Chucky’s Full Of It
December 28th, 2011
Joe doesn’t often watch Monday Night Football on BSPN for one reason: Chucky.
Joe doesn’t hate Chucky, but does hate him as a broadcast analyst.
Whereas Mike Tirico is solid (Joe misses him doing college football games) and Ron “Jaws” Jaworski is just about unmatched in his research with the lone exception of Mike Mayock, Chucky is simply full of it. Full of it being blather and nonsense.
Every freaking player is a Pro Bowler. Every friggin’ player is having his bust made for Canton. To hear Chucky describe every coach, the guy’s last name must be “Lombardi.”
In Chucky’s first season as a Monday Night Football announcer, Joe threw in the towel when he said Bill Callahan was the best players’ coach he knew.
That bordered on an outright lie, not that Chucky would ever stoop to such a level (sarcasm alert). Callahan was the target of a mutiny when he coached the Raiders. Yeah, real players’ coach.
It seems the voice of reason, the great Phil Mushnick, has had his fill of Chucky as well. Though the long-time New York Post columnist has taken many a potshot at Chucky over the past couple of months, he totally hammered Chucky recently, not just saying Chucky is full of it, but suggests Chucky does little research and in fact doesn’t pay attention to the game he is analyzing.
Late in the third, after 49ers running back Frank Gore was tackled for a loss on a sweep to his right, Gruden took it as cue to make a short story long — and exaggerated:
“Hard to get the ball outside in the running game against this Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense. You’ve all heard about settin’ the edge, settin’ the edge. These outside linebackers [Jason] Worilds and [LaMarr] Woodley do not let the ball outside.”
On the next play, Gore ran around the right side for an 11-yard gain.
It’s a pretty interesting read on how network broadcast types really expose themselves by not doing research, not paying attention to games but constantly yapping to try to cover up their mistakes and distract viewers.
When Chucky is off Team Glazer’s payroll in a couple of weeks, Joe sure hopes he gets a coaching job, that way Joe won’t always have to go to a bar to watch Monday Night Football. At most bars, the audio is inaudible, which is a good thing when Chucky’s spreading the schtick thick, trying to impress a future boss/general manager.
December 28th, 2011 at 3:14 pm
Joe,
As you would know, journalism can operate on a one way street, so it’s helpful to see another perspective. Check this out if you haven’t done so already:
This article suggests that Gruden actually does A LOT of research before games, an amount that even baffles his coworkers.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/12/12/111212fa_fact_sanneh#ixzz1fuNYM7ty
December 28th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
Has Raheem been fired yet?
You idiot Tampa Bay press corps chased away Jon Gruden.
Great MOVE! (sarcasm alert).
Now the fanbase has had to witness YOUR boy Raheem Morris for 3 awful years. And look, you hacks turned on him too.
December 28th, 2011 at 3:18 pm
Jon Gruden (Hail our Lord and Savior) gave us the Super Bowl. He is forgiven for all in my book.
December 28th, 2011 at 3:21 pm
@BigBuc — Research is meaningless without objectivity. Gruden is painful to listen to for hardcore fans that have come to expect detailed breakdowns from NFL Network. But that’s not Gruden’s audience on Monday Night Football, so he doesn’t have to call it as it is.
December 28th, 2011 at 3:23 pm
We should’ve kept Gruden and just fired Bruce Allen. He was the REAL problem here in Tampa.
And also…..the collapse in 2008 wasn’t Gruden’s fault. It wasn’t his defense that fell flat on their faces during the last month.
December 28th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
@TurnThePage — The press chased away Jon Gruden. Huh? So the Glazers flushed $20 million+ down the toilet on Bruce Allen adn Gruden because the media wasnt’ in love with the guy anymore years after a Super Bowl? I want what you’re smoking.
December 28th, 2011 at 3:25 pm
Also, ever think that Gruden was burnt out of coaching and was pushing to get out? His three years on the sidelines say that his heart really wasn’t in it anymore. He could have made more money than the Glazers were paying him with another NFL team.
December 28th, 2011 at 3:29 pm
@Kensington,
I want what YOU are smoking. You come up with this bogus idea that Gruden was burnt out based on him sitting out for 3 years..uh…he is collecting a paycheck from the bucs while sitting! Don’t make crap up, please.
