McFarland has called every "MNF" game this season from a motorized cart on the sideline ESPN IMAGES
ESPN International’s broadcast of Super Bowl LIII will have its "MNF" team of Joe Tessitore, Jason Witten and Booger McFarland "in a traditional booth," as opposed to having McFarland in the "Booger Mobile," according to sources cited by Andrew Marchand of the N.Y. POST. Witten should "welcome McFarland into the booth" because standing next to each other, Witten and McFarland "might sound as if they are conversing, instead of incessantly stacking comments on top of one another." Witten "has improved" as an analyst since the beginning of the season, and "can be informative, especially when he talks about receiver play." Tessitore "began the year as if he were a salesman" for "MNF," but to his "credit, Tessitore has audibled some as the season has gone on, toning it down as Witten and McFarland find more of a comfort level." Tessitore can "do the job if he relaxes a bit," and if he "does that, his high notes could really be heard." Everyone working on the show at ESPN is "earnest in making Monday night a success." That is "to be commended," but some "free advice: Chill a bit and let the broadcast breathe more" (N.Y. POST, 12/19).
LESS IS MORE: In Chicago, Phil Rosenthal writes of the "MNF" trio, "Do you tune in for these guys? Does anyone? Isn’t the real attraction supposed to be the game?" In a sports broadcast, "bells and whistles are fine, but not if they distract from or drown out everything else." ESPN just "breathed new life into its 'SportsCenter' franchise with a back-to-basics approach." Yet "here we are with so much window-dressing on 'Monday Night Football' it’s hard to see through the window" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/19).
