Fouts, Sapp deepen CBS' analyst bench

[WoodysGirl]

By Michael Hiestand, USA TODAY

CBS re-signed a veteran quarterback Tuesday and picked up some help on defense.

Dan Fouts, a CBS analyst from 1988 to 1993 after a Hall of Fame NFL quarterbacking career, will be an analyst on some CBS NFL games with a variety of play-by-play announcers, including Don Criqui, Bill Macatee and Dick Enberg. Fouts also will work some CBS Southeastern Conference games. After last season, Fouts was waived by ABC/ESPN, where he'd been a Monday Night Football analyst and worked college games with Keith Jackson — and tried calling college play-by-play last season.

So why keep coming back? "It's what I do, a part of my life since I was born," says Fouts, whose father, Bob, was a longtime San Francisco 49ers sportscaster. "I enjoyed ABC a great deal. I just look forward to working."

Warren Sapp looks forward, along with Fox TV rookie Michael Strahan, in representing a side of the ball that rarely shows up in the studio — defense. As Inside the NFL this season migrates from HBO to the CBS-owned premium cable channel Showtime, just-retired NFL veteran Sapp will join CBS' James Brown and Phil Simms and NBC's Cris Collinsworth. Says Sapp, noting ex-offensive players, especially quarterbacks, dominate national on-air NFL rosters: "They're the more traditional pretty-boy positions — the talkers. Michael and I are breaking the rule."

Sapp also has a convincing answer to the usual question about whether players fresh from the field can be candid about their old colleagues: "(NBC analysts) Tiki Barber and Jerome Bettis tell me I'll lose a friend a week doing this. But I've only had three friends my whole life. So I'm good."

Spice rack:

ABC/ESPN, expected to bid on the next available Olympic TV rights — the 2014 Winter Games — took a shot at NBC's Beijing coverage at a New York news media breakfast Tuesday. Said ESPN executive John Skipper to SportsBusiness Daily regarding NBC's "live" graphic that appears on the screen during action shown on tape-delay in the West: "When we put a live bug on SportsCenter, it means live right now." … With alum Dan Patrick joining NBC's Sunday night NFL studio show, ESPN will move Chris Berman opposite him on its 7 p.m. ET SportsCenter.

 

[jcblanco22]

Dan Fouts, a CBS analyst from 1988 to 1993 after a Hall of Fame NFL quarterbacking career, will be an analyst on some CBS NFL games with a variety of play-by-play announcers, including Don Criqui, Bill Macatee and Dick Enberg.

To begin with, I'm happy for Fouts, who I think is a likable personality and whom I loved watching play when I was growing up. I also wanted to add that those are some of my favorite, albeit obscure (these days, certainly not 15 years ago), play-by-play guys that you find deep in the Sunday Ticket line-up that he'll be working with.

Have many fond memories of late Sunday afternoons in the 80s listening to Criqui or Enberg in particular call Raiders/Dolphins and Chargers/Dolphins games that aired here in South Florida. The Enberg/Merlin Olsen team to me was second only to Summerall/Madden in the early to mid 80s. And as for Macatee, he was a veritable baby when he started, can't believe how time has flown.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

I look forward to hearing from Sapp, he's funny. I think guys like him need to be on more.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

Sapp is fun to listen too.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

To begin with, I'm happy for Fouts, who I think is a likable personality and whom I loved watching play when I was growing up. I also wanted to add that those are some of my favorite, albeit obscure (these days, certainly not 15 years ago), play-by-play guys that you find deep in the Sunday Ticket line-up that he'll be working with.

Have many fond memories of late Sunday afternoons in the 80s listening to Criqui or Enberg in particular call Raiders/Dolphins and Chargers/Dolphins games that aired here in South Florida. The Enberg/Merlin Olsen team to me was second only to Summerall/Madden in the early to mid 80s. And as for Macatee, he was a veritable baby when he started, can't believe how time has flown.

As a lad my second favorite team was the Chargers with Fouts, Joiner, Chandler, Jefferson (at one time) Winslow SR and Muncie at RB wearing those birth control glasses.:laugh2:

Loved watching Air Coryell back in the day and thought their Uniforms were second only to the cowboys.

 

[jcblanco22]

As a lad my second favorite team was the Chargers with Fouts, Joiner, Chandler, Jefferson (at one time) Winslow SR and Muncie at RB wearing those birth control glasses.:laugh2:

Loved watching Air Coryell back in the day and thought their Uniforms were second only to the cowboys.

Amen to that Brain, a 4pm Cowboys kick-off in the early 80s with Summerall/Madden was second to none, but a good Chargers/Raiders tilt with Enberg/Olsen was a close second for me because of all the greats on offense you mentioned. Ironically, even their sub-par defense was just right for the time, because it guaranteed they'd be trying to score as many points as possible on offense all game long.

LOL @ Muncie's glasses, can't forget James Brooks in his early days over there also making quite an impact when he spelled him from time to time.