Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins
Nov. 2 8:30 p.m. Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints
Nov. 9 8:30 p.m. Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos
Nov. 16 8:30 p.m. Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns
Nov. 23 8:30 p.m. Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans
Nov. 30 8:30 p.m. New England Patriots at New Orleans Saints
Dec. 7 8:30 p.m. Baltimore Ravens at Green Bay Packers
Dec. 14 8:30 p.m. Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers
Dec. 21 8:30 p.m. New York Giants at Washington Redskins
Dec. 28 8:30 p.m. Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
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