This week's announcer in focus: Charlie Jones!
You want to talk about a typecast announcer - here he is! Charlie was a staple of fall afternoons/evenings in the 80s; he always, always seemed to have the late AFC West game on NBC. I distinctly remember so many early evenings in the fall/winter in Baltimore - around 6:00 pm, when it was pitch black - and watching the late NBC game on the TV in my parents' bedroom. It always was a divisional matchup - Raiders/Broncos, Chiefs/Seahawks, Chargers/Raiders, etc.
You could tell where the game was by just looking at Charlie. If he (and longtime partner Todd Christensen) had those Puffy-inspired NBC parks on, then they had to be doing an Elway game from Denver. If Charlie was wearing a short sleeve shirt, then of course they were doing a Fouts game from San Diego.
Charlie started doing national football games for NBC in 1965, and did his last game in 1998. 33 years! About in the midpoint of his career, he saw this comeback by the Vikings in 1980. Since the Browns were the visitors, NBC had this matchup in November, 1980, at the old Metropolitan stadium in Minneapolis.
We join the coverage with the Browns just taking the lead, 23-22, and the Vikings having the ball at their OWN 20 with :14 left and no timeouts. It's in the bag for Cleveland, right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwWdA-o04sg
I don't recall this game live; this is probably the latest Browns heartbreak that I don't remember. This was the year of the Kardiac Kids as we won the '80 division championship; there was another heartbreak in the playoffs that I have wrote about before.
(Of course, the winning TD was caught by Ahmad Rashad; this is why I still refuse to watch re-runs of Inside Stuff on NBC.
(And if you can't draw the connection between Pudding Pops and Ahmad Rashad, then you never watched the Cosby Show).
Three broadcasts of significance that Charlie was involved in: (I learn so much doing the research for these blog posts):
1. He was the track and field announcer for the 1988 Seoul Olympics --- recall, young ones, that the 1988 Seoul Olympics was the first true world Summer Olympics that we remember. This was a BIG DEAL. 80 was the US boycott; 84 was a US exhibition; 88 was the first true competition for the Olympics in our lives (as I had no recollection of Montreal 76).
This race - and the aftermath - was huge. And Charlie was on the call:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTM_mvA4kas
(note: at 3:42, I want Charlie to announce the results of my breathalyzer tests)
2. Charlie was also one of the key announcers for the '91 Ryder Cup - the War at the Shore at Kiawah. He was paired with some whippersnapper named Johnny Miller, who was just starting his career. Here's a clip of highlights of the pressure-packed match between Calcavecchia and Montgomerie, where Calc was 5 up with 5 to play - and ended up getting the half.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXsstH3k3Qk
Charlie was there, trying to make his broadcasting "mark" on the moment... "into the watery grave" - and Johnny was over-analyzing everything, talking over Charlie on the broadcast. I guess Johnny couldn't break that habit over his 27+ years in the booth).
(I don't recall Charlie announcing my comeback from 4 down with 4 to play in the 2005 Iowa Match Play, round 1, to a current Web.com pro...maybe he was booked that day).
3. Finally, I think Charlie's broadcasts were the first to use the sideline reported. Charlie and Todd would throw it down to the field for an on-the-spot report from the field, usually talking about injuries. Here's a picture of the first sideline reporter on Charlie's team...I wonder what happened to him.
I loved Charlie...what a voice. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2008 at his home in La Jolla.
On to the games:
Bal 23, Jax 16. I've seen enough; Baltimore can be a dominant defense against a below-average offense. That includes the Bengals, Browns, and yes, the Jags.
Buf 23, Den 17. Are we sure Denver is any good? It's like we are crowning Simien as the next Brady. They took the Chargers to the wire - whoopee, everyone does that - and beat a messed up Cowboys team in a lightning delay, both at home.
Car 27, NO 24. Don't like the look of Carolina's offense; they won't put the Saints away here. I see some scoring on both sides.
Pit 27, Chi 17. We'll give the Bears a mulligan for last week; they'll give Pittsburgh some fight, esp. with their running offense, but just don't have enough fire power.
Det 24, Atl 20. Detroit's D has really impressed me. Perfect letdown spot for the Falcons.
Min 23, TB 20. Minnesota will have one week of practice for case under their belt, and Tampa can not play any better. I think Minny's D will rattle Winston.
NE 27, Hou 16. Watson should move the ball some against the weak NE D, and the Hou D line will at least contain the Pats a bit.
Mia 20, NYJ 17. Just a hunch here; Miami's offense wasn't sharp (although it was week 1), and the Jets will bring something for their first home game. McCown will do enough to stay in it.
NYG 27, Phi 20. Upset special. Philly's pass defense is aveage, and Eli (I hope) will be motivated to play decent this game. I don't think the Eagles are good enough yet to blow divisional foes out of the water.
Ten 26, Sea 16. Seattle's line is a mess; LeBeau will have fun picking Wilson apart. The question is- can the Titans score enough?
GB 27, Cin 13. Green Bay, off a loss, coming home to face a chaotic Bengals team? This won't be Alabama - Vandy, but I think Rodgers has something to prove.
KC 30, LAC 27. Thinking about a shootout here for Charlie Jones's sake.
Oak 26, Was 23. This will tell us a LOT about Oakland's defense. Are they just average - which limits how far the Raiders can go? Or can they win a game on the road for Oakland?
Dal 30, Az 16. Cowboys will be ready to bounce back, and Palmer has shown me nothing yet this far.
Best bets: 16 of them. Last week: 9-7; overall: 15-13.
In order:
NYG +6
Buf +3
Det/Atl under 51
Ten -2.5
GB -9
Dal -3
Det +3
Min +3
NYG/Phi over 42.5
NO/Car over 46.5
Bal -3.5
NYJ +6
NYJ/Mia under 43.5
GB/Cin under 46.5
KC/LAC over 47.5
Hou +14
Supercontest picks: Last week: 4-1; overall: 6-4
Buf +3
Min +3
NYG +6
Ten -3
GB -8.5