December 28th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
He is certainly terrible at his new job. Heck, he wasn’t that good at what people praised him for as a HC(Qb guru)
List of John Gruden’s Buccaneer Qbs to play a regular season game: Brad Johnson, Rob Johnson, Shaun King, Brian Griese, Chris Simms, Tim Rattay, Bruce Gradkowski, Jeff Garcia, Luke McCown.
He was gifted a SB in 2002 on the back of a Monte Kiffen defense so I guess all is forgiven….
December 28th, 2011 at 3:39 pm
@TheProsUse – Gifted a SB? Please. Yes the defense was Outstanding, but if Gruden didn’t bring in guys like McCardell, Jurevicious, Dilger, Pittman, Jenkins, etc the offense would never have scored enough to take them to the SB. What a dumb comment by you. Also, those QBs did better under his system than they ever could do anywhere else.
December 28th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
@TheProsUseAdvoCare,
You have lost all credibility to talk about football forever.
Gruden added 25 new players to that team. They played better under him than ever before. You don’t know anything about football.
December 28th, 2011 at 3:52 pm
@adam ant Just pointing out the inadequacies of Gruden. Surprised someone is taking it personally.
I am not arguing that the offense progressed under him. But being 18th in points and 24th in total yards isn’t really a remarkable feat. Now, the defense being 1st in points allowed and 1st in yards allowed, that is extraordinary.
His Buccaneers offenses never ranked higher than 18th in points. Jeff Garcia was his only Pro-bowler(as Farves 2007 replacement) in a year apparently light on QBs as his totals were 13TDs, 4INTs, and a lowly 2440yds. Heck, Josh Freeman had a better year than that already under Greg Olsen!!!
These facts support the reasoning for my verse. What facts support yours?
December 28th, 2011 at 3:55 pm
@Anthony Just because they played better than before doesn’t mean they played well. Buc’s offenses were mediocre his entire tenure. I know that much lol
You know what didn’t change when Gruden came in? The performance of the Monte Kiffen lead defense.
December 28th, 2011 at 3:56 pm
Don’t be mad at me for pointing out facts you’d rather deny. Be mad at Gruden for proven them true.
December 28th, 2011 at 3:57 pm
Really Joe?
Thats all you can come up with on a Chucky hit piece? The guy got an 11 yard gain on the Pittsburg defense? After Gruden said they were hard to run outside on? That makes him full of it?
Seriously?
You think Pittsburgh is easy to run outside on? They are ranked number one in defense in the league.
Hilarious.
December 28th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
gotta agree with advocare on this one. gruden’s entire offense consited of a minimum of two players shifting on every play and then throwing a 3 yard pass. greg olson did better last year with gruden’s playbook than gruden ever did.
December 28th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
I wish Gruden was still our coach.
December 28th, 2011 at 4:04 pm
Ironic how the Gruden haters are in fact Raheem nut huggers.
December 28th, 2011 at 4:05 pm
@theprosuse – Again, the offense prior to Gruden’s arrival did not move the ball and score as well as when he arrived. I don’t argue that the defense was great. We would not have gone to the SB without it. However, nor would we have made the SB without Gruden coming in and making those changes and changing the mentality and firing people up. At the time, Dungy needed to go in order for us to move forward. Just as now, Raheem needs to go. The biggest difference is Raheem has left a mess where as Dungy at least left a great D. Nothing personal, I just hate when people say Gruden didn’t do anything to help the team win the SB.
December 28th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
Actually they had a 1000 yard receiver every year under Gruden, I wonder how Galloway hauled in all those touchdowns on three yard passes?
Led the league in yards per catch one year.
But, never let facts get in the way of some Chucky hatred.
We are soooooooooooooooooooooo much better off now!
December 28th, 2011 at 4:09 pm
@adam ant One could argue that Dungy’s 2000 and 2001 offense were better or equal to the the Bucs 2002 offense.
I never said “Gruden didn’t do anything to help the team win the SB”.
December 28th, 2011 at 4:09 pm
Funny, I liked him as our HC and like him as a broadcaster. what comes across to me is an unwavering love and passion for the game. I share that as a fan and respect that kind of dedication.
