FOR PATS, YEAR OF MANY SCREENS
JOHN HOWELL; Courant Staff WriterTHE HARTFORD COURANT
"It doesn't get any better than this," WFAN's Sid Rosenberg told listeners on Monday.
On second thought ...
"It probably irks a lot of people around the country to see the New York teams come out of nowhere and do it again," top CBS analyst Phil Simms said. "It has been truly something."
That depends. Although the NFL season got a little longer for New York fans last weekend, it was not long enough for New England. And judging by the ratings, more than a few folks in Connecticut are flying their Patriots banners at half-staff this morning.
The Pats averaged a 12.4 rating for 10 games on WFSB, Ch. 3, compared with 6.9 last season. The Giants did 8.6 for nine games on WTIC, Ch. 61, slightly down from a year ago, and the Jets 7.5 for six games on Ch. 3, a 2.3-point drop.
"Being the Super Bowl champion with all the pressure, the adulation, it's overwhelming," Simms said. "A lot of the Patriots players admitted to me [last week] that it was a lot harder than they ever thought it was going to be. They thought they were prepared. But until you experience it, you just can't believe it."
Neither can the networks. ESPN said "Sunday Night Football" averaged a 7.4 rating, up 17 percent from last season. Fox averaged 16.2 million viewers for its broadcasts -- a 5 percent climb and the most since 17.6 million tuned in for 1995. CBS jumped 4 percent (14.6 million). Only ABC's "Monday Night Football" failed to improve from last season, averaging an 11.4 rating.
Locally, the biggest winner was Ch. 3, which averaged a 9.8 rating for 26 games, up 17 percent from last season (8.4). Ch. 61 improved 3 percent with a 7.7 for 27 games.
But Simms and CBS studio analyst Boomer Esiason were not gushing about the numbers on their conference call.
"If you asked me to name the teams in the league that are playing the best, I would say without a doubt Jets, Raiders and probably the Giants," said Simms, who will be on the call with Greg Gumbel Sunday for Browns-Steelers on Ch. 3. "They'd be my top three. They are doing it in a special way."
WTNH, Ch. 8 gets the Saturday doubleheader, starting with Colts-Jets at 4:30 p.m. with Brent Musburger and Gary Danielson. Joe Buck, Cris Collinsworth and Troy Aikman call Giants-49ers Sunday on Ch. 61 at 4:30 p.m. Terry Bradshaw interviews the Giants' Jeremy Shockey on the pregame show.
"If you live here in New York, I swear they were dead and buried in October," Esiason said. "For the [Jets and Giants] to overcome all of the outside influences, the distractions and the back pages and the sports talk shows ... [Giants coach Jim] Fassel has been fired about five times this year."
And Bill Parcells has been hired about 5 million times, finally for real by the Cowboys.
"It's a strange mix, isn't it?" Simms said. "When I first heard it, I went, 'What?' I thought they were making it up. ... I guess if you're going to do it, you might as well go to a place that is a big stage and Dallas is definitely that.
"They're going to be some rockin' stadiums come next season."
Besides the Giants, the Cowboys also play the Jets and Patriots next season.
"What's even more surprising to me is only three weeks ago his name is in the Alabama bin," Esiason said. "He denies that, and that's not true. Then his name is in the Kentucky bin and he actually had meetings with the athletic director and almost had a deal with the University of Kentucky, for crying out loud."
It doesn't get better than that.
You get the idea that Esiason is not a tremendous Parcells fan. Not so Simms, of course, thanks to two Super Bowl rings. But maybe blood is thicker than Tuna.
"Well, I'll tell you this, my son has always said he would love to play for somebody just like Bill Parcells," Simms said of the possibility Dallas might draft Chris Simms from the University of Texas.
"But for his sake, I hope it doesn't come true," Simms cracked.
View From The Couch
"MSG SportsDesk" will offer lengthy Giants and Jets postgame coverage Saturday and Sunday at about 9:30 p.m. with reporters Jenna Wolfe at the Meadowlands and Fooch Fucilli at 3Com Park. ... Craig Bolerjack and Lisa Leslie are on the call for UConn-Tennessee women Saturday on Ch. 3 at 2 p.m. Penn State-LSU opens the CBS women's tripleheader at noon with Tim Brando and Rebecca Lobo. ... "Super Tuesday" returns next week on ESPN2 with UConn at Oklahoma (8 p.m.) ... YES will televise six Ivy League basketball games, including Yale games against Princeton Feb. 28 and Harvard March 7. ... ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" takes on the Fiesta Bowl with Hartford heavyweight Lawrence Clay-Bey (17-1, 13 KOs) against Charles Shufford (19-2, 9 KOs). ... Jim Gray chats with Lakers coach Phil Jackson on ESPN's "Sunday Conversation."
E-mail: howell@courant.com
Bill Parcells
UConn Women's Basketball