Former Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Volunteers TE Jason Witten broadcasted his first official Monday Night Football game last night, and the reviews were … not so good. After 15 seasons in the NFL, ESPN decided they saw potential in the rookie broadcaster and hired him to be the in-booth analyst for ESPN’s Monday night broadcasts. He was paired with veteran Joe Tessitore and former LSU star Booger McFarland, who would be offering perspective from down on the field. With this brand new team, you definitely were going to see a few hiccups, but Twitter overall did not seem impressed with Witten’s debut. Here’s what social media is talking about with respect to Witten’s broadcast performance during last night’s Los Angeles Rams-Oakland Raiders matchup: Why is Jason Witten even in the booth? This is terrible — Frank Garcia (@frankgarcia65) September 11, 2018 Jason Witten's explanation for why Jon Gruden traded Khalil Mack just made absolutely no sense. — Jared Stillman (@JaredStillman) September 11, 2018 McFarland on the other hand impressed in his first MNF broadcast, and almost seemed like the in-booth analyst instead of just the field analyst. Booger McFarland is so good and it’s so apparent and how Jason Witten ended up in the booth over him for MNF is baffling — Jordan Zirm (@clevezirm) September 11, 2018 If ESPN just dropped Jason Witten from this broadcast at halftime, would anyone notice or care? — Jeffrey Nye (@jeffreynye) September 11, 2018 Jason Witten is that guy at the bar who starts off every story with “let me tell you a funny story” and the story is never funny… — Annie Apple (@SurvivinAmerica) September 11, 2018 Booger Mcfarland and Jason Witten need to trade places in the broadcast booth. — Ben White (@Ben1White) September 11, 2018 Jason Witten is a talking concussion. — Mark Russell Pereira (@Mark_R_Pereira) September 11, 2018 It was just Week 1 however and Witten will surely get the hang of his new gig soon, but fans sure did seem displeased with the rookie broadcaster on Monday night.<doc-sep>The longtime Dallas tight end never even thought about broadcasting as a future after football, until his former quarterback set the example and the Cowboys' owner gave him the encouragement he needed. Jason Witten used to shred the Redskins. In the 15 seasons he spent as the Cowboys’ shatterproof tight end, he racked up nearly 1,500 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in games against Washington. On Aug. 16, though, the Redskins fans who were lucky—unlucky?—enough to find themselves in the owner's club at FedEx Field before the Jets-Redskins preseason Week 2 tilt were met with an unfamiliar sight: a nervous Jason Witten. Sitting alone in a club chair, Witten reviewed his game notes with the assiduousness of a pre-med student before an organic chemistry final. This was not the usual soft landing for a retired NFL star: Although the calendar read Thursday (it was the preseason, after all), Witten was less than an hour away from making his debut as the lead analyst on ESPN's Monday Night Football production. Witten’s partner, the suave play-by-play announcer Joe Tessitore, did his prep in the announcers’ booth, rocking on his feet to a pump-up mix (audible from well outside the booth) that included a selection each from Hamilton and the Dropkick Murphys. Joe Tess, as he’s known to viewers and the MNF crew, has worked for ESPN since 2002, and boxing and college-football fans consider his work on those broadcasts a near-rapturous experience. But he’s new to MNF, as is field analyst Booger McFarland, the longtime NFL defensive lineman, who shuffled over from the SEC Network. Of last year’s on-camera crew—play-by-play analyst Sean McDonough, color commentator Jon Gruden and sideline reporter Lisa Salters—only Salters remains. Turnover is nothing new at MNF, and Gruden’s return to the Oakland sideline as the team’s head coach did force management’s hand. But in selecting Witten, Tessitore and McFarland, ESPN has signaled its belief that MNF’s return to glory, 49 seasons in, will come by way of a joyous, throwback broadcast. Out with grumbling about the refs and discussion of player protests, in with callin’ ball. Jason Witten played for 15 seasons in the NFL, all with the Dallas Cowboys. Simon Bruty If Witten’s charge is to compose a love letter to the game each Monday, few men are better equipped to do so. “Almost every good thing in my life has come from the game of football,” Witten says. “Getting out, overcoming challenges in my life—that was through football.” He brings this up unprompted to explain his struggle over whether to take the MNF job. ESPN had reached out to him after he had half-auditioned with Fox for Thursday Night Football as a favor to an executive there and word leaked out. The formal offer came in mid-April, a week before the draft, and they gave him about 10 days to decide. There wasn’t much left for him to achieve as a player—just a Super Bowl, the one the Cowboys have been chasing for 23 years—but he knew he would miss leading the locker room, the games themselves. He even would miss the meetings in training camp. As