And if he were to be the Buccaneer HC one day again, I’d welcome him with open arms. Having typed that, I sincerely doubt that will happen. Rarely does one successfully go home again.
Hope I’m on record as appreciating everything Jon Gruden did here, just as I appreciate Coaches Dungy, Wyche, McKay and yes, Morris. I have no problem whatsoever typing that either.
Happy New Year!!!
December 28th, 2011 at 4:11 pm
How does a system that heavily favors one WR mean a better total offense?
December 28th, 2011 at 4:12 pm
Or QB?
December 28th, 2011 at 4:14 pm
That’s odd, I loved Gruden and hate Raheem…proving your theory false just that quickly. How sad.
December 28th, 2011 at 4:23 pm
@Anthony — Of course Gruden was burnt out on coaching. No man gets fired from his love at 45 years old and sits on the sideline for three years. It doesn’t matter that he was still getting paid. He could have gotten even more dough from another team and kept pressing on toward NFL records.
Face it. Gruden didn’t want to coach.
December 28th, 2011 at 4:25 pm
THE MAN WON US A SUPER BOWL!
say what you want, hate all you want.
He took a great defense and demanded more, took sub-par offensive talent and put together enough to get the team in a position to win it all.
Was it time for him to go – yes – but please don’t take anything away from what he did here.
Just look at where we are now.
December 28th, 2011 at 4:32 pm
@bucfansouth,
Baseless. Try to come up with something more fact-based.
December 28th, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Hillbilly:
This post has NOTHING to do with Chucky winning a Super Bowl with the Bucs, a feat which Joe will forever be indebted to Chucky for.
This has to do with how condescending if not insulting Chucky is as a TV network game analyst.
December 28th, 2011 at 4:45 pm
@Joe,
And your example shows little of that. He isn’t great, to be sure, but just b/c they got an 11 yard gain doesn’t change how great their defense is.
December 28th, 2011 at 4:45 pm
@Joe,
Also, HIllbilly’s post was in response to other people’s posts about Gruden’s coaching skills, not your article.
December 28th, 2011 at 4:46 pm
What is the difference between “being gifted a SB” and “didn’t do anything to help the team win a SB”? sounds the same to me.
All of this is irrelevant now though, isn’t it. I think most of us can agree that firing Dungy and bringing in Gruden was the right move at the time because it brought us the trophy.
December 28th, 2011 at 4:59 pm
Interesting.
I like Chucky as a broadcaster, just sick of him kissing everyone’s asss for the sake of “not wanting to burna bridge”
When he is really done with coaching, I think he can be great in the booth.
The most interesting part is to hear him say “he is not prepared” REALLY?
Everyone else who ever worked with him, as a coach or in the booth and at ESPN, have all said he is one of the most prepared guys they ever worked with.
Oh well, whatever. As long as his coming off the payroll means the Glazers are going all in with someone big for the youngesters on this team
December 28th, 2011 at 5:00 pm
“Gifted” means it was handed to him on a silver platter and all he needed to do was take it. “Didn’t do anything” means, at least for me, that he never took the opportunity. Which he did except the gift, so he did something.
December 28th, 2011 at 5:02 pm
@adam ant Indeed. It was the right move to win a SB. Gotta give it up to the Glazers for that.
December 28th, 2011 at 5:11 pm
It is sooooooo condescending to state pittsburgh has a good run defense!
The audacity of the man!
He said it was hard to run outside, not impossible to the point that no running back would ever do it again!
And for this he is full of it?
This demonstrates exactly why the local media hacks ran Chucky out of town. Rediculous personal vendettas.
You can call Chucky a lot of things, but ill-prepared aint one of em. Maybe over-prepared to the point of minutia. That might have an ounce of credibility.
December 28th, 2011 at 5:31 pm
In relation to the scam that is pro sports:
“One reason is that newspaper companies are usually major local corporations with other investments in the region –including in real estate. In 1982, the staff of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune took out an ad in their paper criticizing their publisher, John Cowles, for taking a leading role in getting a new domed stadium built for the local baseball and football teams–in exchange for the right to develop 200 acres of land surrounding the site.”
“This is an especially insidious thing, where newspapers become involved in these marketing deals, and they don’t disclose it– even though you might guess if you go to the arena, and you see the Tampa Tribune’s name underneath the ice, that there’s something going on. You’re not going to write about your marketing partners in the same way you’re going to write about other people.”
