In Boston, Chad Finn notes there are "at least 15 members of the Patriots’ three Super Bowl winning teams who have full- or part-time media gigs of varying degrees of prominence." NBC Sports' Rodney Harrison and ESPN's Tedy Bruschi "are national stars." Damien Woody is at ESPN, while Willie McGinest is "one of the more familiar faces" on NFL Network. Rosevelt Colvin works for the Big 10 Network, while Ty Law and Troy Brown "are regulars on Comcast SportsNet New England." Dan Koppen "joined them on CSNNE this year, and Matt Chatham and Jermaine Wiggins provide commentary for NESN." Teddy Johnson, Josh Miller and Christian Fauria are "among those who have had success in radio." Finn: "So why have so many Patriots been able to do it? Almost to a man, they say it’s because of the football intelligence they developed" while playing for coach Bill Belichick (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/30).
DON'T KILL BILL: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes when network production crews meet with Belichick, his "melancholy" side "isn’t always present." At times, Belichick can be "downright friendly." NBC's Cris Collinsworth, who will call Sunday’s Super Bowl with Al Michaels, said, "Most people would assume that Belichick would be the worst. But in many ways he’s the best." Collinsworth added, "He won’t tell you his game plan or his injury situation. But if you want to want to talk about football, he’ll talk to you in a wide-eyed, energetic, enthusiastic way.” CBS' Phil Simms said, "On a scale of 1 to 10, Bill is a 1 sometimes, and a 10 some others. The bigger the game, the better his spirits, friendlier he is and the more he tells you." ESPN "MNF" VP/Production Jay Rothman: "Bill will never give it all up. He is very guarded. Some meetings are better than others. He’s cordial. He’s not a monster" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/30).
HARD-HITTING COMMENTARY: In San Diego, Tom Krasovic wrote Fox' John Lynch "just wrapped up his fifth season as an NFL game analyst," and the former NFLer "has risen up the broadcasting ladder while also drawing positive reviews from media critics." Lynch "laughed at the education he received upon joining the broadcasting world." He said, "I learned once I got up in the booth, you don’t really know the rules until you have to explain them." While his inside football knowledge is a resource, a broadcaster "fumbles if his words are football gobbledygook to fans who may not know know a 3-4 defense from a drag route." Lynch: "You have to be able to break it down very simply in a way that people find enjoyable. That’s been a challenge" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 1/29).
CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK? CBS' Simms said of having an opportunity to at some point call a game with his son, Chris, who works for Bleacher Report, "I would probably say we will do one. Of course it depends on what network he would be working for. These jobs are tough to get." Chris said, "I certainly would love that but I have never even thought about it, because to me I am not sure it can possibly happen." Phil: "Oh, it can happen and if we do it, it will be funny and great. It will be more about us being together and we can really talk and cover a game the way we want to cover it. It would be interesting and a lot of fun" (MMQB.SI.com, 1/29).