he thought through everything, he leaned on his family and on his agents, but most of all he looked to one hardly disinterested party: Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. He had received Jones’s blessing to audition, and when he sought Jones’s counsel about actually taking the job, Jones told him not to be emotional. “Jason—think about the chair you’re getting to sit in. This is Monday Night Football.” He wasn’t fearful he’d fail or worried about viewers’ skepticism; he just wasn’t sure he was ready to give the game up. Bill Parcells, drawing on an old saying of his about the impermanence of the NFL career, left Witten a voicemail telling him to take the job: “It’s time to get off the train.” Aaron Rodgers Adds Latest Chapter of Brilliant Career With Resilient Effort in Win Over Bears The man seeks major life advice from Jerry Jones? As Gruden, his MNF predecessor, might have put it: This guy, Jason Witten, he loves pro football, man. Jay Rothman, the program’s executive producer since 2005, thinks of Witten as “Captain America.” “He’s so well-respected; he represents us and the NFL so well; he checks all the boxes.” Rothman watched a dozen contenders—Louis Riddick, Brett Favre, Greg Olsen and Rex Ryan among them—audition by calling a practice game with Tessitore. The game was last year’s zany AFC wild-card game, Titans at Chiefs, during which then-announcer Sean McDonough’s voice unforgettably cracked on a late would-be touchdown. “It was the first game I had called in my life,” Witten says. “I know I had to be bad at it… but I liked the challenge of communicating my passion for the game.” Midway through the fourth quarter in that game, on a third-and-long with the Titans’ comeback in progress, Marcus Mariota took off on a scramble that would result in a first down. It was an important play, if not a defining one, and Witten noticed a minor feature of it. “Eric Decker gets chucked by the defensive end; he’s on the ground. He gets up and he slows down this defensive end that’s chasing Mariota. So when I’m analyzing the play on the replay, I point this play out by Eric Decker, I say, ‘look at this effort, that’s what’s going to allow them to win.’” “Think of the Tennessee Titans at that point. They shouldn’t have been in that game; they backdoor their way into the playoffs; they’re playing horrible; Kansas City was the better team. But somehow they’re in this damn thing, and Decker, who had two drops in the game earlier, is throwing his body on a guy who’s 100 pounds heavier than him. At the end of it, Joe goes, ‘I’ve called this game 15 times, and I’ve never heard anybody make that point about Decker.’ That was, to me, what I hope to provide.” Rothman says that Witten wasn’t the readiest of the bunch, but he was awed by his potential. And he was especially thrilled when, at Witten’s retirement party in Dallas, Jason Garrett told Rothman that he couldn’t possibly coach his new announcer hard enough. “He just wants it so badly,” Garrett said. “Make him great.” The last few years have not been good ones for the NFL—injuries to star players; a drumbeat of revelations about head trauma and domestic violence; players protesting social justice which, through a series of missteps by the league, became the president’s cudgel—nor have they been good ones for ESPN. The network has laid off a number of beloved employees in response to changing economics in the media industry and bungled its own political dramas. At the nexus of those disappointments has sat Monday Night Football. ESPN, because of its football-centric studio programming, pays more than any other media entity to air the NFL—$1.9 billion annually through 2021. Yet there’s reportedly been tension between the league and the network, in part because of the investigative reporting of ESPN’s journalists that has brought so much scrutiny to the NFL’s missteps. Relatedly or otherwise, the NFL has recently stuck MNF with more than its fair share of second-rate contests. So said McDonough in March during a radio interview where he also said that he didn’t have “a tremendous amount of fun” calling the games. He and Gruden never seemed to click. It wasn’t that they appeared to dislike one another—Howard Cosell hated Frank Gifford, and those were the glory days—but rather that each seemed to get nothing out of the other’s presence. (Their disconnect might have mattered less had the game slate been better, but I digress.) With the new team, chemistry shouldn’t be a problem. Tessitore, Witten and McFarland have spent many late nights together over the past several months, eating steaks and drinking cocktails, singing karaoke. (Witten belted “Free Fallin’” and “Don’t Stop Believin’”, demonstratin’ the same preference for dropped Gs in singin’ that he does in talkin’.) After one such night, Rothman made them all attend a 6 a.m. hot yoga session. (McFarland, Rothman says, did the best out of the three.)