Read this article…It’s long, but quite enlightening.
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1482
December 28th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
LOL Eric, please read Mushnick’s column.
Clicky the linky.
December 28th, 2011 at 6:18 pm
@Joe,
I already clicked the linky.
THe other monumental errors which demostrate the ill-prepared nature of CHucky is he thought the niners would run Frank Gore in their two tight end formation, and correclty stated Pittsburgh was minus eleven in turnover ratio.
We all know the Niners never run Gore!
Heres a quote from the New Yorker article:
Sean Payton, the head coach of the New Orleans Saints, a former protégé of Gruden’s and a longtime friend, has noticed that neither Gruden’s level of effort nor his routine has changed much since he got fired. “I think if we were clocking Jon, the hours would be very, very similar,” he said.
Now Joe, I know who Sean Payton is. He won the Super Bowl with the Saints. Perhaps you do too. He seems to think Jon is a pretty prepared guy.
Who the hell is Phil Mushnick?
Did you forget to click the linky on the New Yorker Article? Or does it simply not fit your agenda?
December 28th, 2011 at 6:39 pm
We needed Offense to win a SB so we needed Gruden just like the Colts need a defense so they needed Dungy to get their SB…. Now can we please find a HC that knows how to hire a DC and OC to get us back on track PLEASE!!!!
December 28th, 2011 at 7:27 pm
Seeing Eric’s man crush on Gruden has given me a new level of understanding on his hatred for Raheem, et al.
December 28th, 2011 at 7:45 pm
not a man crush bobby.
somebody has to stand up for our súper bowl champion coach.
surprises me so few do.
December 28th, 2011 at 8:33 pm
He’s not that bad. He’s definitely not as irritating and obnoxious as Theismann
December 28th, 2011 at 9:15 pm
The only thing that we should pissed at Gruden for is:
Giving the media clowns the ammunition to shift public sentiment in a way that allowed the Glazers to can him and go cheap. Yes by canning him they were risking owing money on the contract but they were gambling that he would take another coaching job – he outwitted them.
The Glazers protected their backside by hiring the cheapest coach available. Period.
It is a shame that some argued that division championships every other year weren’t sufficient, but now are debating that 4-11, 0-9, 17-31, no playoffs etc is sufficient to earn a 4th year. Huh?
I realize no one believes that now but it is crap the weeks ago some were.
December 28th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
I don’t know why Joe and a few others hate Gruden as a commentator so much. He’s exciting to listen to, and contrary to what Joe wrote about, knows more football than anybody in the broadcasting business, and it probably isn’t even close. He could not do a single lick of research and still be better prepared to do his job than a lot of other broadcasters.
December 28th, 2011 at 9:56 pm
This is overall a pretty silly post, I must say Joe. None of your readers really care about your personal opinion on Jon Gruden as a commentator, especially considering a vast majority of people enjoy him.
December 28th, 2011 at 9:59 pm
And reading through the comments made me realize also, does Joe really think Pittsburgh has a bad run defense? LOL you’re a Buc fan Joe, you should be able to spot good run defense from a mile away. Let me get this straight; Gruden says Pitt has a good run defense, then by pure chance FRANK GORE (you know, all star running back) breaks a nice run. What in the world is your point? Was Gruden wrong with what he said? Uhhh…..you and the guy that wrote that story are WAY off base here.
December 28th, 2011 at 10:34 pm
Great points K2. I think by criticizing Chucky it is an attempt to make us forget how awful rah rah has been and this team since Chuck left.
One of the Joes clearly prefers getting obliterated weekly and would like to keep run an unprepared team out weekly.
You are not married to a coach, you should be loyal to the concept that you demand winning, regardless of cost, from your hometown team.
December 28th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
I suspect Joe was so excited about blasting chucky he didn’t look too close at how rediculous the guys remarks were.
Pittsburgh has a strong run defense and does not allow guys to break to the outside.
Pure idiocy! Full of it! Gore got 11 yards once!
December 29th, 2011 at 12:03 am
I’m really tired of people, “fans” and “experts” bashing Jon Gruden.
If you cannot see what the man brought to Tampa and the Buccaneers years ago and are THAT ungrateful? Well……you don’t count.
Happy New Year!!!
December 29th, 2011 at 12:10 am
I think Thomas 2.2 nailed the truth to the wall for all to see
in his last post.
Hail Coach Gruden!
Gruden –> Cowboys –> SB
Carve it in stone with a laser.
December 29th, 2011 at 2:03 am
Thomas:
LOL You’ve got the “obliterated” right.
December 29th, 2011 at 2:05 am
K2:
Because he’s a con artist as an analyst, he’s insulting. Listen to what he is saying, not how he is saying it.
December 29th, 2011 at 2:08 am
eric:
Joe has known Sean Payton long before any NFL type ever did.
December 29th, 2011 at 3:33 am
@Joe “Because he’s a con artist as an analyst, he’s insulting. Listen to what he is saying, not how he is saying it.”
Nice verse. I wish more would do as you say here. Again, reality over emotion.
December 29th, 2011 at 4:34 am
****YES CHUCKY IS FULL OF IT****
just watch chucky in action on monday night football when they do a rare cut to the booth…of course it’s not like that all night….they know they are being viewed at that exact moment on the camera that
2 – 3 times nightly during the broadcast…..but just watch chucky when the men are asked to snuggle up next to one another to all be in the picture and are basically infringing on each others
“man – space”……chuck is practically committing crimes amongst men during these humbling 2 minute segments, that i would venture to say warrant a slap, mush, or punch to blondies’ noggin’…..watch his scowling expressions that almost utter insult and disrespect toward his fellow coworkers, watch the feet step down heavy to “hold position” and angle his little body to hold his ground like it’s some sort of dawg fight, watch his flailing hands not just cut into the others’ personal space, but aim towards their faces and chests in an aggressive manner…. he insults jaws to the extreme, and goes completely overboard with tirico….i swear, dude is a joke and wearing thin like tom hanks old hairline….he knows it to…the more you see him the more the napoleonic complex shines thru……man i would love to put my hand in chucky’s grill sometime and see what he does – in the end i would smack the mini ken doll from public’s frozen food section straight to the deli dept. aisle….i have decided the more i see his mannerisms and listen to his hogwash, the more i want to bump into him buying those tasty public’s chickenfingers…..adam from ny
ps reminds me….once i was in a parking lot during the holiday season in ny a few years back and saw that fellow who plays “shillinger” on the hbo show “oz”….i was actually just acknowledging his existence as i recognized him during the height of the show, and said dude scrambled away in a jogging fashion upon me saying “hey shillinger” in a totally non aggressive tone…it was pretty weird…..granted i was dressed like a stormtropper….maybe that was the red flag for ole shilly.
December 29th, 2011 at 4:35 am
joe – i heard jamie dukes from nfl network likes my posts……cool
adam from ny
December 29th, 2011 at 9:15 am
Wow adam, that is some serious hate for one person. I always liked Gruden. Didn’t like how he liked to bring in washed-up 35+ FA’s, but I think that was all because the Glazers didn’t want to max out slalary cap. He built a superbowl team there in Oakland, so he’s got the credentials.
December 29th, 2011 at 12:01 pm
Amazingly, Joe doesn’t listen to Chucky, but knows what he says.
Perhaps you should turn up the volume, you might learn something.
December 29th, 2011 at 12:46 pm
Wow, I cant believe how many treat Gruden like Rodney Dangerfield! Where’s the respect for the head coach that brought us the ultimate NFL prize?
BTW Not one of you could do a better job on the field or in the booth!
December 29th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again….”were you not at the games in Gruden’s last season when fans were calling for his friggin’ head??!!!!” My Gosh, you guys act like it was all rainbows and unicorns when Gruden was here and fans had absolutely no part in his firing. While it’s true that fan’s probably had very little to do with his demise it’s not true that they were disappointed. Grueden dug his own hole by being a pain in the butt to deal with and the Glazers bounced him. It was time to rebuild and they were gonna do it without Chucky because he would have wanted every aging FA on the market to come to Tampa.
December 29th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
@adam
You sound like a borderline Schizophrenic nut-case, bro.
You bash Jon for his ego and then post about some writer who
“likes your posts”…..good luck with your condition.
Gruden –> Dallas –> SB
Carve it in stone with a laser!!!