<doc-sep>For the first time in 15 years, Jason Witten is not taking the field for the Cowboys in 2018. The future Pro Football Hall of Famer retired from America's Team to be part of ESPN's new broadcast team for the 49th season of "Monday Night Football." Taking over for Jon Gruden as the telecast's color commentator, Witten has a big microphone to fill. He is joined by new play-by-play voice Joe Tessitore and field-level analyst Booger McFarland. Before Witten made his MNF debut calling the Rams-Raiders game in Week 1, he talked to Sporting News about the gig and his "other" post-playing job. SN: What's it like going into Week 1 and not needing to get ready to play in a game? Witten: I tell you what, my body feels a heck of a lot better. It's certainly a big change as the whole offseason has been different for me. I'm excited; it's a challenge. I've approached this new opportunity much like I did when I was playing. I was of the mindset that I'm going to dive in headfirst, trying to learn and grow, do the job as best as I can. The competition, the feeling in the locker room — that's real. Not having that is really different, but I love the game. I'm excited to stay around it with new perspective on all the knowledge and experience from playing on Monday night. SN: How have you changed your approach to watching film and preparing for games in that way now? Witten: You got into this knowing it's a different type of competition. Your mindset as a player is strictly strategic and fundamental, looking at the technique that's going to allow you to win. You're removed from that, so there's the emotional side you don't necessarily feel anymore. You're nervous and want to do a good job as far as the broadcast and enjoy the camaraderie, but now you get a broader view of the league. When you play, you just have such a narrow focus — tunnel vision like horses do in the Kentucky Derby. All you're thinking about is the guy right across from you. It's been interesting to me to have to pull back and take a bird's-eye view of the entire league, how I think it's going to unfold. AFTER FURTHER REVIEW: Rodgers teaches lesson, more from Week 1 SN: What did you learn from your former Cowboys quarterback and good friend Tony Romo in making the transition coming off his great first season with CBS? Witten: The success that Tony had, it was his personality — that's who he is. He and Jim Nantz have such great chemistry. The one trait that stands out about Tony, and we share this — and a big reason I'll be standing on Monday night — is that we love football. Tony did a great job with forecasting the plays, but what stuck out to me was the unbelievable amount of energy, positive energy. He wasn't trying to ignore the fan at home. It was emotional and very entertaining. His excitement that he brought, you can see the fans responded well. It's more being comfortable with what you want to do. It's different than what goes into being a very good player. Listening to analysts, I can't really define what that is, but it's about being digestable and just an awesome listen. That's what I'm trying to capture. I know it's going to take a lot of work and take a lot of time. That's what Tony shared with me more than anything else — stay in your lane, find your zone and just stay locked into the game from the best seat in the house. SN: What was it like when you found you were working with Joe and Booger, and how have you all clicked so quickly before your first regular-season game? Witten: The chemistry and connection is such a big part of this, and I felt that immediately. That's why I've been excited to have this job, because of that chemistry. In football, some say winning games is all that matters and you expect the chemistry to come with it. I don't agree with that. You need to like and respect the guy who's playing beside you, and you have to appreciate the hard work that needs to be done. In the booth, it's the same thing. Fans can feel tension, selfishness or anything like that. Although Joe and Booger have a lot more experience than I do in broadcasting, it's new for them, too, going to Monday night. For all of us being kind of new, it's nice to kind of jump in it together. It's a great group of guys with a team-first mentality. That's made it very enjoyable and hopefully that transfers well to the telecast. WEEK 1 NFL HIGHLIGHTS: Top catches | Top runs | Top rookie plays SN: Growing up, watching "Monday Night Fooball," hearing all the great announcers, did you ever imagine you would be on the same stage of those guys and have the responsibility of carrying that show? Witten: I'm so honored and humbled by this opportunity. You think about all those big names, and I think, 'My gosh.' That's a big reason while I'll be standing. You can't fill those shoes, when you think of those guys who have been in there in huge situations as analysts. These are voices we've heard over the past three, four, five decades. It's just incredible the jobs that they did. Now I have that opportunity to carry that vision and what they've built. You can't match what they've done — you really can't. I would be foolish to try to do that. I will be trying to my damnest to make everyone proud. That's how I tried to play throughout my career in Dallas. I realize how good some of those guys were. I grew up in a football family. My grandfather was my high school football coach and he would watch it every Monday night. He was a big fan of Don Meredith and John Madden, and the list goes on and on. They were able to teach, entertain, have fun and weren't afraid to criticize when they needed to do so. Hopefully I can carry on that tradition. SN: So, in addition to broadcasting, it looks like you have a second new "job" with Miller Lite? Witten: That was a lot of fun. I partnered with Miller Lite, and we surprised loyal fans with a delivery to kick off the football season. You can imagine — these guys don't really know what they're in for, and I show up as a delivery man. And I've got to say, I kind of look the part. The looks on their faces is awesome. My Sundays are free now, I was looking to fill a little bit of time, and Miller Lite gave me a great opportunity to celebrate the fans and the game. Those fans were really excited to be a part of it.<doc-sep>
Fans are getting introduced to two new crews of Monday Night Football announcers for the 2018 opening night broadcast, including Beth Mowins who is calling the Jets-Lions game on ESPN. Mowins is joined by Brian Griese and Laura Rutledge in tonight’s early game. The late game between the Raiders and Rams will feature the brand new Monday Night Football crew with Jon Gruden getting back into coaching, while Sean McDonough is now calling college football games. Joe Tessitore will serve as the new play-by-play person for the majority of MNF games, and debuts in his new role in the Rams-Raiders contest. He will be joined by former Cowboys tight end Jason Witten, who headed to the booth after retiring from the NFL this summer. Booger McFarland, known for his college football work, will be providing insight as a field analyst. Lisa Salters will serve as the sideline reporter. Mowins may be new to some, but the veteran announcer already made history as the first female broadcaster to call a nationally televised NFL game when she called the Chargers-Broncos season opener in 2017 on ESPN. She also called four more NFL games last season for CBS. “Beth will continue her groundbreaking NFL role calling another prime-time game on Monday Night Football with Brian, whose experience in the league combined with his ability as a broadcaster makes him a natural fit for this assignment,” ESPN Senior Vice President Stephanie Druley said in a press release. “Joined by Laura on the sidelines, this talented and entertaining team will kick off our NFL opening night on ESPN.” Mowins spoke with SB Nation about what it is like calling an NFL game. Watching college football and the NFL — I always wanted football to be a part of that. When you talk about the Monday Night Football franchise, there’s nothing bigger on television when you think back over all the people that have been a part. “So it was a tremendous feeling of just satisfaction of all the hard work and all the time spent trying to prepare for that opportunity. Very shortly thereafter, it clicks into prep mode — OK what’s the game, what are the teams. And you fall back on a lot of the repetitions over the years calling other football games. Jason Witten Makes Regular Season Monday Night Football Debut With Joe Tessitore People were not vibing with Jason Witten in his broadcast debutPeople were not vibing with Jason Witten in his broadcast debut 2018-08-17T21:24:00.000Z Witten made his announcing debut during the preseason and was widely criticized for his first performance. Witten admits he is still learning on the job but is used to getting criticized given he played in the NFL for more than a decade. “It was the first game I had called in my life,” Witten told Sports Illustrated. “I know I had to be bad at it… but I liked the challenge of communicating my passion for the game.” If fans are wondering if he will look to protect former teammates, Witten said his job is to be honest about what he sees, even if it means criticizing someone. “I’m not trying to bury anybody, but I’ve got to call it like it is,” Witten noted to Sports Illustrated. “Even former teammates? I did it when I played with them! There’ll be lots of guys I played with who will say, He would not get off my ass.” Some Confused Fans Thought Doris Burke Was Calling Monday Night Football Doris Burke Cried When She Got Her NBA Dream Job | Real Sports w/Bryant Gumbel | HBODoris Burke recalls her conversation with long-time friend and colleague, Jeff Van Gundy, who encouraged her to go for an open NBA analyst job at ESPN – and her emotional response when she was chosen for it. #HBO #RealSports Subscribe to the HBO YouTube Channel: goo.gl/JQUfqt Don’t have HBO? Order Now: play.hbonow.com/ Like on Facebook:… 2018-02-27T23:11:41.000Z Some fans on social media have confused Mowins’ voice with legendary NBA announcer Doris Burke, who was not calling the Monday Night Football game. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, ESPN colleague Holly Rowe credited both Burke and Mowins for paving the way for other women in the sports industry. I have often fought a battle with men who think women like Doris Burke, Jessica Mendoza and Beth Mowins shouldn’t have certain roles in sports commentating.